Among the myriad of concerns after the Mineral, Virginia, 2011 earthquake was the large and storied fossil collections at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland. These collections consist of over one and one-half century’s worth of collecting of over 40 million specimens of fossil vertebrates, invertebrates, paleobotanical samples, microfossils, tracks, burrows, and dung spanning 3.1 billion years of geologic history. Many of these specimens are holotypes (first published name bearers) and are very brittle and fragile, so damage due to vibration was a real concern and a real possibility. The day after the quake, Department of Paleobiology personnel began examining and assessing the fossil collections, starting with the exhibit specimens. Overall, the fossils sustained very little damage from the earthquake. A few specimens fell or cracked, but there were no catastrophic events. The design and composition of various brackets, as well as how a bracket was fastened to the wall, factored into why some specimens were damaged. These same factors also determined why some specimens were spared significant damage. Most of the specimens that fell out of their brackets did not have a holder at the top, and they fell forward during the shaking. Other brackets were not secured well enough in the wall and vibrated out or rotated. The vertebrate fossil mounts did not sustain much damage because, in part, of the springiness of the steel armature. The steel flexed and absorbed much of the energy of the quake. Another probable reason of less damage is that the paleobiological collections and exhibits are on the first and ground floors, sustaining less vibration than did higher floors.