The museum's senior conservator is Francois Leurquin and, since March, he has been assisted by another full-time conservator, Laurence Le Ber.
Mr Leurquin is a former regional conservator (1990-98) at the Otago Museum, where Mr Le Ber also previously worked.
Some of the settlers museum's heritage treasures have previously been at risk from rust, cracking of wood, and borer infestation through inadequate storage and display facilities.
A new climate-controlled storage building was completed at the museum complex last year, in the first stage of the museum's $35 million redevelopment.
Museum director Linda Wigley said the storage building and laboratory would improve the protection and conservation care of museum treasures.
The museum had previously sometimes made use of conservation facilities at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, which was also owned by the Dunedin City Council, but it was appropriate that the museum had its own laboratory, she said.
The new 100sq m laboratory is believed to have cost about $60,000 to establish.
It is equipped with a chemical fume cupboard, extractor fans and a medical-grade microscope, which projects a digital image of artefacts on to a large viewing screen, where they can be more clearly analysed.
Mr Leurquin said the laboratory was a "fantastic" advance.
Cleaning and conservation work would be undertaken on about 3000 artefacts before the planned grand opening of the fully redeveloped museum in late 2012, he said.
