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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