Why 99% Of Smithsonian's Specimens Are Hidden In High-Security | Big Business | Business Insider 

The lady: The most venomous in the world Also the lady: *Oops*

As a museum worker, I need to correct this video on one glaring error: the collections aren't in 'secret' storage, it's in 'secure' storage. The difference is that secure means that it has humidity control and safe storage systems. Secret implies that no-one can access them, they can be by researchers and sometimes for public tours.

Working at the Smithsonian must be a dream job for any scientist or researcher. Having that much access to millions of artifacts would be unreal.

In 100 years this is going to be that much more jaw dropping if that was even possible. Imagine having this archive back 200 years ago what we could have seen.

Now THIS is something I want my tax dollars to go towards. Protecting and preserving natural history is so important. I could watch an entire series on the collections the Smithsonian has.

I really appreciate the private collectors who donated their one-of-a-kind specimens for the public to learn about and enjoy rather than keeping it locked in their basement somewhere. EDIT: Enter these dumpster fire comments at your own risk 🤦‍♀️🗑

Carla's smile at 11:26 might the sweetest smile I've seen on a human being, like ever. She seems like such a lovely, knowledgeable lady!

5:40 love that. perfect cut, perfect editing, perfect specimen

You could make a multi part, hour+ long episodes, released over the course of a decade on the unseen specimens. The museums collection is inconceivably enormous.

As a botanist, I really appreciate the efforts to digitalize the plants specimens. This save me a lot of time and money and speed research

This should become a series!! I could watch 100 more episodes of these

I’m so here for this. As a museum collections manager in a natural history and culture museum it’s so awesome to see people learn about a really cool part of the museum profession that isn’t just “curator”. I’m beyond blessed to get to work with thousands of butterflies one day to critically endangered bird specimens and taxidermy the next, and in between assess the condition of ancient books/civil war-era weapons, photos that most people have never and will never see let alone touch and so much more. Collections Management/Archival Management is so cool and needs more attention like this

We definitely need a whole series on each department. These collections must be shared

i love how the butterflies are well kept, inside the glass and well arranged, meanwhile the birds where just like what my 5 year old sister would hoard

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum was already my favorite museum, but this video makes me love the museum even more.

i had a field trip in highschool to the san francisco science museum and we were so fortunate enough to see a lot of things they had in the back since we had a worker guiding us through it wow very appreciative of that

We as the public can’t see this, could you imagine how popular a Netflix series of this collection could be?! I’d personally LOVE to watch that!! Just watching this, especially then hearing about the damage threat, I’d be far more inclined to donate regularly! We need a continuous documentary series on the specimens there and what’s being done with them and they need to include the link to the Smithsonian donation site to donate once or regularly.

As I understand it, this is in fact the main purpose of museums. They have their display areas, of course, but they've always been meant to be something like physical libraries, a large collection of physical specimens in a particular scientific discipline that's curated mostly for use by professionals who know the significance of the objects and the necessary care required to even *view* them without damaging them.

I have to say, this was one of the most fascinating video's I've watched. I'm so incredibly envious of the work that these people do. So trying, yet so rewarding.. Awesome video, thank you.

I took a class at the Smithsonian long ago. The instructor took us into the storage area to see some rare specimens. The size and organization of the storage area is amazing. This story scratches the surface of what resides in this national treasure.

"Most venomous in the world - whoops!"🤣 I know it's probably no threat as a wet specimen, but it still sounded hilarious.

Insider is one of the best thing I find and love on you tube...kudos to its members😘

How marvellous to see such a diversity of animal , insect , aquatic , flora and gems at the fingers of the scientists who can study and learn and pass on the information to future generations that May save lives or rescue species on the verge of extinction. Let's hope that they can keep the collection safe from flooding and get the essential funding they need to accommodate the collection safely so the generations ahead can continue to add more specimens to the Smithsonian.

I love how passionate and genuine these people are. they love their jobs and want to preserve what we have now not for us, but for those we will never know. something about it makes me really emotional

I think if we had a series of these kinds of videos the Smithsonian might receive more donations from viewers who are interested in preserving history & learning what we can of our world.

It has always wanted to work in a museum with a large paleo biology collection! I've always had a fascination with those who came before us, and a large natural history collection is something straight out of a dream to me!

Amazing! Thank you for sharing. This is on my bucket list!

0:17 "Whoops" This really got me

This is the case for most museums. I've worked with several and I doubt more than 1% of their actual collection was ever on display at one time.

This group of people seem like not only the most intelligent people, but most chill too.

My favorite animal in the world is the giant squid, and I knew that they have one stored here, what I didn’t know was that they have another one inside the museum that anyone can see. I had to hold back tears when I saw it. This place is so amazing

When I was a child I signed up to go to a camp held by the NC natural history museum, but I ended up getting sick and missed the entire thing. As compensation I was given a tour behind the scenes and let me tell you they had hundreds of animals back there, and I don't mean just specimens, I mean they were actually alive, from American bullfrogs, to rabbits, to young alligators. Truly a memorable experience

I see this no differently than the seed vault. This is of the utmost importance for future generations. I can only imagine how with technological advances these preserved specimens will become even more relevant. Notwithstanding the above people don’t often realize there are SO MANY engineering related changes that only happen because of the study of the natural world, from an owls wing structure to reduce noise on the turbine blades of a jet plane to mosquito and honeybee stingers that lead to needles that reduce tissue damage. Thanks for the share and I hope that the Smithsonian receives the funding it deserves to ensure the safekeeping of all of these irreplaceable species!

They also have thousands of artifacts from native tribes that could be used in much better ways than in storage.

I have been in these vaults! It was part of a research I was doing with a professor during a summer between semesters!

The Smithsonian museum has been the most awe-inspiring thing I've ever witnessed. It's absolutely remarkable.

I love this museum. And most museums with unusual collections. One museum in the Harvard university has thousands of flowers that are made from highly skilled glass blowers. So delicate & works of art.

i adore the Smithsonian natural history museum! it’s just amazing! if your ever in DC definitely go experience it! my personal favorite section is the mineral section! it’s mesmerizing

My father was curator of invertebrate zoology which meant I got access to the attic as a little kid among other cool things that are responsible for how I live my life. In his 80s still working fighting cancer yet again but the ocean is his life too. Thanks dad, you rock.

The last part where scrapes was mailed and she was identifying the bird based on that was intense. Such small things leading to big things like adjusting the flight trainings, saving both human and birds lives.

As the video briefly mentioned. After a bird strike snarge and feathers are collected and sent to the Smithsonian for identification. Knowing what type of bird caused the damage is key to determining what phase of flight it was in and so whose insurance is on the hook for the damage. I am amazed at their ability to quickly identify the former bird brain.

Heck I wish there was a digital museum where we can see collections online.

I had the opportunity of examining freshwater and terrestrial mollusks in the malacological collection at the Smithsonian. Even with several visits, I saw only a portion of this collection.

I would be more than happy and honored to pay tax to support museums and organizations like this. These works are profoundly important to the entire human race.

I have just found out that such a beautiful, unique, and peculiar place exists on the planet. Amazing!

Please please preserve those infinitely valuable collections for the future scientists and science!!!

they should make an effort to take 3D scans of every item that isn’t on public display so that the public could view them all in VR

I’ll never forget my local museum held a exhibition entirely on bones and it was filled w/ animal skeletons and skulls within a completely white hall

This is interesting for history preservation!

This is beyond fascinating but its so cute that Carla Dove is the living epitome of nominative determinism :)

If you asked me to imagine what a person is like whose job it is to research and catalog parts of the animal that remain from bird strikes on commercial aircraft, Carla Dove is pretty much EXACTLY who I would have pictured.

I visited several of the Smithsonian museums (there’s more than one) 30 years ago. Gemstones twice the size of a football 😳 and a giant meteorite composed entirely of copper are just some of the things I saw.

I hope that the museum gets the funding it needs, personally I am fine with some of the tax payer money going to the museum.

A bird strike can be really really small or an absolute disaster. I’ve seen gigantic holes, engines destroyed, and some just minor dings. Collecting the samples was always seen as a hassle and a task left to the lowest ranking. I understood why it was important though and didn’t mind. The air crew would have to annotate when in the flight it happened and at what altitude (if they even noticed) and send it off with the remains. Having to clean it all up was a big hassle. I never did see the post reports of what the actually birds it was…. On any of them come to think of, we did have to call out someone because a porcupine wondered out on the flight line. Spent 2 hours with a set of pliers pulling the quills out of the landing gear tires. Still keep up the good work it has a purpose.

I'm an entomologist, and I've worked with specimens in the Smithsonian as well as having donated specimens, including the 'type' specimen of a species of yellow jacket I described during my graduate study. (A type specimen is one that is selected to represent a newly-recognized species by serving as a 'standard' or reference for that species, and a description of the species must be published in the scientific literature with a description of that type specimen [including where and when collected], and generally with additional notes indicating how it is different from closely-related species.) Although the flesh-eating beetles (dermestid beetles) are useful in cleaning many vertebrate specimens, they are disastrous if they get into the insect collections (or other collections of dried animals) because they can turn the specimens into little piles of dust by laying eggs resulting in their larvae eating them up. Some of the scientists based at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History are actually employees of the US Department of Agriculture, because some of the taxa (such insects, weeds, etc.) have implications for food production. At least with insects, this museum, and most other natural history museums, often have a huge backlog of specimens for which the scientific name isn't known--that is, many species look much alike, and it requires someone with knowledge of that group of animals (or plants) to recognize which species they have. Therefore, such museums are usually very happy when someone with this expertise is willing to take the time to label the specimens with the name of the correct species. Insects and other small specimens can often be loaned to a person willing and able to do this work, while large or fragile specimens require someone to visit the museum to do this. Each department in the museum typically has several specialists, each of whom is responsible for that part of the collection that contains specimens of his/her particular interest and expertise, and this is generally the person to contact if one needs to examine these specimens

I went to high school in Washington DC. When we first went there my father took my family to the Smithsonian, which is actually made up of six or seven buildings each dedicated to a different part of science. After that at least once a month I would cut school and go to the Smithsonian and spend all day wandering around one of the buildings. About the fifth time that I did this I got caught by my parents but my father actually thought that going to the Smithsonian instead of going to my public school was probably better for my education and didn't punish me at all! If you ever go make sure you go to the building that houses the Hope Diamond because it is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life.

this is so amazing❤️

"The most venomous in the world" *drops it* "whoopsie" 😂

If we were to create a video which shows every specimen for just one second, it would be over 4.5 years long.

7:52 "This is Ancient Babylon OG and it's 25$ a G ... it's some fire"

Idk why but that split second "squirrel" at 5:40 just gets me.

This is absolutely fascinating! They should do a docuseries aout what we don’t get to see at the museums.

The fact that I’ve lived next to the Smithsonian Museum Institute my whole life and never knew the immense collection in the buildings blows my mind! Now I know.. took 30 years.. geez!

Yea a place for 2400 AD if it doesn’t burn down due to politics :/ imagine how much data was lost when the great library of Alexandria burned down :/

Has any other members of the public been inside the smithsonian too? I was let in when I was about 11 as my mum worked at the museum. I shook hands with that coelacanth! Creepy stuff!!

It’s because that’s where they’re hiding all the giant skeletons

Worker: “This is the most poisonous fish in the world!” Also Worker: *drops most poisonous fish in the world* “eh, whoops!” 🤦🏻‍♀️

Imagine how thrilled this worlds largest scientific collection agency would be if they had access to stasis fields. Nothing would ever deteriorate or change even on a sub atomic level so long as the field is active.

“Most venomous in the world…..oops”. 😂😂😂

Totally would have to set a two day plan for this museum, I spent 6 hours in the American museum of natural history in Manhattan and still didn’t hit everything I wanted to! My next birthday trip is to D.C solely for the Smithsonian !!

It’d be so cool to get more videos like this, just going over all the different departments and people involved in it and all that. I’d love to hear more about all the unique things like Ms. Dove and her bird research that helps planes, I find things like that so intriguing

IMO one of our greatest responsibilities as the dominant species on this planet is to collect and pass along information to the next generation so nothing is forgotten. Could you imagine 100 years from now, kids will still be able to go to a museum and look at creatures from before/during our time. Data collection and management is one of humans strongest attributes.

The way she just DROPS the specimen and says oops…

I wonder where they are hiding all the Giant skeletal remains ????

5:38 "squirrel" My favorite part of the video.

This makes me really sad that we’ve lost as many species as we have…

I love the entire drawer of dead birds lmao. Macabre yet hilarious

I've done work with them "behind the scenes". I can confirm there are millions of items back there, but none of them "are purposely hidden from the public." Many of the items are back there because they are still being studied, but most of them are there SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE IS NO REASONABLE WAY TO DISPLAY THEM ALL TO THE PUBLIC IN A WAY THAT IS EDUCATIONALLY VALUABLE!

I think creating a television series on these specimens is a great idea.

they're also keeping Nephilim skeleton bones, but we don't talk about those...

Most impressive thing inever seen so cool how they preserve history

I've gotten to work in both the hidden collection and the off-site area. It's epic-it'd be physically impossible to display all of the amazing things they have

That is so beautiful. I live in Brazil, here our museums also have amazing collections but they always end up turning to ashes because our governments don't care about preserving them. Every few years we also make videos about our museums, disappearing in fires like the National Museum in 2018.

Very impressive work.

❤im so glad this musuem exists... using beatles to clean the bones is so genius 🙌 ... and i would love to know more about these i wish they would share more information.. i also hope they keep up the good work im so grateful people like them exist❤

I LOVE the fact that Carla Doves favorite birds are chicken. She literally know so many species but choose chicken.

So glad that the Smithonian is continuing to catalog, and record important scientific research data.

Seeing so many ppl handle these priceless artifacts without gloves and dropping them makes me SO NERVOUS

Thank you Business insider for informing me that the Smithsonian institute is the biggest hoarder in the world. God bless you.

Im glad that the Smithsonian is still one of the biggest collections in the world, and still get donations from private collectors to this day. Really i love collecting, so i appreciate a collection as incredible as the Smithsonian

I would be in absolute heaven if I worked in a place like this. Everyday there would be something to learn, see, or explore ❤

I don’t see any bones of giant humans. Not even a mention of them. It’s been documented several times throughout history that these were donated or sold to the Smithsonian but where are they?

Fascinating!

If I had Musk/Bezos money, I'd be endowing billions to the Smithsonian and similar museums. They are far more important than joy rides o space.

These folks have such awesome jobs! I've wanted to do this since I was a kid. My parents used to bring me to the museum of Natural History. I even set a museum up in my room. I eventually got a BS in Biology but, went into medicine and health education. 👋🏾👨🏾‍⚕️

Can we use photo scan technology to make a virtual museum for these? It would be really good to see most of this collection online. And this part of the video just showed as I was typing, wow

The vast size of this and many british museums worries me extensively. Such an insane amount of history could be destroyed by a few maniacs and some bombs, and in this day and age such a nonsensical act seems far too possible

As someone who dreams about owning annual passes to every museum and zoo on Earth, dropping that stonefish gave me a heart attack.

less than 30 seconds in and we dropping some of these suckers already

Hans Sues really seems like a fun and joyful person to talk to :D