12 Amazing Photos of the Smithsonian's Secret Collections

The Smithsonian Institution has a seemingly endless collection of artifacts and museum pieces on display, but you may not know that they have huge warehouses filled with everything from rocks to boxes of mice. This large percentage of the Institution's collection is meticulously organized in warehouses cared for by hundred of staff that work around the clock. When you walk into the Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. you are presented with a staggering amount of displays. It is then hard to believe that beneath those walls lie artifacts housed mostly in secret. Check out a small peak of everything the Smithsonian has stored away.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Lots and lots of stuffed birds and other animals are stored in drawers and cabinets, all labeled and constantly organized. You can start to see the staggering percentage of what is locked up in comparison to what is on display.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

A look at the paleobiology room and all of the fossils contained therein. If you are looking for a specific fossilized animal to study, you can probably find it in the labyrinth of rows.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Every shell you can imagine, from the most common to those of the rarest creatures are carefully placed in padded boxes and stored for study at a later date. It would be incredible to walk through even an isle of these archives and see everything you could ever dream of.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Bugs, butterflies, beetles, everything. If insects are your thing, then you will love this row of drawers where you can find endless specimens of every insect imaginable. At this point you might be beginning to notice that having only one of something isn't something that the Smithsonian does often, and if they do, it's probably because it's an ultra rare specimen.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Who knew that there were endless sheets of flattened algae stored away to study, and organize. You would have to be an expert to tell the differences between many of these specimens.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

In the above picture, you can get a sense of not only the scale of certain artifacts, but the scale of the the warehouses the collections are stored in. Be thankful that there are people out there like the Smithsonian institution tirelessly preserving history.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Above you can see all tall stacks of flattened plant specimens and various other petrified woods.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Not only does the collection house scientific artifacts, but cultural ones as well, and they do a great job at preserving the history and emotion of past peoples.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Every rock and mineral you could ever imagine is labeled by location, type, origin, etc. all stored away for those who need to study them.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Bigger rooms are needed for some of the larger pieces, like the whale skeleton pictured above in scattered parts.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

Yes, even drawers of perfectly preserved rats and mice are stored in the collection. The exact purpose is not really clear, but if anything they are storing knowledge about species variations or genetic mutations throughout various generations.

[Image Source: Smithsonian]

What's in those jars you ask? Fish, there are rows and rows of jars filled with fish preserved in formaldehyde in case anyone needs to study them. This would be one area you would want to be really careful to not knock anything over. Nobody wants to clean that up.

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