The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology offers research and training opportunities for IU students, educational support and services for IU faculty and elementary/secondary school teachers, and family-friendly exhibits and programs. Through its Traditional Arts Indiana program, a special partnership of Indiana University Bloomington and the Indiana Arts Commission, the museum is also dedicated to expanding public awareness of Indiana's traditional practices and nurturing a sense of pride among Indiana's traditional artists. The collections consist of over 30,000 objects and 10,000 photographs representing cultures from each of the world's inhabited continents. These materials have been collected and curated to serve the museum's primary mission as a teaching museum within a university setting.
Photography Collections. The museum has several significant collections of photographic materials. These include over 8,000 images of the Wanamaker Collection of Native American photographs, the Shaw-Starkes photographs of Bloomington, ca. 1900-1935, and the Elizabeth Bridgwaters and John Drake collections documenting the African-American Community in Bloomington, ca. 1900-1990. In addition, there are several historic sets of lantern slides representing scenes from around the world. The artifact collections include several historic/antique cameras and examples of home film and print processing technology.