Why 18,000 Bones Are Hidden In This Smithsonian Warehouse | Colossal Collections | Business Insider

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has over 18,000 specimens in its marine mammal bone collection, notably featuring a rare adult Rice’s whale skull. This collection is so large — in both size and scale — that it has outgrown the museum. Most of the collection is located in an airplane hangar in the Museum Support Center in Maryland. Here’s a deep dive into where the Smithsonian gets these bones, how they’re cleaned, why it has them, and how they’re maintained. 0:45 - Meet John 1:03 - 80-foot long blue whale 1:33 - Rice’s whale 3:10 - Whale vertebrae 4:07 - Beaked whales and dolphin heads 4:30 - Pygmy sperm whale 4:52 - Dermestid beetles 5:46 - Composting beaked whale skull 7:14 - Mounting Rice’s whale skull 7:40 - Rice’s whale fractures and bruises More Business Insider Videos: Why Food Commercials Cost Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars | Big Business | Business Insider How Under