Get Smithsonian Institution Archives

The Smithsonian Institution Archives collects, preserves, and makes available the official records of the Smithsonian Institution, the papers of Smithsonian scholars and other staff members, and the records of related professional organizations.

In total, these impressively diverse and valuable collections measure over 156,000 cubic feet! Archival collections are kept because they provide documentary evidence of past events, created by those who lived it.

Explore the breadth and splendor of the Museum's collection through some of our most significant and beautiful artifacts and specimens. Collections of real objects are what this museum is all about.

Visit the Collections Therefore, we suggest that you request your appointment at least a month in advance. Please wait for confirmation of an appointment before making travel plans: Request an appointment. (Access to archives is also by appointment only, using the same form.)

Collections. Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde.

Hours and Admission These two Smithsonian Museums are connected by an underground exhibition space. They feature wide-ranging collections of American, Egyptian and Asian art works. Objects include paintings, manuscripts, ceramics and lacquerwork, precious metals, calligraphy, glass and earthenware.

One of the first such facilities in the world, MSC was designed to address the needs of collections storage, conservation, and research. Located in Suitland, Maryland, this state-of-the-art facility houses more than 31 million objects.

THE SMITHSONIAN'S unrivaled collections—138 million objects and specimens, two million library volumes, and 157,000 cubic feet of archival material, all constantly growing—enable these journeys, which can happen nowhere else on Earth.

There is not an underground storage facility or archive under the National Mall. As Around the Mall blog and others have reported, this myth may have been perpetuated by the movie Night at the Museum, but there are no storage facilities under the Mall.

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an international system of 21 library branches and an institutional archives. It maintains a collection of almost 3 million volumes and 44,000 cubic feet of archival materials.

Browse the website of the Library of Congress at http://.loc.gov/index.html. The Library of Congress is America's national library, and the world's largest. Visit the website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at http://.archives.gov/.

Smithsonian Institution Archives—41,454 cubic feet of archival material. The Archives contains the official records—paper and digital—of the Smithsonian, as well as personal papers, special collections, records of professional societies, and oral/video histories of the Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives collects, preserves, and makes available the official records of the Smithsonian Institution, the papers of Smithsonian scholars and other staff members, and the records of related professional organizations.

In total, these impressively diverse and valuable collections measure over 156,000 cubic feet! Archival collections are kept because they provide documentary evidence of past events, created by those who lived it.

Explore the breadth and splendor of the Museum's collection through some of our most significant and beautiful artifacts and specimens. Collections of real objects are what this museum is all about.

Visit the Collections Therefore, we suggest that you request your appointment at least a month in advance. Please wait for confirmation of an appointment before making travel plans: Request an appointment. (Access to archives is also by appointment only, using the same form.)

Collections. Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde.

Hours and Admission These two Smithsonian Museums are connected by an underground exhibition space. They feature wide-ranging collections of American, Egyptian and Asian art works. Objects include paintings, manuscripts, ceramics and lacquerwork, precious metals, calligraphy, glass and earthenware.

One of the first such facilities in the world, MSC was designed to address the needs of collections storage, conservation, and research. Located in Suitland, Maryland, this state-of-the-art facility houses more than 31 million objects.

THE SMITHSONIAN'S unrivaled collections—138 million objects and specimens, two million library volumes, and 157,000 cubic feet of archival material, all constantly growing—enable these journeys, which can happen nowhere else on Earth.

There is not an underground storage facility or archive under the National Mall. As Around the Mall blog and others have reported, this myth may have been perpetuated by the movie Night at the Museum, but there are no storage facilities under the Mall.

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an international system of 21 library branches and an institutional archives. It maintains a collection of almost 3 million volumes and 44,000 cubic feet of archival materials.

Browse the website of the Library of Congress at http://.loc.gov/index.html. The Library of Congress is America's national library, and the world's largest. Visit the website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at http://.archives.gov/.

Smithsonian Institution Archives—41,454 cubic feet of archival material. The Archives contains the official records—paper and digital—of the Smithsonian, as well as personal papers, special collections, records of professional societies, and oral/video histories of the Smithsonian.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives collects, preserves, and makes available the official records of the Smithsonian Institution, the papers of Smithsonian scholars and other staff members, and the records of related professional organizations.

In total, these impressively diverse and valuable collections measure over 156,000 cubic feet! Archival collections are kept because they provide documentary evidence of past events, created by those who lived it.

Explore the breadth and splendor of the Museum's collection through some of our most significant and beautiful artifacts and specimens. Collections of real objects are what this museum is all about.

Visit the Collections Therefore, we suggest that you request your appointment at least a month in advance. Please wait for confirmation of an appointment before making travel plans: Request an appointment. (Access to archives is also by appointment only, using the same form.)

Collections. Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde.

Hours and Admission These two Smithsonian Museums are connected by an underground exhibition space. They feature wide-ranging collections of American, Egyptian and Asian art works. Objects include paintings, manuscripts, ceramics and lacquerwork, precious metals, calligraphy, glass and earthenware.

One of the first such facilities in the world, MSC was designed to address the needs of collections storage, conservation, and research. Located in Suitland, Maryland, this state-of-the-art facility houses more than 31 million objects.

THE SMITHSONIAN'S unrivaled collections—138 million objects and specimens, two million library volumes, and 157,000 cubic feet of archival material, all constantly growing—enable these journeys, which can happen nowhere else on Earth.

There is not an underground storage facility or archive under the National Mall. As Around the Mall blog and others have reported, this myth may have been perpetuated by the movie Night at the Museum, but there are no storage facilities under the Mall.

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an international system of 21 library branches and an institutional archives. It maintains a collection of almost 3 million volumes and 44,000 cubic feet of archival materials.

Browse the website of the Library of Congress at http://.loc.gov/index.html. The Library of Congress is America's national library, and the world's largest. Visit the website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at http://.archives.gov/.

Smithsonian Institution Archives—41,454 cubic feet of archival material. The Archives contains the official records—paper and digital—of the Smithsonian, as well as personal papers, special collections, records of professional societies, and oral/video histories of the Smithsonian.