Although it ended in 2017, "Bones" remains a significant part of procedural history due to its combination of likable characters and dark humor with gruesome crimes involving things like severed heads and a glowing skeleton. The series' central setting, the Medico-Legal Laboratory of the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, D.C., is a perfect example of this duality. On the one hand, it's a significant hub for the characters' various fun interactions. On the other hand, it's the site of some seriously dark research and activity even earlier the "Bones" lab explosion from season 12 which destroys the object.

With the amount of time "Bones" devotes to the lab and the Jeffersonian, it might be tempting to find out what the place is like in real life. Unfortunately, this can be difficult, since the Jeffersonian Institute does not actually exist. His address in space - 1 Jeffersonian Circle, Washington, DC, 2001 - is also fictional. The closest thing to an actual 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 Jeffersonian Bones Institute is, it has several real-life inspirations. 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 Jeffersonian seen on the show, their home was also in Los Angeles—specifically, Fox Studios in Century City. In an interview with TV InsiderBones production designer Valdar Wilt described the Forensic Lab set as follows:

"The lab set is a great space to bring in very large pieces. We had a 60-foot tree on the rig, as well as cars, vans, other huge props. The kit just works so well and really holds up. "

Conceptually speaking, the closest real-life equivalent to the fictional, multidisciplinary Washington DC institute is none other than the famous Smithsonian Institution, which happens to have a long tradition of assisting the FBI with forensic anthropological research. The medico-legal laboratory 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 has been the setting for many episodes of popular Washington-themed TV shows, and has also appeared in several movies, even being title-checked in the 2009 Ben Stiller comedy. "Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian." The Smithsonian's collections also house significant pop culture artifacts such as Leonard Nimoy's Spock Ears.