Museum collections of anthropological material are an American treasure. They engage and inspire millions of Americans through exhibits and programs, serving as an important educational resource for communicating knowledge to a wide audience. The objects that museums preserve also constitute an invaluable scientific record of cultural practices, past and present. They are a databank of physical material that can be examined, analyzed, and reassessed again and again as questions and methods change over time. Objects document dynamic aspects of cultural behavior that are not recorded in written sources; they are one of the few ways to gain information directly from past societies that did not have writing. However, these collections are not being used to their full potential. Many interested researchers cannot effectively utilize museum collections because they lack the skills and methods to approach or evaluate this type of data, which presents distinct challenges. There are few graduate-level courses in museum-based research in the United States. The few that do exist seldom can offer the hands-on learning that is essential for object study. Students wishing to tap into the research potential of American museums either have had to study abroad or to train themselves. The result is that we are not fully capitalizing on the investment the nation has made in the assembly and maintenance of museum collections.
The Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA) was created in response to this need. Based in the Smithsonian Institution's Department of Anthropology, it is an intensive four-week residential program providing training in museum research methods. Each year it accepts 12 graduate students from across the country who show promise to contribute to development of the field of cultural anthropology through object research. SIMA is a rigorous program that includes a mix of formal class time, individual research work, and extensive mentoring. Support from the National Science Foundation covers student participant costs and the bringing together of a specialized faculty of visiting experts with Smithsonian scholars whose time is contributed to SIMA. The Smithsonian offers its extensive collections as a laboratory for learning, giving students an opportunity for in-depth work with one of the greatest anthropological research collections in the world. Over the period of 2009 to 2013, SIMA has provided training for 60 students from 41 universities and 22 states. It now has a solid training model for graduate students in place, and former participants are beginning to gain university positions where they are using SIMA as a model for their own teaching. Work under the current grant will explore additional methods to disseminate training in collection-based research more widely. While continuing to provide training for graduate students, SIMA will add a module for faculty developing courses in museum research and also will hold a workshop to bring together universities interested in collaborating on institutes similar to SIMA. The goal of all these activities is to create a new generation of American scholars who are able to use anthropological collections effectively in their research. These new scholars will revitalize museums as sites where knowledge is produced as well as disseminated.
