Dorothy’s ruby red slippers in need of repairs, and you can help

There’s no place like home.

And home for one of the few remaining pairs of the famous ruby red slippers worn by Dorothy in the 1939 film classic “Wizard of Oz,” is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

The slippers, however, are starting to show their age, fraying and becoming discolored.

So the Smithsonian has started a Kickstarter campaign on Monday to pay for cleaning and studying the sequins and build a new case to store and protect the slippers. They’ve even created a social media campaign, #KeepThemRuby.

The Smithsonian hopes to raise $300,000 with its campaign. So far, more than 600 people have donated more than $25,000 for the project.

The Smithsonian held a crowdsourcing campaign to renovate space suits worn by Neil Armstrong and Alan Shepard and it raised more than $719,000.

The Smithsonian has had the slippers since 1979 and they are one of the most popular displays at the museum.

“The materials are incredibly sensitive. If we’re not able to limit a lot of the deterioration issues that are going on currently. It could really shorten their lifespan,” said Dawn Wallace, conservator at the National Museum of American History.

This story was originally published October 17, 2016 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Dorothy’s ruby red slippers in need of repairs, and you can help."