Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
University Teaching & Learning
Resources for University Faculty and Students.
University Teaching & Learning
Resources for University Faculty and Students.
Please Note
HMA's CultureLab, guided group tours, individual student research projects, and other types of curricular support will be on hiatus through the end of 2026 due to the demands of packing and moving our museum. We apologize and appreciate your understanding. Visit https://hma.brown.edu/connect/support-museum to learn more and donate to our move effort.
Access the Museum's University Resources
Discover how the Museum can accommodate your teaching and research needs or learn about our student employment and internship opportunities.
Teach and Learn with the HMA!
Museums can be transformative teaching spaces. The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology welcomes instructors and students to engage with options for teaching and learning with the Museum.
PLEASE NOTE: Curricular support will be on hiatus through the end of 2026 due to the demands of packing and moving our museum. We apologize and appreciate your understanding.
The hands-on approach to highly meaningful objects allowed the students to overcome the traditional framing of the museum experience... The class proved to be extraordinarily enriching to all the participants, and to raise several issues that will stay with us throughout the semester.
Ph.D. Student, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies - POBS 0620: Mapping the Portuguese-Speaking Cultures: Portugal and Africa
HMA's CultureLab, guided group tours, individual student research projects, and other types of curricular support will be on hiatus through the end of 2026 due to the demands of packing and moving our museum. We apologize and appreciate your understanding.
Online resources:
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: HMA's CultureLab, guided group tours, individual student research projects, and other types of curricular support 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.
The HMA has a limited internship program. Please see our Internships page for more details.
Brown University or RISD students usually enroll in ANTH 1970 (for undergraduate students) or ANTH 2980 (for graduate students). Brown University undergraduate students can also partner with the Museum for an UTRA award.
Students from other universities may propose internship projects for the Museum. Past projects have focused on collections management, education, exhibitions, public relations, conservation, and independent research.
Interns must work with a faculty advisor from their institution and Museum staff to determine the project’s scope and timeline. Students are expected to work at least one day per week during their internship.
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.
Please note that proctors placed at the Museum are expected to work 15-20 hours per week at the Collections Research Center, located in Bristol, RI. Regular access to a vehicle is highly recommended.
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.