Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
From towering Native American totem poles and large Maya sculptures to precious artifacts of the ancient world, the Peabody Museum is among the oldest archaeological and ethnographic museums in the world with one of the finest collections of human cultural history found anywhere. The Peabody Museum was founded in 1866 and is one of the oldest museums in the world devoted to anthropology, the study of ancient and contemporary peoples and cultures. The museum building adjoins the Harvard Museum of Natural History complex on the north side of the main Harvard campus. With 1.2 million objects, the Museum has one of the largest archaeological and ethnological collections in the world, including extensive archives of documents and historic photographs. The collections are heavily used by researchers, descendant communities, Harvard faculty and courses given by universities throughout the region. The museum also has an Education department that serves primary and secondary school students.
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4.5
168 reviews
Excellent
87
Very good
60
Average
19
Poor
2
Terrible
0
Yves D
Laval, Canada1,664 contributions
Aug 2023
42°22'41.68"N 71° 6'52.49"O
This is one of 4 Harvard museums of science and culture (HMSC)The other 3 are: Harvard Museum of natural history, Collection of historical scientific instrument and Harvard Museum of the ancient near east.
Established in 1866 as one of the first museums of anthropology, the Peabody Museum currently cares for a large and historic collection of anthropological materials from across the globe, including more than 1.2 million individual cultural items, 500,000 photographic images, and associated archival records.
These items originate from and can teach us about peoples and cultures from across the globe, both past and present. The broad and diverse collections have come from a variety of sources since the Museum opened in 1866: archaeological excavations and scientific expeditions, individual souvenirs and collections acquired while traveling, items exchanged and traded between various individuals and groups, historic pieces passed down through families, purchased from individuals and companies, as well as from other museums. The Peabody continues to research the various histories of each piece in the vast collection and strives to transparently contextualize and care for them through its commitment to ethical stewardship and sustainable practices. In this process, the Museum welcomes the input and research of community stakeholders and the wider public.
There are 3 floors in the museum.
Floor 1 is the Hall of the north-american Indian, the legacy of the Penobscot canoes, and the Lakota images of the contested west.
Floor 3 is Resetting the table, encounters in the Americas and Other special exhibits including Asia and Central America (including parts of Mexico), Climate change and Earth and planetary sciences.
Floor 4 is “All the world is here”
This is definitely a museum to visit.
This is one of 4 Harvard museums of science and culture (HMSC)The other 3 are: Harvard Museum of natural history, Collection of historical scientific instrument and Harvard Museum of the ancient near east.
Established in 1866 as one of the first museums of anthropology, the Peabody Museum currently cares for a large and historic collection of anthropological materials from across the globe, including more than 1.2 million individual cultural items, 500,000 photographic images, and associated archival records.
These items originate from and can teach us about peoples and cultures from across the globe, both past and present. The broad and diverse collections have come from a variety of sources since the Museum opened in 1866: archaeological excavations and scientific expeditions, individual souvenirs and collections acquired while traveling, items exchanged and traded between various individuals and groups, historic pieces passed down through families, purchased from individuals and companies, as well as from other museums. The Peabody continues to research the various histories of each piece in the vast collection and strives to transparently contextualize and care for them through its commitment to ethical stewardship and sustainable practices. In this process, the Museum welcomes the input and research of community stakeholders and the wider public.
There are 3 floors in the museum.
Floor 1 is the Hall of the north-american Indian, the legacy of the Penobscot canoes, and the Lakota images of the contested west.
Floor 3 is Resetting the table, encounters in the Americas and Other special exhibits including Asia and Central America (including parts of Mexico), Climate change and Earth and planetary sciences.
Floor 4 is “All the world is here”
This is definitely a museum to visit.
Written 28 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
djstatick
Lakewood, WA323 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Loved the Native American exhibit! It was the best part, in my opinion. And it’s attached to the natural history museum, so you can do both.
Written 16 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dave
21 contributions
July 2019
Great museum, lots of Mayan and meso American exhibits. Have been twice and will definitely visit again. Parking is hard to find.
Written 7 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil S
Melbourne, FL33 contributions
July 2019 • Family
As part of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has a nice collection of artifacts. On display when we were there were collections from several civilizations. There was a collection of arms and armor that was interesting. We could have spent more time there but didn't get there until later in the day, and we first spent time in the Museum of Natural History. If you like archaeology, visit the Peabody when you are in Boston.
Written 13 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raz
New Jersey19 contributions
July 2019 • Couples
This museum is so cool! We started here and went to the natural history museum and spent 5 hours total looking at everything. I really enjoyed the native American exhibit the most! The Mayan floor was very interesting! The Art of War exhibit was incredible! The 4th floor was alright. Probably not. Good place for young kids, we saw a bunch freaking out in the 4th floor and it was annoying.
Written 6 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LoveToTravelSamson
Sacramento, CA153 contributions
Oct 2018 • Solo
The exhibit of the Mayan steles was very nice (I love Anything about Meso America, pre-Columbian time). You don't need a tour or city pass to go here. Just use the excellent mass transit system & do it yourself. It is a lot of walking from the bus stop (but you can get Lyft if too tired ;-). Not expensive or I'd have given it a lower rating. Not that much to see so I was a bit disappointed
Written 13 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ken Q
Denver, United States824 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
We enjoyed a quick visit and wished we had more time. One entrance fee for this and Harvard’s Museum.
Written 22 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AlexanderD
Jackson, NJ5,743 contributions
Aug 2019 • Family
The Peabody Museum is attached to the Harvard Museum of Natural History and is included in the ticket price there. My
family and I wouldn’t have likely visited here if not for that but I am glad we did.
There was a lot of fascinating collections to enjoy here, including a ton of Native American displays. I also loved the Penobscot Canoe!
family and I wouldn’t have likely visited here if not for that but I am glad we did.
There was a lot of fascinating collections to enjoy here, including a ton of Native American displays. I also loved the Penobscot Canoe!
Written 30 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheAviator0765
Ripon, UK858 contributions
Aug 2019
To many, the knowledge of Native American history seems to be limited to Last of the Mohicans, John Wayne or other popular culture which gives populist and misinformed impressions. A visit here really is essential to understand the story of the Native American peoples, and what happened once the settlers arrived and explored into the heart of the United States, and to be honest, it's not a pretty story.
Entrance fee is relatively expensive, but can be coupled with a visit to the museum of Natural History (although I recommend a break in-between as both museums can be overwhelming). It's not possible to define a time to spend here; to some an hour might be too long whereas others can spend several hours here (we stayed for somewhere between two and three, kind of lost track of time).
The array of exhibits is spectacular, and in many cases irreplaceable. Being Brits, our background knowledge was perhaps thin. However, the displays are arranged geographically, region by region, around the States. This makes is very easy to learn about the people in each area, and models of their settlements give a clear depiction of how they lived. I never realised how many different groups there were, but the one thing they had in common is that they all suffered at the hands of the settlers. Some of the stats relating to forced movement and depopulation are horrifying. You will find it hard to take it all in, and maybe as a national it might be of more interest to focus in detail on your local area.
We travelled to Harvard from Boston by bus, the museum being a short walk from the stop via the university grounds. It was an absorbing trip, profound and thought provoking. Strongly recommended.
Entrance fee is relatively expensive, but can be coupled with a visit to the museum of Natural History (although I recommend a break in-between as both museums can be overwhelming). It's not possible to define a time to spend here; to some an hour might be too long whereas others can spend several hours here (we stayed for somewhere between two and three, kind of lost track of time).
The array of exhibits is spectacular, and in many cases irreplaceable. Being Brits, our background knowledge was perhaps thin. However, the displays are arranged geographically, region by region, around the States. This makes is very easy to learn about the people in each area, and models of their settlements give a clear depiction of how they lived. I never realised how many different groups there were, but the one thing they had in common is that they all suffered at the hands of the settlers. Some of the stats relating to forced movement and depopulation are horrifying. You will find it hard to take it all in, and maybe as a national it might be of more interest to focus in detail on your local area.
We travelled to Harvard from Boston by bus, the museum being a short walk from the stop via the university grounds. It was an absorbing trip, profound and thought provoking. Strongly recommended.
Written 15 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annielovestravel
New Brunswick, Canada812 contributions
Nov 2018 • Family
Considering this is a university museum (although it is Harvard), there is a quite a display of diverse historical artifacts. It was not crowded on a Sunday afternoon, so we could easily take our time and see everything. The South American exhibits were especially of interest. This has little interactive activities, so might be boring for younger kids. With the fee we also got access to the Natural History Museum, which made it a great value.
Written 15 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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