American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History will rehouse, conserve, and catalog the recently acquired Mapes Collection of 540,000 marine fossils, one of the largest acquisitions in its recent history. The collection is of high scientific value and fills an important chronological gap in the museum's invertebrate paleontology holdings; it also contains hundreds of type specimens as well as exquisitely preserved and unique individual specimens. Rehousing and conservation will protect the physical specimens, while cataloging and databasing will ensure essential tools are in place for effective collection management - retrieving specimens, monitoring the collection for risks, and maintaining an accurate inventory. The Mapes Collection will provide a valuable resource for special exhibitions and education programs for students, teachers, and the general public. Project results will be disseminated through the museum's website, interns' blogs, staff presentations and posters at professional meetings, and notes published in relevant journals.