Appointment Request to see Objects or Artifacts

Thank you for your interest in seeing this material at the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center in Bowie, Maryland.

Research requests to view objects, including artwork, textiles, and other examples of material culture, are different from creating an appointment to consult published or archival materials. Permission to access these types of materials will be contingent on staff capacity, the condition of the requested materials, and other factors. Such materials can only be examined in the Collections Services Suites at the Shapell Center under the supervision of authorized Museum staff. Please note there may be factors such as the fragile nature of certain artifacts that may prevent us from making some items available to visitors. This material cannot be viewed at the Museum building in downtown Washington, DC. Commercial and media use requests must be coordinated through the Museum’s Communications Office

Appointments to see objects, artifacts, and other examples of material culture are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Scholarly researchers can make appointments for morning (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.) and/or afternoon (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) supervised consultation sessions, but requests to see this type of material must be made no later than 21 days prior to a planned research visit. While we will attempt to accommodate requests in that time frame, additional lead time may be required depending on the collection(s) being requested and other considerations.

Please provide the information below, and Museum staff will follow up to coordinate and arrange for an appointment. Please do not finalize any travel arrangements before your appointment has been confirmed.