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Lam Museum exhibit galleries

Explore Global Cultures

Discover North Carolina’s only museum dedicated to the study of global cultures. Explore stories of humanity, from ancient archaeological sites to the celebrations and struggles of today. Learn about people from around the world through their everyday objects, ceremonial artifacts, and visual arts.

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00am to 4:30pm. Admission is free.
Find the Museum on the Wake Forest campus.

Featured Exhibits

exhibit of Aboriginal Australian objects

Return to Sender? Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Repatriation
Through August 15, 2026

archery exhibit

Archery: Hunting, Warfare and Identity
Through June 20, 2026

See All Exhibits

Upcoming Events

Two men digging at an archaeological site

Closed for Easter

Saturday, April 4

The Lumbee River Archaeology Project

Friday, April 10, 5pm

Archery Afternoon

Saturday, April 11, 1-4pm

Recent News Stories

Paired Currency Exhibits to Open in MarchJanuary 29, 2026
New Exhibit Explores Aboriginal AustraliaJanuary 29, 2026
Lam Announces Archaeology in the Americas Lecture SeriesAugust 18, 2025

See All News Stories

Explore the Collection with the Artifact of the Month

Roman Denarius CoinApril 1, 2026
Kina Shell NecklaceMarch 2, 2026
Maasai ShieldFebruary 2, 2026

See All Artifact of the Month

Find a Craft Activity with Cultures Up Close

See All Cultures Up Close

Stay in Touch

Receive updates on exhibits and events from the Lam Museum

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Apr 3

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The Museum will be closed tomorrow for Easter Weekend. We look forward to seeing you next week!

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Apr 1

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No April Fools here, just a very cool #ArtifactOfTheMonth! For April, we're featuring a Roman denarius coin on loan to the Museum for our current exhibit "Pocket Change: A Story of Coins through Time."

The Roman Republic first adopted coinage to trade and pay mercenaries around the time of the First Punic War (264-241 BCE). During the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE), Rome adopted a system that would endure for centuries, based on the silver denarius and the bronze as. A denarius, like this one, was worth about a day’s labor for a common worker, and the as was initially worth 1/10, later 1/16, of a denarius.

After the Republic fell and the Roman Empire formed in 27 BCE, coinage turned out to be a convenient mode of establishing power. Anyone who wanted to be emperor needed coins in their name. However, the Romans didn’t just feature emperors on their coins, they included the imperial family too. This coin features Sabina, the wife of the emperor Hadrian, who reigned from 117 to 138 CE. This coin from between 133 and 135 CE shows her distinctive hairstyle and features Juno, queen of the gods, on the reverse. Roman coin artistry reached a peak during this era as demonstrated by Sabina’s regal, realistic portrait, which remains recognizable even on worn-down examples like this one.

Roman coins circulated widely throughout their extensive empire. Their ubiquity set a standard for coin designs still recognizable today: flat, thin coins, usually with portraits on the obverse (front) and a design representing some important symbol or event on the reverse.

This coin is on exhibit through March 6, 2027. It is on loan to the Lam Museum from the curator, Jason Zhang (’26), who provided the research for this post.

#coins #romancoin #coincollecting

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Mar 31

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We are very excited to be hosting Archery Afternoon at the Lam on Saturday, April 11, in conjunction with our exhibit "Archery: Hunting, Warfare, and Identity." We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #archery #flintknapping #thingstodoinwsnc #free

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Mar 25

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Free cookies and lemonade tomorrow! All that and a wonderful talk at Dr. Taylor Callaway's Lunch and Learn at noon. We'll hope you'll join us then!

#lammuseum #lunchandlearn #archaeology #free

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Mar 23

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The exhibit "Saddle Rugs and Tibetan Culture" closes this Saturday, March 28. Don't miss your chance to see these stunning rugs in person!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #Tibet #tibetanculture #saddlerug

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Mar 20

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Tonight!! We hope to see you here for what promises to be a fascinating talk.

#lammuseum #wakethearts #AboriginalAustralia

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Mar 18

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In addition to a great lecture this Friday, we also have a Lunch & Learn coming up next Thursday, March 26! We hope you'll join us to hear about Native American feasts and fish in Woodland period Tidewater Virginia and North Carolina. Free drinks and cookies!

#lammuseum #archaeology #tidewaterva #free

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Mar 17

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We are so excited to present "Shelling Out: Traditional Currency from the Collection" and "Pocket Change: A Story of Coins through Time." Both exhibits will be on display through March 6, 2027.
#lammuseum #currency #thingstodoinwsnc #free

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Mar 12

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Mark your calendars for next week's lecture by @wfuniversity alum Asia Parker!

#lammuseum #AboriginalAustralia #AboriginalCulture #repatriation

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Mar 2

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Our March #ArtifactOfTheMonth gives you a sneak peek at our upcoming exhibit, "Shelling Out: Traditional Currency from the Collection," opening March 17. This kina shell necklace from Papua New Guinea will be one of nearly 40 objects in the exhibit!

The necklace comes from the Engan peoples living in Kond Village in the Kandep District of Enga Province in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Based on information given to the collector, it is likely more than 140 years old. The term kina refers to the large crescent-shaped shell pendant that forms the central portion of the necklace.

Kina shells are a type of money that has been exchanged in Papua New Guinea for centuries. Pendants like this one are carved from large oyster shells and then traded from the coast into the highlands. Historically, people acquired this type of kina shell pendant by skillfully trading other commodities for it, such as pigs, textiles, or nassa shells harvested from snails. Wearing, or even just possessing, such jewelry signaled personal achievement. A wealthy individual could acquire multiple necklaces and use them to enrich his entire extended family.

In Enga culture, kina shells were given away as part of a tee, an elaborate system of competitive gifting in which participants build partnerships by giving away expensive things. They could also be used in other ceremonial exchanges, such as paying bride prices or settling blood feuds. Kina shells are sometimes stained red, as this one is, when they have been used in a ceremony or celebration.

After colonization, kina became a standardized currency exchangeable for Australian shillings. Today, the official currency of Papua New Guinea is the Kina, which takes its name from the kina shell.

Research assistance for this post was provided by Lake Barrett (‘28) and Johnny Gasparro (‘29).

#lammuseum #papuanewguinea #kinashell

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Feb 19

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Unfortunately, Dr. Grooms is ill and will not be able to give his lecture tomorrow. We are working to find a new date so that he can share his research with you! Stay tuned for more info.

#lammuseum

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Feb 17

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Happy #ChineseNewYear! Also known as #LunarNewYear or #SpringFestival, the #YearOfTheHorse starts today. 🐴 You can learn all about the celebration via the link in our story or looking for teacher resources on our website.

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Feb 16

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We're partnering with the Lewisville Branch Library to present a talk for #BlackHistoryMonth. Tomorrow evening at 6pm, our Academic Director, Dr. Andrew Gurstelle, will present "Cowrie Shells and the African Diaspora" at the Mary Alice Warren Community Center in Lewisville. We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #cowrieshell #freeevent

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Feb 13

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Mark your calendars for next Friday at 5pm! Dr. Seth Grooms will present "The Lumbee River Archaeology Project" discussing his archaeological work with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. We hope to see you here!
This event is sponsored by @wfuanthro

#lammuseum #archaeology #lumbee #lumbeetribe

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Feb 11

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We hope to see you tomorrow at 6pm as we welcome WFU Assistant Chaplain for Muslim Life Imran Haq to discuss Islam in the United States!

#lammuseum #Islam

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Feb 10

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This is the final week to see "Museum of World Cultures: Highlights from the UNC-Wilmington Collection" before it closes on Saturday. With 59 stunning objects from 27 countries, you don't want to miss this one!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #exhibit #thingstodoinwsnc #fre

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Feb 4

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Mark your calendar for next Thursday at 6pm, when WFU Assistant Chaplain for Muslim Life Imran Haq will join us at the Museum to present "Islam in the United States: Challenge and Resilience." We hope to see you here!

#lammuseum #Islam #wakethearts

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Feb 2

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We finally made it through January, and now it's time for our February #ArtifactOfTheMonth! This month, we're featuring a Maasai shield from Kenya dating to the early 20th century.

The #Maasai are a cultural group of semi-nomadic pastoralists with a population of approximately one million people living primarily in southern #Kenya and northern Tanzania.

This type of shield, known as elongo, provided both physical and spiritual protection for Maasai hunters and warriors in their duties protecting people and cattle against intruders and dangerous wild animals. A spiritual leader, called the Oloibon, imbued each shield with enhanced protective powers through charms called entasim to ensure the warrior’s success.

Maasai warriors made their own shields by sewing cow or buffalo hide from an animal they killed onto a wooden frame to form a convex oval shape. The wooden handle in the center of the back side was traditionally wrapped in leather strips for better grip. The shield was then painted with dyes made from mixing ashes with colored clays.

The multicolored geometric designs of this shield follow a typical pattern with a center line made up of triangle motifs. On one side of the line, the background is red, and the other is black. Crescent shapes with different interior patterns appear on both sides. These designs are called sirata and indicate the holder’s place in a complex lineage system. The decorations mark this type of Maasai shield as a prestige object in addition to its practical purpose. Contemporary Maasai warriors no longer use this type of shield, and the specific meanings of the designs have largely been lost to time.

This shield is on exhibit in Archery: Hunting, Warfare, and Identity through June 20, 2026.

#lammuseum #blackhistorymonth

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