Does the Jefferson Bone Institute exist in real life?

Although it concluded in 2017, “Bones” remains a notable piece of procedural history, combining likable characters and dark humor with gruesome crimes that include, for example, severed heads and glowing skeleton. The series' central setting, the Jefferson Institute's Medico-Legal Lab in Washington, DC, is a prime example of this duality. On the one hand, it's a prominent hub for the characters' various entertaining interactions. On the other hand, it is a place where even in the past, serious research and action took place “Bones” season 12 lab explosion which destroys the machine.

With the amount of time Bones spends on the lab and Jefferson, it can be tempting to wonder what the place is like in real life. Unfortunately, this can be difficult since the Jefferson Institute does not actually exist. Its in-universe address — 1 Jeffersonian Circle, Washington, DC, 2001 — is also fictitious. The closest thing to a real Jefferson Circle is actually the Jefferson Circle, a group of donors who support the upkeep of the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson.

As fictional as the Jefferson Bone Institute is, it has some real-life inspiration. The exterior shots are actually from two different buildings in Los Angeles: the California Science Center's Wallis Annenberg Building and the Natural History Museum. As for the movies of the fictional Jefferson seen on the show, their home was also in Los Angeles — the Fox Studio Lot, Century City to be exact. In an interview with TV Insider“Bones” production designer Valdars Vilts described the Medico-Legal Lab set as follows:

“The lab set is a great place to bring in really big pieces. We've had a 60-foot tree on the rig as well as cars and vans and other huge props. The set works so well and it's really held up.”

Conceptually speaking, the closest real-life equivalent to the fictional, multidisciplinary Washington, DC institute is none other than the famed Smithsonian Institution, which has a long tradition of assisting the FBI with forensic anthropology research. The Medico-Legal Lab is effectively the “Bones” version of the Smithsonian's Department of Physical Anthropology.

“Bones” isn't the Smithsonian's only brush with pop culture, as it happens. The institute is home to many Washington-themed episodes of famous TV shows, and also appears in several movies, 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 pop culture artifacts such as Leonard Nimoy's Ghost Ears.