Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Museum explorers travel to ocean depths, the peaks of the Andes, Africa's Rift Valley, the rainforests of South America, and the deserts of Central Asia. Perhaps even to a field site or research institution in your own state, territory or country. In each area, researchers collect specimens: fossils, minerals, and rocks, plants and animals, tools and artworks. Collections care professionals have meticulously preserved, labeled, cataloged, and organized items of this kind for more than 150 years. Taken together, the NMNH collections form the largest, most comprehensive natural history collection in the world. By comparing items gathered in different eras and regions, scientists learn how our world has varied across time and space.

博物学家穿梭于海洋深处、安第斯山脉之巅、非洲裂谷、南美洲的热带雨林以及中亚的沙漠之中。或许他们还会来到您所在州、领地或国家的野外研究地点或研究机构。在每个地区，研究人员搜集样本：化石、矿物和岩石，植物与动物，工具与艺术品。收藏品养护专家们自150多年前便对这类物品进行了精心保存、标记、编目和组织。综合来看，美国自然历史博物馆（NMNH）的收藏构成了世界上最大、最全面的自然史收藏。通过对比不同时代和地区搜集到的物品，科学家们得以了解我们的世界如何在时空维度上呈现出多样化的特征。