Philadelphia Museums Showcase Unseen Collections

Thousands of museum items not on public display are used for research, education, and preservation.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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Most Philadelphia museums don't exhibit their full collections, with curators selecting only the objects that best fit their exhibitions. But the thousands of non-exhibited items are far from just sitting in storage gathering dust. Museums use these items for research, education, conservation, and even loaning to other institutions. While the public may not see these items regularly, museums aim to make them accessible to students, scholars, and special interest groups.

Why it matters

Philadelphia's museums hold vast collections that tell the story of the region's history, culture, and natural world. By understanding how these institutions manage and utilize their non-exhibited items, the public can appreciate the active role these collections play in education, research, and preservation, even if the general public doesn't see them on display.

The details

The Penn Museum has thousands of non-exhibited items that are used by 5,000 college students annually for classes and research. The Museum of the American Revolution has a collection of 5,000 historical objects, but only about 300 are on exhibit at a time. The Independence Seaport Museum keeps 60-80% of its 10,000 items in storage to preserve them. Museums often loan storage items to each other, and make them available to researchers and special interest groups upon request.

  • In 2025, the Museum of the American Revolution displayed George Washington's headquarters flag for a special exhibition, but had to return it to storage due to the silk's brittleness.

The players

Laura Hortz Stanton

Director of collections at the Penn Museum.

Matthew Skic

Director of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution.

Peter Seibert

President and CEO of the Independence Seaport Museum.

Paul Callomon

Malacology collections manager at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Jason Weckstein

Ornithology collection manager at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

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What they’re saying

“They are definitely not just sitting there getting dusty in a room.”

— Laura Hortz Stanton, Director of collections (inquirer.com)

“They are not buried away and never to be seen again; we store all the collection here at the museum.”

— Matthew Skic, Director of collections and exhibitions (inquirer.com)

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

— Peter Seibert, President and CEO (inquirer.com)

“Collections are not storage, they are a living resource.”

— Paul Callomon, Malacology collections manager (inquirer.com)

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

— Jason Weckstein, Ornithology collection manager (inquirer.com)

What’s next

The Academy of Natural Sciences holds an annual 'members' night' event where normally unseen items from its collection are made available to the public for one night.

The takeaway

Philadelphia's museums are actively utilizing their vast, non-exhibited collections for research, education, and preservation, ensuring these items remain accessible and contribute to the city's cultural and scientific knowledge, even if they aren't regularly on public display.