AIC's 42nd Annual Meeting

National Park Service (NPS) museum collections in the Intermountain Region include artwork, historic objects, prehistoric and historic archeological objects, and natural history specimens. Included in these collections are metals and plastics that sensitive to the environment. Microclimates have been used in various forms to protect these material types on exhibit and storage. Conservators in the NPS Intermountain Region Museum Services Program have been reassessing microclimates currently used and researching improved methods, including reviewing microclimate storage methods used in museum collections in the United States, Canada and Europe. Research has included examining accessibility to materials to create microclimates, ease of creation, ability to maintain a climate, ease of use to access objects inside, and maintenance. This paper summarizes research and testing to date.