Inside the Conservation Lab

Our conservators and curators recently faced an interesting question: Is it practical to retain perishable material and what long-range obligations are required? To find the answers, a collaborative effort was required, allowing for preservation of our collection of space food.

In 2018, a peculiar condition phenomenon was observed on the helmet of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and it was removed from display for examination and conservation. An investigation into the cause of the condition issue is reviewed.

In the latest blog about the preservation of Flak-Bait, conservator Lauren Horelick describes the work being done on the overpaint of the aircraft.

Conservator Lauren Gottschlich explores the conservation work recently done on a replica of the altered lithium hydroxide filter used during the Apollo 13 mission.

Conservation of Michael Collins' razor from the Apollo 11 mission presented conservators with a complex ethical dilemma for deciding the best treatment approach: how to arrest degradation while maintaining the historical elements of the artifact.

To the best of our knowledge, Flak-Bait is the only World War II bomber of its kind to retain the original insulating fabric panels lining the interior of the forward fuselage. To preserve the original fabric, we performed a number of innovative conservation treatments.

The Martin B-26B Marauder Flak-Bait, an iconic artifact of World War II is undergoing artifact treatment in the Museum’s Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar. In this first in a series of blogs about the conservation of the aircraft, we explore the preservation of the doped fabric on the rudder.

It’s become one of the most well-known appendages in pop culture history—Spock’s pointed ears, signaling him as half-Vulcan, and now synonymous with the beloved sci-fi series. The Museum’s conservation team recently treated a replica ear in our collection.

How the Museum's conservation team treated an Apollo 11 artifact, a medical accessory kit stowed aboard the Command Module Columbia during the historic lunar mission.

Conservation work is continuing on the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s collection of traditional Chinese paper kites at our Emil Buehler Conservation Lab.