The National Park Service (NPS) museum program is charged with providing professional stewardship for more than 45 million objects and specimens and 76,181 linear feet of archives. The collections are managed at over 380 parks and 7 centers Servicewide.

NPS museum collections are important park resources in their own right, and provide valuable information about processes, significant events and individuals, as well as interactions among people and the environment. Natural and cultural objects and their associated records provide baseline data, and provide scientific and historical documentation of the park's resources and purpose.