Hermitage Museum
Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items (the numismatic collection accounts for about one-third of them), including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. Apart from them, the Menshikov Palace, Museum of Porcelain, Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya, and the eastern wing of the General Staff Building are also part of the museum. The museum has several exhibition centers abroad. The Hermitage is a federal state property. Since July 1992, the director of the museum has been Mikhail Piotrovsky.
San Diego Natural History Museum
The Herpetology Department houses over 76,000 catalogued specimens, including one of the largest rattlesnake collections in the world. Both regional and worldwide species are well represented in the collection,with specimens from throughout the southwest United States, northwest Mexico, and islands globally. The department hosts the "Amphibian and Reptile Atlas of Peninsular California" documenting biodiversity research using both Museum collection data and field observations from citizen scientists. In addition, the department makes search of its collection available via online databases.