Trip to Smithsonian Museum Support Center

Friday August 5 was the CCASM trip to the Smithsonian Museum Support Center in Suitland where we toured a small part of the National Museum of Natural History archaeology collections.  This was the highest rated option on our survey for a week day CCASM trip during the summer.

Carol S, Josh, Phil, and Robin in back
with Elsie and Sheila in front looking at parkas

Jim describing drawer contents

James Krakker, the archaeological collections specialist in the Department of Anthropology, showed us just a small fraction of some of the objects from North America.  He indicated there was the equivalent of an acre of storage for archaeology and ethnology.  Of course, we had to see the collections from Maryland.  Also we saw how artifacts were catalogued in the 1800's, where collections were processed, and how the collections were stored.

It was quite an interesting trip.

Click on NMNH Anthropology Collections to learn more about the collections.

Museum Support Center

The tour was set up by Carol Cowherd who volunteers for Jim Krakker at the MSC.