In 1999 teams of museum conservators, curators, and other specialists helped move the flag safely into a new conservation laboratory. First, the staff sealed off the work zone in Flag Hall from public access and secured the area. Next, they covered the flag’s back and front. They then reinforced the display frame and lowered the flag on cantilevered scaffolding. Fabricators created a large-diameter rolling tube, along with a break-apart crate, to transport the flag. The conservation team carefully vacuumed the flag and protected its fragile areas before rolling it onto the tube for transport to the new lab in its special crate.  A protective covering was slowly lowered over the flag by conservation team members in preparation for deinstallation.  Riggers played an important role in the flag's deinstallation from Flag Hall. A team member directed his colleagues on the winches to keep the flag level. Riggers can also be seen here on their perch on the Museum's fourth floor.  The rolled flag was so large that a crate had to be brought into the building in pieces and carefully assembled around the flag.  Animation of flag deinstallation, courtesy of Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. QuickTime movie (527k minimum; 56K or higher connection recommended)  Back to top National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution After months of planning by museum staff and structural engineers, the flag and its aluminum frame were lowered to a horizontal position in Flag Hall. The job took an eight-person crew 30 minutes.