Inquiry into arctic exhibit

A House committee has launched an inquiry over a former museum administrator’s claim that the Smithsonian Institution toned down a climate change exhibit for fear of angering Congress and the Bush administration.

The inquiry this week came a day after the Associated Press reported that Robert Sullivan, a former associate director at the National Museum of Natural History, said Smithsonian officials softened last year’s “Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely” exhibit.

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming sent a letter to the Smithsonian requesting all letters and e-mails about the “Arctic” exhibit. Officials at the congressionally chartered Smithsonian have denied that political concerns influenced the exhibit and said Tuesday that Sullivan’s allegations were erroneous.