NEW YORK (AFP).- Billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a $50 million gift for Boston's Museum of Science, fondly recalling hours spent there as a child that helped lay the foundation for his later success.

The museum is "where I learned to ask questions, to recognize just how much there is to learn about the world, and to follow science wherever it leads," said Bloomberg, 74, who grew up in the Boston suburb of Medford.

"Those mornings were the highlight of my weeks, and they helped define the course of my life," the businessman reminisced in a statement.

The Museum of Science, which opened its doors in 1864, welcomes about 1.5 million visitors each year, many of them school children who flock to its interactive displays and hands-on exhibits.

Museum president Ioannis Miaoulis exulted over the donation, the largest in the institution's history.

"This generous gift dramatically expands our capacity to make science, technology, engineering and math accessible to all," he said in a statement.  

One of America's richest men with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine to total some $41.7 billion, Bloomberg is a former mayor of New York who has flirted in the past with running for the White House. 

Most recently, he briefly weighed a run in 2016 before opting to stay out of the race and endorsing Hillary Clinton.



© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse