Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science says its crowdfunding campaign has raised more than 900 million yen, or about 6 million dollars, far exceeding its original target of 100 million yen.

The head of the museum, Shinoda Kenichi, and other officials told a news conference on Monday that more than 56,000 people had contributed to the campaign that ended the previous day.

The museum launched the drive on August 7, saying it was struggling to collect and preserve specimens due to the severe financial strain caused by soaring utility costs and other factors.

The museum’s collection of more than 5 million items, including animal, plant and fossil specimens, is one of the largest in Japan.

Museum officials told reporters that they will spend about 2 million dollars on return gifts and fees.

They said they plan to use the rest of the money to build an additional storage facility in Tsukuba City to manage the growing number of specimens and to further improve the collection.

Shinoda said the crowdfunding has been a great success, and a far larger number of people provided support than had been expected.

He also said officials believe the increased awareness of the museum’s financial difficulties was the main factor behind the success of the campaign.

Shinoda expressed hope that the museum will continue to receive donations.