Collections & Research

The Field Museum houses and maintains an encyclopedic collection of 30 million cultural artifacts and scientific specimens.

Collection Digitization

The Museum is initiating a large-scale effort to digitize more than half a million specimens in order to increase access to our valuable collections for students, researchers, and scientists around the world.

Repatriation Program

The Repatriation Program responds to repatriation requests, requests for information, and provides indigenous communities access to the Museum’s numerous collections. In conjunction with thorough anthropological, historical, ethical, and legal analyses, communication with descendent communities is the foundation of each domestic and international repatriation claim.  Outreach, relationship building, and collaboration with Native peoples are intrinsic to the repatriation process at the Field Museum.

For more information, please contact Helen Robbins at hrobbins@fieldmuseum.org or 312.665.7317.