The Kickstarter campaign talks about how age has led to some surface damage to the slippers, and they will have to be cleaned and stabilized.
The Washington Post reports on the Kickstarter campaign, stating that the hashtag #KeepThemRuby is being used to lure fans to the fundraising drive, which you can contribute to here.
As the Post points out, a campaign to restore Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit raised $719,779 (against a stated goal of $500,000), leading many to believe that the Ruby slippers initiative will succeed with flying colors.
This, also, is not the first time that the Smithsonian has turned to supporters for financial backing.