The Museum

Exhibits

The present-day collection includes over 30,000 objects that support the institution's modern purpose. Interpretive programs in the mansion utilize furnished room settings to explore social history topics such as the amassing of great fortunes during the Transportation Revolution of the late 19th and early 20th century. Natural history dioramas and related collections are interpreted in their historical context, and are used for research and to explore modern issues of environmental responsibility. The ethnographic collections support a variety of multicultural school programs, special events and education programs.

Collections include:

• 1,369 pieces of fine and decorative arts [including mansion furnishings, textiles, decorative ironwork and paintings]
• 489 ethnographic artifacts [including firearms and swords, ship models, and European, Asian and African objects]
• 15,698 marine science and natural history specimens [including butterflies, birds, shells, mammals and fish]
• 13,013 archival materials [including Vanderbilt's books, photographs and log books]

One highlight of the collection is a 3000-year old mummy and polychromed case, purchased in Cairo, Egypt in 1931. Unique on Long Island, the mummy has been the subject of extensive physical and forensic analysis and forms the basis for one of the museum's most popular school programs. It is believed to date to the 21st dynasty [1080-945 BC].

Unlike many of Vanderbilt's contemporaries whose collections have been disbursed, his remain intact - a marvel of scientific collecting, documentation and diorama building. The museum has been described as a "time capsule" and a "museum of museums." In fact, it boasts one of the largest privately held collections of marine specimens in the world. In accordance with Vanderbilt's vision, the museum interprets the collections to visitors to increase their appreciation for the diversity of life on this planet, and thereby promote a benevolent view of human nature.