Museums, Schools & Institutions
Visitor centers, natural history museums, university collections, and outfitter showrooms — the work that has to last on display for decades.
Public-facing taxidermy carries a different set of rules. The lighting is harsher, the dust is heavier, the sightlines are unforgiving, and the finish has to read from twenty feet, not two. Here is how we approach institutional work.
Institutions — the essentials
Six articles, hand-picked from the Stehling archive, that answer the questions hunters and collectors most often ask in this category.
Museum Taxidermy Resources
A primer on commissioning, specifying, and maintaining mounts in a museum or visitor-center context.
Read more →About Stehling’s Taxidermy
Our institutional history, accreditation, and the long list of partners who keep coming back.
Read more →How We Build for Public Display
The studio decisions that change when a mount is going behind glass instead of above a fireplace.
Read more →Restoration of Older Collections
Bringing decades-old institutional pieces back into rotation — re-tanning, re-finishing, and re-mounting.
Read more →Custom Diorama & Exhibit Work
Multi-element exhibits with engineered bases, internal armatures, and lighting plans.
Read more →Brief Us on an Exhibit
The information we need to scope an institutional project and the timeline we will return.
Read more →50+
Years building for institutions
Frequently asked
The questions we answer most often, drawn from real conversations on the studio floor.
Do you take institutional commissions?
Yes. Museums, visitor centers, schools, outfitter showrooms, and corporate collections are all part of our studio history.
Can you bid against a written specification?
Yes. Send us the spec sheet, the species list, and the install context and we will return a written proposal.
How long do mounts last in a public display?
Properly built and properly cared for, several decades. The oldest Stehling-built institutional pieces still on display are pushing fifty years.
Do you offer maintenance contracts?
For nearby institutions, yes. For more distant collections we offer scheduled site visits and remote inspection support.
Can students or apprentices observe?
Education partnerships are something we say yes to whenever the schedule allows. Reach out and tell us about the program.
Have a project in mind?
Whether you have a specific question about institutions or you want to brief us on a trophy already on its way, we are happy to help.