Museum Property
Museum property comes in many forms, all with characteristics
that make it worthy of long-term preservation and management. Museum
property at the USGS consists of natural history specimens, historic
objects, documents and art. The Museum Property management program
objectives are to identify, preserve, and interpret museum objects
that are stored and exhibited at USGS facilities and installations.
This unique collection serves to illustrate important achievements
and challenges to the Earth Sciences, to document the history of
USGS, and to enlighten those who use the collection. The collection
also provides the public with an interpretive demonstration of
the history and enterprise of the USGS.
The museum collection, although limited in magnitude, consists
of objects and specimens from various offices and laboratories
across the nation. The collection is primarily made up of natural
history specimens and cultural historical objects including works
of art. These items serve to illustrate and document the mission
and/or history of the USGS. Many of these items are antiquated
scientific equipment and are valued for their capacity to document
the bureau's history. Although photographs of much of this equipment
are not yet available to post on this website, an exhibit of a
1930 Model A Ford used by USGS geologists to survey Death Valley,
California, during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s can be found in the Exhibits section
of our website.
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