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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Collections from the Dept. of Paleobiology

Research &
Collections

Beyond the Museum's exhibitions lies a labyrinth of hallways, vast storage rooms
and busy offices, all filled with the sights and sounds of discovery.

Dennis Stanford and other anthropologists practicing the use of atlatls in the sunset
Anthropology
Botany banner image
Botany
Department of Entomology
Entomology
Swimming crab perched on a mollusk shell
Invertebrate Zoology
Banded iron formation
Mineral Sciences
Image depicts a rock slab containing many trilobites of various sizes and taxa
Paleobiology
a kingfisher sits with a fish in mouth
Vertebrate Zoology
Special message to researchers: In response to COVID-19, the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History is implementing precautionary measures to help reduce the spread of the virus, including limiting access to facilities. The safety of our staff, visitors, and communities are our first priority. As of March 14, 2020 the NMNH temporarily closed to the public. That closure now includes access to the NMNH collections via scientific visits or outgoing loans. Users may continue to access collections information via collections.si.edu. Please do not ship collections such as returned loans to the museum at this time. We will reopen when we are advised that it is safe to do so.

Our Collections

Eminent scientists, specimens, books and papers, microscopes, and sophisticated computer systems: Welcome to the realm of NMNH Research and Collections. In this university-like atmosphere, scientists delve deep into the history of our planet and the processes and peoples that shape it today.

Museum explorers travel to ocean depths, the peaks of the Andes, Africa's Rift Valley, the rainforests of South America, and the deserts of Central Asia. Perhaps even to a field site or research institution in your own state, territory or country. In each area, researchers collect specimens: fossils, minerals, and rocks, plants and animals, tools and artworks. Collections care professionals have meticulously preserved, labeled, cataloged, and organized items of this kind for more than 150 years. 

Taken together, the NMNH collections form the largest, most comprehensive natural history collection in the world. By comparing items gathered in different eras and regions, scientists learn how our world has varied across time and space.

145 million items in our ever-growing collections!

Learn More About Our Collections

Search the Museum Collections

Specimen Loans

Museum Collections Policies
The staff of the Natural Museum of Natural History under Phoenix the whale in the Sant Ocean Hall.

Our Experts

Museum staff work onsite and around the world to gather new knowledge and collection items. Our curators work to preserve and maintain almost 150 million items. Support staff help to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Scientific Staff
Did you know?

Altogether the Museum is the size of 18 football fields!

Facilities & Labs

Aerial view of Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
Photograph of scientists working in a LAB space
Laboratories of Analytical Biology
Biorepository Nitrogen Tanks
Biorepository
Photograph of whale bone storage at the museum support center
Museum Support Center
A photograph of dermestid insects amongst cardboard boxes holding animal remains
Osteology Prep Lab
Did you know?

The Museum research community is home to over 450 scientists.

Programs

Encyclopedia of Life

Global Genome Initiative

Human Origins

Oceans
Did you know?

There are all sorts of opportunities at the Museum for research & study, crossing many educational levels!

Internships & Fellowships