Research and Collections

Cryogenic-Collection Facility

This liquid-nitrogen facility is able to store natural-history collections at −170°C.
Arctic Centre

Knowledge and Exploration

Expanding our capacity to meet Arctic environmental challenges and inspire future Arctic scientists.

Collections-Based Research to Understand the Natural World

The Canadian Museum of Nature is a scientific leader in species discovery and Arctic research.

Discover the millions of specimens housed in our Gatineau campus, as well as the research activities that take place there.

Our multidisciplinary team of scientists conduct leading-edge research in the natural sciences.

Animals, fossils, minerals, plants and algae—more than 14.6 million specimens are preserved in Canada's natural-history collection.

Access data from the museum's collections: search, map results, and download data and images. Search our collections.

The museum's multidisciplinary team specializes in collection-based research in the life sciences and Earth sciences.

Doing collection-based systematics studies at the museum? We award travel grants. Apply now.

Check out this view on Arctic-related activities, events, research, etc. at the museum.

The library and archives are open by appointment. Search our catalogue online.

Whale composting: Letting bacteria do the hard work of specimen defleshing
Marie-Hélène Hubert reports that when it comes to preparing 40-year-old, formalin-preserved whale specimens, composting is a collection staffer’s best friend.
Dendrites in rock: Getting a microscopic view
Museum summer research intern Ann Presley says the experience made her realize that sometimes it’s the really, (really) small things that matter.