The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology was founded in 1901 with three goals in mind: to introduce the students of Phillips Academy to the world of archaeology, to promote archaeological research, and to provide a place for students to gather.
Today’s Peabody Institute employs collaborative learning to actively engage students, teachers, scientists, and Native Americans with the institute’s significant archaeology and anthropology collections, while also encouraging and enlivening cultural discourse on race and gender.
The Institute has gone through several name changes. Originally founded as the Phillips Academy Department of Archaeology, its name was changed to the Robert S. Peabody Foundation for Archaeology, then later to the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, and is now known as the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology.