As sea ice continues to disappear, scientists are rushing to gather data on Arctic taxa. How should the collected plant and animal specimens be stored? As Indigenous communities age, traditional knowledge and cultural history is at risk of being lost. Can we use multimedia to preserve these impermanent records? Published this month in the open access journal Arctic Science, a special volume of studies describes how natural history museums are more than “cabinets of curiosities.” Arctic museum collections in particular are biodiversity and cultural repositories that help monitor rapidly changing ecosystems, preserve cultural heritage, and enhance public engagement in science and culture.