National Deaf Life Museum

To enhance the future of the deaf community, we must preserve its past. The National Deaf Life Museum serves as a beacon of progress and hope for deaf culture.

Founded by the late Jane Norman, Ph.D., a treasured Gallaudet University colleague, the museum serves to:

• Create public programming that reaches our campus, surrounding neighborhoods, diverse Washington, D.C. constituencies, as well as national and international audiences.
• Advocate for the open exchange of ideas about what it means to be deaf vs hearing with the local, national, and international communities.
• Provide national leadership in the presentation of deaf history and contemporary life of the deaf community.
• Host historical, linguistic, and cultural scholarship that serves the University and its visitors as a resource on deaf life and artistic expression.

Plan Your Visit!

Internships

The National Deaf Life Museum offers credit-earning internships to students in a variety of majors. Have your academic advisor contact Museum staff for more information.

Volunteering

Volunteer opportunities are available for students, alumni, and interested community members. Contact museum staff for more information about training as a docent and scheduling volunteer hours.

Class Visits

Students are always welcome in the museum, and we offer educational opportunities for professors who wish to bring their class as a group to learn about Gallaudet history and other programs the museum offers.

Classroom Lectures

Instructors wishing to have a guest speaker on the subjects of museum studies, exhibition design and writing, Gallaudet history, Deaf culture, and related topics are welcome to contact museum staff.

While we have developed plans for future exhibitions, the committee is always interested in suggestions. To impart your vision for an exhibition or new ways of reaching communities, please