Our Research and Collections

Since its founding in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History has been a world leader in the natural sciences.

The Museum's research enterprise includes world-class facilities, a global field expedition program, the Richard Gilder Graduate School, and one of the most important scientific collections on the planet, which is an invaluable resource for approximately 170 Museum scientists and for scholars from around the world. 

Scientific Collections

Find out how scientific collections benefit science and society, how they are used and maintained, and why they are deposited at the American Museum of Natural History.

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Tagged specimen jar. R. Mickens/© AMNH

Research Divisions

Research Physical Sciences The Division of Physical Sciences focuses on galaxies, stars, and planets, with a particular emphasis on planet Earth.  Research Anthropology The Division of Anthropology is concerned with all aspects of human behavior, past, present, and with an eye to the future.  Research Invertebrate Zoology The Division of Invertebrate Zoology studies and archives non-vertebrate animals, which make up 95% of all animal species. Research Vertebrate Zoology The Division of Vertebrate Zoology focuses on animals with backbones—fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Research Paleontology The Division of Paleontology seeks to describe the diversity of extinct organisms.

Collections and Databases

Collection Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection Database View the Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection database. Database Amphibian Species Database View the Amphibian Species of the World database. Collection Anthropology Database View over 250,000 ethnographic and archaeological objects. Collection Invertebrate Zoology Database View the Invertebrate Zoology type specimens database. Collection Paleontology Database View the Paleontology collections database. Collection Vertebrate Zoology Database View the database for herpetology ichthyology, mammalogy, and ornithology collections. Database World Spider Catalog View the database for spider species.

Science News

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Blog Post Why Do Birds Lay Such Big Eggs? A New Study Suggests the Answer Lies in Their Brains New research finds that birds, the only living dinosaurs, evolved larger eggs as their brains got bigger.  Blog Post New Research Shows “Proto-Turtle” May Not Be a Turtle Relative After All Study finds ancient reptile Eunotosaurus africanus is not in the turtle tree of life, changing turtle shells’
Blog Post Fossil Trove Expands Range of Squishy Early Animals Blog Post New Recording of Sperm Whale Birth Shows Caregiving Takes a Pod Blog Post Bony Inner Ears Offer Clues to Lizard Evolutionary Relationships, But Not Ancient Habitats Blog Post Study Explores How Pterosaurs Evolved a Flight-ready Brain

Resources

Scientific Publications

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Research Library

Our research collection is made up of more than 450,000 volumes.

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Collections & Databases

We are a collections-based museum with millions of objects.