Cute but Costly

Cute but Costly
The San Diego Zoo may have the hottest panda program in the United States, but it says it cannot continue to pay $1 million a year to rent the black-and-white fur balls from China. The zoo is among four nationwide that have told China they want to renegotiate the fee when their contracts are up, starting in 2008.

“There's always been this misperception that a lot of people thought you are making money on pandas. That has never been the case,” said Simmons, who added that officials from other cities sometimes call asking how to get pandas because they want to boost ticket sales.

Hardly news to us in the dc area: mind-boggling traffic but FREE entry to the National Zoo to see the pandas!

Did you know the Smithsonian Institution began as a gift, bequeathed to the United States from James Smithson (1765-1829) to create "an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge." Today, SI includes 18 museums, 140 affiliate museums, and 9 research centers. The SI collection? 143.7 million objects, artworks and specimens, the vast majority of which the public can see for free! Hand's down, there's no better deal in the district, maybe in the world.
Find out more about the Smithsonian Institution.