Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will research improvements to calibrate tests commonly used to identify materials to store, display, and transport museum collections and then develop a list of harmful chemicals and their damage thresholds for cultural heritage. Project activities include hiring two Ph.D. level researchers along with two contractors who will help develop benchmarking protocols and then test materials using the new protocols. Results will be published to the Materials Testing Wiki, an online resource containing test data and general information about materials testing maintained by the American Institute of Conservation, ensuring open-source access for the museum and conservation community. The standardization and improvement of the criteria and tools the museum field uses to test materials that come in contact with collections will benefit the collection management practices of all types of museums.