CultureLab provides students and researchers with unique opportunities for immersive, hands-on experiences with objects from the Museum’s permanent collection. In partnership with our staff, instructors can create object-based learning experiences tailored to their courses and hosted at HMA’s dedicated classroom spaces at 1 Davol Square.

The Museum has a global collection that can support a wide array of course topics. Please review the HMA Online Catalogue for a sampling of objects available for study. 

Browse the Online Catalogue

Request a CultureLab session by submitting a CultureLab Request Form at least one month in advance of your desired date. Museum staff will respond to your request within 3-5 business days to continue the conversation and work with you to support your teaching and learning goals for a CultureLab session.

Objects inspire questions, and the Museum supports instructors, students, and researchers in answering those questions.

To inquire about using the Museum’s collections, archives, or Laboratory for Circumpolar Studies for your research, email HaffenrefferMuseum@brown.edu.

PLEASE NOTE: Individual student and faculty research projects will be on hiatus through the end of 2026 due to the demands of packing and moving our museum. Research appointment access is also very limited during this transition. We apologize and appreciate your understanding. 

Integrate the Museum’s virtual resources into your curriculum. All of the following materials are free and readily available online.  

• View our Virtual Exhibits page, or link directly to each exhibit below:
  • Off the Roll: Highlights of a Global Textiles Project
  • Behind the Scenes: Engaging the Americas at the HMA Mellon Grant Project
  • Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang, Nepal: A Photographic Survey
  • Transient Matter: Assemblages of Migration in the Mediterranean. Use the accompanying discussion guide to deepen class conversations and prompt reflection.
• Explore the Haffenreffer Museum collection via the Online Catalogue.
• View past talks with scholars, artists, and other noted guests.
• Read Museum publications, including past exhibition catalogues.

HMA offers a diverse range of experiential learning, research, and employment opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students at Brown and beyond. Please visit our Internships page for more information.

The Museum works with Brown University departments to arrange proctorships for graduate students interested in gaining practical museum skills and/or pursuing independent research projects with the Museum’s collections or archives.

 All proctorship appointments must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in the student’s home department and by the Graduate School. We recommend consulting with the Museum to identify interested students and coordinate projects.

Brown University instructors and students conducting field research are encouraged to apply for Collecting Grants. A limited number of small grants are available for the collection of objects that contribute to the Museum’s mission.

Email HaffenrefferMuseum@brown.edu for more information.