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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.

Featured Exhibits

east Asian textiles on exhibit

Poems Made to Wear: Traditional Colors in East Asia
Through August 16, 2025

Exhibit gallery

Museum of World Cultures: Highlights from the UNC-Wilmington Collection
Through February 14, 2026

See All Exhibits

Upcoming Events

A small ceramic fish

Fragments of Changsha Exhibit Opens

April 29

Closed for Memorial Day

May 24-26

Recent News Stories

Internships Benefit Students and MuseumJanuary 24, 2025
Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya Film Screening to Celebrate Indigenous Peoples DayOctober 7, 2024
The Lam on LoanSeptember 9, 2024

See All News Stories

Explore the Collection with the Artifact of the Month

Saudi Arabian DressApril 1, 2025
Roman Tear BottleMarch 3, 2025
Bamana Door LockFebruary 3, 2025

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 22

We hope to see you at the Museum tonight!

#lammuseum #translivesmatter

Apr 17

We'll be closed tomorrow through Sunday for #Easter Weekend. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Apr 15

Please join us next Tuesday for a panel discussion presented in conjunction with the exhibit "Photos of a Moving Self: How Gender Shifted During the Pandemic." We hope to see you then!

#lammuseum #photosofamovingself #lgbtq

Apr 14

We had so much fun at our Celebrate East Asia Open House on Saturday! Thanks to everyone who came out despite the chilly weather.

#lammuseum #eastasia #wakethearts

Apr 11

We are so excited to see everyone tomorrow as we celebrate the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea! Swipe to see the performance schedule so you don't miss anything. 🪭

#lammuseum #wakethearts #eastasia #crafts #thingstodoinwsnc #free

Apr 8

Join us as we celebrate the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea! Our free Celebrate East Asia Open House will feature music, dance, food, crafts, and activities for all ages on Saturday, April 12, from 1 to 4pm. Performances will include the Wake Forest Chinese Ensemble playing traditional Chinese instruments, two fan dances from the Wen Hua Chinese School, and traditional Korean drumming from K Joy Nanta. Korean BBQ and fusion food will be available for purchase from the Bulkogi food truck. Remember, admission is free!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #korea #china #japan #thingstodoinwsnc #free

Apr 7

The Museum is pleased to host WFU anthropologist Dr. Timothy Gitzen's talk about his new book "Unscripting the Present: The Security Panic of Queer Youth Sexuality" this Wednesday, April 9, at 5pm.

Apr 4

We are very excited that @ncbulkogi will be at our Celebrate East Asia Open House on April 12, serving up their delicious Korean BBQ! We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #koreanbbq #koreanfood #thingstodoinwsnc

Apr 2

Craft preparations are underway for our upcoming Celebrate East Asia Open House next Saturday! Korean hand drums and masks from Japan, China, and Korea are just two of the projects that will be available. We'll also be making paper in the Chinese tradition and coloring Japanese carp windsocks. We hope to see you!

#lammuseum #eastasia #crafts #thingstodoinwsnc

Apr 1

Did you know that April is #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth? In recognition of this celebration, our April #ArtifactOfTheMonth is this beautiful Saudi Arabian dress.

In keeping with Muslim standards of modesty, the dress has long sleeves and reaches to the floor. Itwas donated to the Lam Museum by an American collector who lived in #SaudiArabia for more than a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. When she traveled around the country, she would purchase vintage clothing at the local markets. The dresses in her collection are not considered luxurious pieces. They do not represent the metropolitan culture of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, but instead the rustic lifestyles of small villages and nomadic Bedouin communities.

The most striking feature of this dress is its embroidery. Archaeologists can date Arab embroidery back to at least 1300 BCE, because examples were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. It remains an important part of the culture of the Arab world today. Embroidery motifs can have many meanings. They can ward off evil, indicate social status, or depict the local environment. They may contain arabesque or calligraphy designs. The patterns and colors may even reveal the village or area that the wearer comes from.

The embroidered design of this dress hides images of griffins: mythical creatures with the bodies of lions and the heads of eagles. These creatures have been depicted in art throughout West Asia since 3000 BCE, and they may have originated even earlier in Central Asia. In the ancient world, they were believed to live in wild areas and attack travelers. Since the Medieval period, griffins have been used as a symbol of power.

#lammuseum #textiles #embroidery

Mar 25

We are excited to showcase music and dance at our upcoming Celebrate East Asia Open House on April 12! Performances will include the WFU Chinese Ensemble playing traditional Chinese instruments, two fan dances from the Wen Hua Chinese School, and traditional Korean drumming from K Joy Nanta. We hope to see you here!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #chinesemusic #chinesedance #chinesefandance #koreandrumming #thingstodoinwsnc #free

Mar 17

Bright kelly green may be everywhere you look today, but did you know that in East Asian cultures, blue and green are not always distinguished from each other? Swipe to learn more. You can learn all about the meanings of different colors in China and Japan through our exhibit "Poems Made to Wear."

#lammuseum #green #StPatricksDay #wakethearts

Mar 14

Save the date and join us as we celebrate the cultures of China, Korea, and Japan on Saturday, April 12, from 1-4pm!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #china #korea #japan

Mar 12

The Museum has a part in two different events taking place next Wednesday evening. Swupe to see both. We hope one of them will pique your interest!

#lammuseum #wakethearts

Mar 7

Spring break starts this weekend, but don't worry, we'll be open our regular hours all of next week - Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4:30pm. We have a new photo exhibit you can see in our staff hallway featuring research from a team at UNC-Charlotte. "Photos of a Moving Self: How Gender Shifted During the Pandemic" will be on display through April 5.

#lammuseum #gender #exhibit #free #wsnc #thingstodoinwsnc

Mar 4

We hope to see you tonight! The lecture will be followed by a fundraiser for the Folmar Foundation, which promotes health and livelihood in marginalized communities in Nepal. Nepalese food will be available for $12 a plate.

#lammuseum #holi #nepal #hindu #hinduism

Mar 3

Our March #ArtifactOfTheMonth is a Roman tear bottle on exhibit in "Museum of World Cultures: Highlights from the UNC-Wilmington Collection." Learn more about it, particularly why it is not actually a tear bottle, below.

Small glass bottles like this one are often referred to as tear bottles but are more properly known as unguentaria. They are found in ancient Roman and Greek tombs in large quantities. Many people believe the romantic notion that these bottles were used to hold the tears of mourners and then buried along with the deceased. However, there is no evidence that this is true.

Using chemical analysis, scientists discovered that these bottles contained perfumes and unguents, which were used to anoint the recently deceased. Expensive fragrant plants like frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon were infused in oils and applied to the body or the cloths wrapping it. Similar aromatic resins were also laid out alongside the body to mask the odor of decay between the death and the funeral. Then they were cast onto the funeral pyre along with the body or added to the tomb with other offerings. These practices both indicated the high social status of the deceased and helped in the spirit’s transition to the afterlife.

Bottles of this variety date back to the rapid growth of the #Roman glass industry during the early first century CE. The green coloration present in this bottle was likely made by adding iron to the molten glass during the blowing process. There is also a spot of iridescence present on the bottom of the bottle. This effect was most likely not intentional. Iridescence in glass from this period usually appears as the result of chemical decomposition due to the glass’s contact with the damp and acidic soils surrounding it in its archaeological context.

Curation for this post was completed by Nick Beckom ('26).

#lammuseum #archaeology #classicalarchaeology #ancientrome

Feb 26

We are very excited that Dr. Akshay Gupta, Wake Forest's Assistant Chaplain for Hindu Life and Religious Engagement will speak at the Museum next week about the Hindu celebration of Holi!

The lecture will be followed by a fundraiser for the Folmar Foundation, which promotes health and livelihood in marginalized communities in the Lamjung district of Nepal. Nepalese food by Curry and Noodle including Momo, Gobi Manchuria, Butter Chicken Masala, Rice, and Gulab Jamun, will be sold for $12 a plate.

#lammuseum #Hindu #Hinduism #Holi

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