The Museum's extensive open storage system makes approximately 13,000 objects from the collections visually accessible to the public. It also encourages research and teaching activities using the collections. Arranged according to cultural origin and use, the objects in Visible Storage invite individual exploration, and comparison of materials and technologies from societies all over the world. To add to the sense of discovery, many objects are stored in cabinets with drawers that slide open to reveal their contents. Information on the objects can be found in special data books nearby.

Collections from First Nations in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada constitute a substantial portion of Visible Storage. The art of basketry is well represented in the storage sections focusing on cultures of the B.C. interior: Stl'atl'imx, Secwepemc, Nlaka'pamux, Okanagan, Kootenay, Tsilhqot'in, and Dakelh. Material from the northern Dene peoples is presented in adjacent cases.

While over fifty percent of the Museum's collections are presented in the galleries and Visible Storage, most of the Museum's extensive textile collection and works on paper remain in closed storage, protected from temperature fluctuations and exposure to light, to which they are extremely sensitive. These items are periodically featured in special exhibitions in Galleries 5, 8, or 10.

In addition to objects from Canadian First Peoples, Visible Storage also houses objects from Africa, Indonesia, China, Oceania, India, Central America, Japan, the Mediterranean, and other parts of the world. Be on the lookout as well for small, changing student exhibits within Visible Storage: the collections are often used as the basis for university courses in museology, some of which require students to select, research, display, and interpret objects for the public as part of their studies.