Today’s conservator uses scientific methods and instrumentation to understand the activity of matter in ceramics, glass, metal, paper, plastics, textiles, and wood. These categories are reflected in professional conservation specializations. On the basis of their expertise with materials, conservators ask, How do materials change over time in response to their environment, and how do we describe this activity? How else are materials active for the makers, communities, and cultures that have long recognized different notions of activity in matter?

Many items in this section belong to study collections. They have been collected and kept for their educational merit, and serve as references to the activity of matter.