About MCI
The Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute was founded in 1963 as the Conservation Research Laboratory of the United States National Museum. A year later it became the Conservation Analytical Laboratory (CAL), a name it retained for almost 25 years. It was renamed the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE) in 1998 when its new mandate was to formulate and conduct training and education programs in conservation.
The Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) better reflects our new mission: to become the center for specialized technical collections research and conservation for all Smithsonian museums and collections.