They acquire items through purchases, gifts, field exploration, inter museum loans, or, in the case of plants and animals, breeding. Curators also plan and prepare attractive, interesting, and informative exhibits. Some curators plan and conduct museum education programs. Since many tours are composed of school groups, tours must be geared to the age of the students. Some museums conduct classes, workshops, or lectures for students or the general public which are conducted or arranged for by curators.
Most curators specialize in fields such as zoology, art, or history.
Those working in large institutions may be highly specialized. A large natural history museum, for example, would have specialists in birds, fishes, mammals, and dinosaurs. Furthermore, in large institutions, most curators specialize in functions. Some restore or maintain the collection, while others perform administrative tasks, such as registrars, who are responsible for keeping track of and moving objects in the collection. In small institutions, with only one or a few curators, they are responsible for almost everything.