The Missouri History Museum collects objects and other materials that document and represent the history and culture of the St. Louis metropolitan community. Also of interest are materials relating to the Missouri Territory, the development and history of the state, the Spanish and French colonial period in the Mississippi Valley, the Louisiana Purchase Territory and the role of St. Louis during American Westward expansion.

Not all artifacts need to document well-known people or momentous events in history. A housewife's work dress, a restaurant menu, a manufacturer's catalog and the photographs of family life can all be important, especially if the donor can tell us who used them and when they were used.  A well-worn artifact may tell more about our history than does an item that was never out of its box. In addition, an item does not have to be old. Items of recent vintage will be of great importance to the future.

Any item accepted for the permanent collections is housed in a state-of-the-art storage facility, where it is preserved and made available for exhibitions, programming and research at the Missouri History Museum Library and Research Center.

To inquire about donating to the collections of the Missouri History Museum, please contact us by phone at: (314) 746-4441; by e-mail at objects@mohistory.org. Your inquiry will be referred to a curator who will follow up with you directly.