Research into adhesive mechanisms used by living organisms has resulted in innovative improvements in medical, architectural, and underwater adhesion. For museums, there are promising developments arising from the study of gecko feet. The underside of gecko toes has layered ridges with very fine keratinous hairs (setae) that provide intimate contact with virtually any surface, enabling the gecko to hang upside down supported only by a few toe pads. Even more impressive is the gecko’s ability to detach and reattach itself within milliseconds. During the last decade, international research has been carried out to study the degrees of adhesion provided by different shapes and arrangements of nanofibre arrays and to mimic the setae in synthetic materials. Many of these materials are chemically suitable for direct contact with museum artifacts. Gecko adhesion is dry and mechanically activated, which offers a solution for some problems (e.g. solvent damage and inadequate reversibility) with existing museum adhesives.