Does the Jefferson Institute of Bones exist in real life?

Despite wrapping up in 2017, “Bones” remains an iconic piece of procedural history due to its mix of interesting characters and dark humor with gruesome crimes that include things like Severed heads and Glowing skeleton. The central setting of the series, the Jefferson Institute’s medico-legal laboratory in Washington, D.C., is a perfect example of this duality. On the one hand, it is a prominent center for various entertaining interactions between the characters. On the other hand, it is the site of some very grim research and action even before Bone lab explosion season 12 Which destroys the facility.

With the time Bones devotes to the lab and the Jeffersons, it might be tempting to discover what the place is like in real life. Unfortunately, this may be difficult, because the Jefferson Institute does not actually exist. Its in-universe address — 1 Jefferson Circle, Washington, D.C., 2001 — is also fictional. The closest thing to a true Jefferson Circle is actually the Jefferson Circle, a group of donors who support the upkeep of the University of Virginia, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson.

Although it is fictional like the Jeffersonian Institute in the movie “Bones,” it contains some real-life inspiration. The exterior shots are actually of two different buildings in Los Angeles: the California Science Center’s Wallis Annenberg Building and the Museum of Natural History. As for the sets of the fictional Jefferson character seen on the show, their home was also in Los Angeles — the Fox Studio Lot in Century City, to be exact. In an interview with TV inside“Bones” production designer, Valdar Wilt, described the forensic laboratory set as follows:

“The laboratory set is a great space to bring in very large pieces. We have a 60-foot tree on the stage as well as cars, minivans and other huge props. The set works very well and is really holding up.”

In theory, the closest real-life equivalent to the fictional interdisciplinary Washington, D.C., institute is none other than the famous Smithsonian Institution, which happens to have a long tradition of assisting the FBI with forensic anthropology research. The Forensic Medicine Laboratory is a “bones” version of the Smithsonian’s Department of Physical Anthropology.

“Bones” isn’t the Smithsonian’s only brush with popular culture, as it happens. The institute is a favorite location for many episodes of popular Washington-themed television shows, and also appears in numerous films, even being name-checked in the title of Ben Stiller’s 2009 comedy. “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.” The Smithsonian’s collections also include notable popular culture artifacts such as Leonard Nimoy Spock’s ears.