The South African Museum is a scientific institution and conducts research on marine biology , entomology , palaeontology , archaeology and ethnology . Much of the Museum's research involves the identification of animals, living or fossil, and often also the naming and describing of new species. The specimens upon which the descriptions of new species are bases, so-called type specimens, form an important part of any Museum's collections. Museum collections are thus documented examples of animals and plants, living and extinct, known to Man and of man's past and present cultures. The specialized skills of Museum Technicians play a vital role in research work.
Material frequently requires delicate and lengthy preparation before in can be studied.
Sometimes entirely new methods must be evolved to suit the occasion. Routine work may be in the laboratory, waist-deep in freezing surf cutting up the carcass of a whale, or in the blistering Karoo sun carefully chipping a fossil from hard rock. Depending on the kind of object it is preserved, cleaned or repaired and if finally either put on show or stored with similar objects. The curator regularly checks that the collection is still in good order. Those specimens which are stored make up the study collection which is used for research work.