With its 7 million pieces, the National Museum of Prehistory is, in the world, the one that preserves the largest volume of prehistoric objects (tools and blocks of carved stone, remains of fauna, bone objects, antlers, ivory, furniture and parietal art objects, human remains, etc.). These pieces come from about 2,500 archaeological sites and are complemented by scientific archives, some of which are very old. Their packaging, in 16,000 racks, represents more than 8 linear km.

"Only" 12,800 pieces are permanently displayed in the museum's halls, barely 0.2% of the total collections.
The collections in reserve are constantly monitored: ten-yearly recollection, inventory, reconditioning, documentation, conservation watch, restoration campaigns, etc. They are also made available on a daily basis to research, university training and the public, depending on the museum's cultural program and loan requests from other museums.

The Museum is coming out of its storeroom! aims to make the richness of the museum's collections more visible. Each year, for a few months, a selection will be presented within the framework of a specific and updated theme. During the summer of 2022, the important collection of anthropological casts of Bernard Vandermeersch and Maria-Dolorès Garralda, of which the National Museum of Prehistory was a donor in 2020, will be highlighted.