Smithsonian Museum Support Center, Research museum facility in Suitland, United States
The Smithsonian Museum Support Center is a storage and research facility in Suitland, Maryland, part of the Smithsonian Institution, housing millions of objects from across its collections. The complex consists of five large warehouse buildings where artifacts from natural science, history, and culture are stored and studied.
The center opened in 1983 to bring the storage and care of Smithsonian collections together in one place outside Washington. Before that, collections were scattered across different locations, which made conservation work more difficult.
The center is not a public museum but a working facility where researchers and conservators handle objects from natural science, history, and culture every day. Visitors who arrange a visit in advance can watch specialists examine and care for collection items up close.
Access to the center requires an advance appointment, and visitors must bring valid photo identification on the day of their visit. The facility is open on weekdays during standard business hours, so planning ahead is a good idea.
One of the buildings contains a live insect colony used by researchers to clean and study certain collection objects through a process called dermestid beetle cleaning. This biological method allows scientists to remove soft tissue from specimens without damaging the underlying material.
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