Kickstarter Campaign To Restore Original Ruby Slippers
Joe Denoyer - October 18, 2016 11:32 am
File- This Nov. 9, 2001, file photo shows the sequin-covered ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" at the offices of Profiles in History in Calabasas, Calif. Smithsonian Museum officials started a Kickstarter fundraising drive Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, to repair the iconic slippers from 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” and create a new state-of-the-art display case for them at the National Museum of American History. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
The ruby slippers that whisked Dorothy back to Kansas in three clicks are looking a little down at the heels, prompting the Smithsonian to launch a $300,000 online campaign to conserve them.
Museum officials started a Kickstarter fundraising drive Monday to repair the iconic slippers from 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” and create a new state-of-the-art display case for them at the National Museum of American History.
The sequined shoes were crafted almost 80 years ago by the MGM Studios prop department and have grown fragile over time. The fundraising page says the color has faded and some threads affixing sequins have snapped.
The campaign, dubbed “#KeepThemRuby,” offers donor rewards ranging from T-shirts and tote bags to replica slippers and behind-the-scenes tours.
This isn’t the Smithsonian’s first Kickstarter drive. In 2015, it raised $700,000 to conserve Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit.
