Smithsonian 'Toned Down the Science' In Climate Change Exhibit

An anonymous reader writes "According to an International Herald Tribune article, the Smithsonian pre-emptively toned down the scientific content of a climate change exhibit put into place last year. The changes, including removal of scientist conclusions and muddying of displayed data, were made to ensure that the exhibit would not offend the Congress or the White House. Pressure brought to bear by Institute officials resulted in the resignation of Robert Sullivan, a sixteen year veteran of the organization. 'This is not the first time the Smithsonian has been accused of taking politics into consideration. The congressionally chartered institution scaled down a 1995 exhibit of the restored Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, after veterans complained it focused too much on the damage and deaths. Amid the oil-drilling debate in 2003, a photo exhibit of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was moved to a less prominent space.'"

Comments

Overheard at the Smithsonian

[grub]

Overheard at the Smithsonian:

Worker: Sir, I have this old display of Noah's Ark you asked for. Where did you want it?
Curator: Put some dinosaur models on it then set it up in the Geology Wing.
Worker: Will do, sir. Oh I also changed all the signage in that wing from "millions of years" to "thousands of years".
Curator: That's what I like: proactive thinking! What about the Adam & Eve diorama?
Worker: It's where the Galapagos Islands exhibit was, just as you requested.
Curator: My boy, you have a bright future in science!

Re:Overheard at the Smithsonian

[elrous0]

Many years ago, when I was studying public history and taking museum courses, we had to read a great story. The story revolved around a newly-hired history museum director who came in and decided to "shake things up" in the local museum. He put "George Washington's Musket" in storage (since it was only legend that George had slept in the town and Washington never even owned a musket, anyway), he put up exhibits dismissing several local favorite legends as hogwash, devoted half the floor space to a "History of Minorities in Our Town" exhibit which explored the town's racist past, and generally pissed off virtually everyone in town. The story ends with the town mayor shooting him with the musket.

The moral of the story? Piss off the public and they WILL shoot you.

Money ALWAYS comes with strings attached

[elrous0]

Get it from the government, expect to answer to politicians

Get it from private industry, expect to answer to the CEO and board

Get it from an individual, expect to answer to him

Get it from Microsoft, expect to answer to Satan

Re:science

[elrous0]

An alien with a green heart!! Shoot him!

PC...

[Capt James McCarthy]

Somehow I never though Science and Political Correctness fit together. If you are dying, does the doctor now tell you "Congratulations, you won't be paying taxes next year."

The good news is ...

[Palmyst]

In a hundred years, the Smithsonian will be under water.

Yeah, and there's more ...

[iknownuttin]

The changes, ... and muddying of displayed data, ...

By muddying the data, they're inferring that the climate will get wetter and the mud will obfuscate the data. I would love to see the memo that explicitly tells the janitorial staff NOT to clean up the mud off of the data! That would be a smoking gun!

Fucking Government, they think they outsmart me?!? HA!

It is a freaking museum

[Anonymous Coward]

They are always toning down the science for Joe six-pack.

If they wanted a timely exhibit on climate change, they could randomly assign visitors to either side of an amphitheatre where they would don earplugs before yelling at each other at the top of their lungs while mathematical models that nobody in the room could understand flashed on an IMAX screen.

Re:They are following the "Golden Rule".

[sunwukong]

You obviously haven't "greased" the right wheels.