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Museum Technicians and Conservators

Restore, maintain, or prepare objects in museum collections for storage, research, or exhibit. May work with specimens such as fossils, skeletal parts, or botanicals; or artifacts, textiles, or art. May identify and record objects or install and arrange them in exhibits. Includes book or document conservators.

What you’d do

  • Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
  • Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials.
  • Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
  • Install, arrange, assemble, and prepare artifacts for exhibition, ensuring the artifacts' safety, reporting their status and condition, and identifying and correcting any problems with the set up.
  • Study object documentation or conduct standard chemical and physical tests to ascertain the object's age, composition, original appearance, need for treatment or restoration, and appropriate preservation method.
  • Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
  • Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
  • Perform tests and examinations to establish storage and conservation requirements, policies, and procedures.

Skills that matter

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Speaking
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Writing

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • Conservator
  • Objects Conservator
  • Paintings Conservator
  • Preparator
  • Conservation Technician (Conservation Tech)
  • Exhibit Technician (Exhibit Tech)

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