Collections & Research

Queensland Museum holds more than 15 million items in trust for Queensland. Biodiversity material provides a record of Queensland life on earth, extant and extinct, large and small. Our biodiversity collections are an authoritative source of information on the characteristics, genetics, ecological functions, distributions, evolution and variability of Queensland’s natural heritage. Cultural and historical material includes manufactured objects of cultural, social, historic or archaeological interest to Queensland. Our cultural and historical collections are evidence of lived experience and reflect who we are as a society.

It is only through ongoing, critical research into the collections that we can make meaning, and in doing so everyday objects and specimens become tangible markers of Queensland’s ever-evolving story. Together, our collections and research, accumulated and augmented over the past 160 years, promote inquiry and contribute to the knowledge economy through real-world applications.

Explore thousands of specimens and artefacts held within the Queensland Museum Collection online and find out about our long-term research projects.

Discover our flagship campus for collection storage and research, Collections and Research Centre, Hendra, as well as our Image Library, Research Portal and Research Library. Meet the collections & research staff and uncover our research through our scientific journal, Memoirs of the Queensland Museum.