What museums do with their items that aren’t on exhibit

A person can spend hours at one of Philadelphia’s museums and still walk out feeling like they didn’t get to see it all. But it isn’t just a feeling.

Most museums don’t put their full collections on display, said Laura Hortz Stanton, director of collections at the Penn Museum.

Curators decide what objects can best tell what their exhibition is trying to convey.

That led a reader to ask Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for answering questions, what happens to the items that don’t make the cut?

“They are definitely not just sitting there getting dusty in a room,” Hortz Stanton said.

Hortz Stanton said thousands of non-exhibited items in the Penn Museum’s collections found other purposes last year. And, 5,000 college students were able to use them for classes and research.

“A lot of things happen when objects aren’t on display, everything from conservation to research to documentation,” said Hortz Stanton.

Museums aim to protect their inventory, while still keeping items available.

The Museum of the American Revolution has a collection of 5,000 historical objects, such as archeological material, documents, paintings, prints, and other items. But only about 300 items are on exhibit.

“They are not buried away and never to be seen again; we store all the collection here at the museum,” said Matthew Skic, director of collections and exhibitions. “Many of our documents are not on display because they are extremely light-sensitive, but we take them on rotations.”

George Washington’s headquarters flag, for example, was put out for a special exhibition in 2025. The display was short-lived due to the brittleness of the silk. It’s now back in storage.

They are not the only ones keeping a rotation of unexhibited items for preservation. The Independence Seaport Museum keeps 60% to 80% of its 10,000 items in storage throughout the year.

”People often will say: Why are you hoarding all this stuff?” said Peter Seibert, the museum’s president and CEO. “That’s not the case; we want to get them out, it’s just that sometimes that is not always possible.”

His museum has items as small as a thimble and as big as a submarine and the cruiser Olympia. But, keeping textiles safe from moths and documents from crumbling requires proper conditions, including acid-free boxes.

For less-fragile items, life can go places.

Museums often loan storage items to one another. Penn Museum, for example, recently loaned part of its collection to the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi.

This doesn’t mean Philadelphians have lost the chance of seeing those items. Philly museums have benefited from getting items from other institution — such as the lunar module, which the Smithsonian lent to the Franklin Institute for 49 years. But these days, loaning contracts are much shorter, typically a year or two, Hortz Stanton said.

» READ MORE: Why the lunar module is leaving the Franklin Institute

“Collections are not storage, they are a living resource,” said Paul Callomon, the Academy of Natural Science malacology collections manager.

He views the 21 million items in the academy’s collection as an active resource to scientists all over the world. His department in particular has the third-largest shell collection in the world, he said, as well as a variety of fish, plants, and microscopic algae that are not usually available to everyday visitors.

Ornithology collection manager Jason Weckstein sees the non-exhibited items being put to use daily.

”We made study skins, so we actually skin the bird, and we retain the skin and dissect the body,” he said. “We take tissue samples and take data on the internal organs of the body.”

For years, Penn Museum had two large 14th century Buddhist murals on display in its rotunda space. But, construction forced them to be pulled down for their protection. What began as a precaution turned into a multi-year mural conservation project.

“Over time, things may crack or materials may weaken; our conservationists are able to stabilize this object so they can be stored safely or eventually reinstalled,” Hortz Stanton said.

The conservation process involves documenting the condition of the items, looking at what it needs for long-term care, cleaning, and measures to stabilize an object, said Skic.

The Academy of Natural Sciences and Penn Museum have many of their items cataloged in an online database. Researchers and students anywhere can make requests to see the material.

For Hortz Stanton, this conserves resources and protects fragile items.

”We are just one short part of the history of the things we are taking care of, a blip in time,” Hortz Stanton said. “The hope is that these objects are preserved for future generations.”

To make the items more available to the public, the Academy holds members’ night once a year. Animals, field books, photographs, and experimental projects not normally on exhibit become available for a night of knowledge.

Not a member? Callomon said anyone can tour the collection if they make arrangements.

“Bird clubs come for behind-the-scenes tours, and artists actually use our collection for bird field guides to study specimens,” Weckstein added.

The Museum of the American Revolution is also a bit more flexible with its collection, even granting access to descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers and people working on historical projects, Skic said.

“These items are tangible connections to America’s founding era,” Skic said. “They serve as a way to learn about those events and make sure people know these are real people, real events, and that those events continue to shape our lives today.”