A Rare Look Inside The Specimen Collections At The Smithsonian’s Museum Of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is the largest in the Smithsonian Institution. It houses over 126 million specimens including plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, and other ancient artifacts.

These artifacts represent over 90% of the Institution’s collections. The large collections are stored behind walls while a small number of them are put on public display.

The organization of the artifacts require meticulous organization so that they are well cataloged and preserved.

Feather identification expert Roxie Laybourne: NMNH’s bird collection.

Anthropology

Entomology

Invertebrate Zoology

Mineral Sciences

Botany

Anthropology

Fish

Mammals

Botany – Algae

Mammals – whales

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(Photos by Chip Clark, found on the Smithsonian Collections.) (h/t Designyoutrust)