Cultural and scientific loans involve material leaving the Museum either for a temporary exhibition elsewhere or for laboratory research purposes. Specimens may be lent when a researcher requires samples from the collections for analysis. In these cases the Museum assesses the suitability of the loan because such samples are finite and cannot be returned to the Museum. The researcher must explain precisely why the samples are necessary for his or her research project. For any queries concerning the loan and management of the collections, please contact the people in charge of the Museum collections department. Related documents Directives for lending collection samples for analytical purposes Conditions for scientific loans Conditions for cultural loans