Current Exhibitions

City on the River

City on the River is the culmination of several years of close partnership and collaboration with the Angel Mounds Exhibition Advisory Council, which includes members of living Indigenous descendant communities ancestrally connected to the site and for whom the site still holds significance. The exhibition tells the story of the People who lived at the Angel Mounds site through material culture from the site, an immersive virtual reality experience, connections to the stories of contemporary culture-bearers, and art from Indigenous descendant communities.

Shipwrecks: Living Museums

Shipwrecks: Living Museums is an immersive archaeological exhibition developed in partnership with the IU Center for Underwater Science. Shipwrecks from Indiana’s Lake Michigan and the Caribbean are presented, revealing global commerce, technology and cultural exchange through a maritime lens. Indiana shipwrecks Muskegon and JD Marshall highlight Indiana’s maritime landscape from the 19^th century to the present. Caribbean shipwreck sites, the Punta Espada Shipwreck and the Nuestra Señora de Begoña, highlight 16^th-18^th century international trade and smuggling practices.

The Journey of Women: Yemeni Jewelry and Social Growth

Featuring silver jewelry and textiles created for and worn by women from various regions of Yemen, The Journey of Women: Yemeni Jewelry and Social Growth showcases the meticulous craftsmanship of skilled silversmiths who passed their techniques down through generations. The exhibition recognizes the social capital of Yemeni women through their material culture and explores how this, in turn, influences their identities and the transition from girlhood to womanhood, all while preserving their cultural heritage.

Star by Star

Flags are objects of memory. They tell stories of identity, growth, and loss. As the United States has grown, so has the flag’s design. This exhibit honors the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence as well as the lives lost during the building of our nation.

Indiana's First Residents

Indiana’s First Residents discusses the difference between the fields of archaeology and paleontology through the interactions of the earliest known inhabitants of Indiana, the Clovis people, and the megafauna who lived alongside them. This exhibit highlights how fossils and human-made objects, like stone tools, lend insight into the ancient past.

Speaking of Plants: Knowing and Naming

The way people name and categorize plants is influenced by scientific understanding, cultural identity, and historical narratives. Various methods of naming and classifying plants from international standards to Indigenous cultural knowledge are examined within contemporary cultural context. Remarkable corn specimens from the Indiana University Herbarium and scientific plant vouchers illustrate the human quest to understand and relate with plant life around us. 

The Short of it... Brief Stories from IUMAA's Records

This exhibit investigates the deeper tales of how museum materials get here, how they’re cared for, and what relationships they have with the world. Topics will change throughout the year.

Current Topic: The American Flag

Within the Wanamaker Collection, the American flag is used as a symbol of nationhood and citizenship in the early 20^th century and as an emblem of bravery and loss for veterans of WWI. The story of the flag is complicated and complex when looking through the records.

Poetics of Community

The documentary The House is Black (1963) by Forough Farrokhzad was revolutionary in style and impact. Focusing on a neglected leprosarium, Farrokhzad showed community-centered filmmaking and radical empathy — which lead to extraordinary change. Poetics of Community situates the film within the tradition of “committed documentary,” a form of filmmaking grounded in social purpose and active engagement with political and material conditions