Ice bucket that sparked charity blitz comes to Smithsonian

WASHINGTON – The ice bucket that sparked a viral social-media campaign has a new home at the Smithsonian.

The National Museum of American History is opening a new exhibit on the history of philanthropy on Tuesday. A showcase item will be the blue bucket that was used to dump ice water onto Jeanette Senerchia in 2014.

The “Ice Bucket Challenge” was already making the rounds online, but Senerchia is believed to be the first person to tie it to ALS, a degenerative condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Her husband Anthony has the disease.

The challenge ended up raising more than $50 million for ALS research.

The museum will also introduce a new curator for its philanthropy initiative. The position is funded in part by Washington’s best-known philanthropist, David Rubenstein.