Wheaton students have the opportunity to engage with the collection through their studies, whether a First-Year Experience (FYE) course on cultural heritage or a Senior Seminar in the Greek, Latin and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Department. While some conduct independent research on objects for an assignment, others explore the collection as a class, guided by faculty members in a hands-on experience with selected objects.

In addition, a team of work-study students assist the Curator with the care and management of the collection. Known as Collection Assistants, these students work on a variety of projects including accessioning and researching new acquisitions and their creators and donors, supervising class visits, curating campus displays, and assisting with the ongoing inventory and cataloging process. In addition, students with an interest in conservation have the opportunity to clean and make simple repairs to objects, in consultation with professional conservators like Camille Myers Briggs of Museum Textile Services and Ingrid Neuman of Berkshire Art Conservation.

Through their work-study employment, Collection Assistants learn about collections management, while acquiring skills in exhibition design, object care and handling, and registration. They strengthen their research, writing, and critical thinking skills and their ability to collaborate. Recent alumni who worked with the collection have gone on to arts- or museum-related graduate studies and/or employment at cultural institutions across the United States and abroad.