Looking to do collections research? You've come to the right place! The National Park Service has state-of-the-art curation facilities for artifacts and archives that can't be properly stored at a park. These centers generally serve the NPS legacy regions (map). However, there isn't one for the Pacific West region; in that case, contact the park whose collections you're interested in researching. In fact, you should also contact the park unit's research coordinator when reaching out to the archeology centers as well.
See below for the center related to your research site. They often have an additional research permit procedure.
The Alaska Region Curatorial Center (ARCC) is the primary collections repository for 10 Alaska park units, housing more than 3 million objects and archival records. The center is located in Anchorage, AK.
The Midwest Archeological Center curates archeological collections for more than 60 parks in the Midwest and Intermountain Regions. The legacy Midwest Region includes the states between Arkansas, North Dakota, and the Great Lakes.
The Museum Resource Center serves the legacy National Capital Region and is responsible for the care and preservation of museum objects for park units in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The Southeast Archeological Center supports nearly 70 parks and heritage sites within the legacy Southeast Region, stretching from Louisanna to North Carolina and Kentucky.
The Western Archeological and Conservation Center curates 14.5 million objects and archives for more than 70 parks, stretching from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, north to Montana.
Last updated: September 15, 2020