Museum of Anthropology - Pullman, Washington - Museum of Native American Culture and Artifacts on the WSU College Campus

The Museum of Anthropology is located on the Washington State University Campus in College Hall in Pullman, Washington. The museum offers special events and exhibits for visitors to partake in as well as provides a rehabilitation center and curator facility of ethnographic and archeological collections and finds. The museum is known for its collection of Native American objects and the staff works closely with the Native American tribes in the Northwest to research and preserve many of the findings. The museum boasts a close relationship with American Indian groups to fulfill the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990.

The museum is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the school year and operates by special arrangement during school breaks, holidays, and summer sessions. For further information regarding hours of operation, the museum can be contacted via telephone or email.

The museum provides an up close and personal review of Native American artifacts with supplemental information about each exhibit. Visitors are able to examine the collections and review the research carried out by museum curators and grad students of archeology. Washington State University students in the archeology department are able to partake in research and hone their skills in exploration and archeological study.

Some collections in the museum can only be studied by graduate students under the direct supervision of a professional archeologist. Only collections that have been curated are available for study. This is due in part to the database that is tied to each collection. The database is tied to a Smithsonian number and provides active links online as well as further search pages tied to each exhibit. This provides those studying the collections a wealth of information including any beginning and ending level strata, object groups, and raw materials.

The department of Anthropology ultimately oversees the museum as well as the department of Archeology. The Anthropology department undergraduate program is relatively small on the WSU campus but the graduate program is large. The museum provides the students with a great deal of experience that most students will never get during college life. Students are able to participate in active research with some of the nation's most renowned faculty and research scientists. There is even an anthropology club available on campus that is very active in the museum events and research. Volunteer programs are open to anthropology students, both graduate and undergraduate levels. Volunteers are able to take part in the setting up of collections as well as special events offered at the museum.

An Anthropology Development Fund has been set up for the public and alumni to give toward the cost of operating the museum as well as the Anthropology department. Many local businesses offer a matching program where the company matches the gift made by its employee. A list of companies that support the matching gift program is available online and via telephone.