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Collections Access
Current COVID-19 Operating Status
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History currently remains in a closed status for collections activities, including acquisition of collections, acceptance of donated collections, sampling, photography and other information or service requests, and incoming and outgoing loans. We appreciate your interest in resuming collections activities. Department collections staff will send updates as they become available.
Visit the Collections
The collections of the Department of Paleobiology are open to scientific researchers and students currently advised by researchers. Requests to visit the collections must be made at least two weeks in advance by sending a completed Visitor Registration Form to the applicable collections contact:
- Mark Florence, Deputy Collections Manager, Invertebrate Paleontology and Micropaleontology
florence@si.edu - Amanda Millhouse, Deputy Collections Manager, Vertebrate Paleontology
VertPaleoCollections@si.edu - Jonathan Wingerath, Deputy Collections Manager, Paleobotany and Sediments
wingerathj@si.edu
Please format the subject line of the email in the following format: Visit Request [Last Name] [Day Month Year of Arrival] (e.g. Visit Request Smith 01 Jan 2018). If you are a returning visitor, you must submit a new form for each visit. All students must also submit a letter of support from their advisors, vouching for their ability to work responsibly in our collections.
It is vital that you review the visitor guidelines linked below prior to your visit. These guidelines are in place to protect the collections and the individuals working with them, and to ensure the security of the department. All visitors are expected to be familiar with these polices and we reserve the right to revoke visitor privileges at our discretion.