Donation offers that are mailed to or dropped off at the Ohio History Center or one of our sites without previously contacting the staff may not be accepted for the Ohio History Connection collections. To ensure that all donated materials are properly documented and preserved, it is important for you to call or email the curators.
Please give a specific description of the items you want to donate so your offer can be forwarded to the person best able to respond. It would also be helpful if you can send digital pictures of the items.
We receive a high number of calls and e-mails and will do our best to respond in 10-15 business days.
Natural history collections are comprised of contemporary, historic, and ancient natural materials that document the diversity of nonhuman living things in Ohio. This includes historic taxidermy as well as natural material found incidentally or collected through scientific research.
We can be a depository for recently deceased wild animals, such as roadkill and bird window strikes, bird nests and eggs, owl pellets, bones, fossils and minerals. All deceased wildlife must be frozen soon after death and include information about its location and date of collection to be the most useful to our collection.
Only legally and ethically collected specimens are considered for donation. Potential donors must follow all federal, state and local laws and regulations for collecting specimens.
When you communicate with a curator(s) about a donation they will give you instructions for dropping off or shipping the material. Please do not mail or drop off any materials for donation without making prior arrangements with the curatorial staff. The Ohio History Connection is not obligated to preserve any materials that are dropped off or mailed without making prior arrangements.
Visit the Natural History web pages for more information about their collections, research and staff.