In 2015 I participated in a course on object-based research methods using museum collections. Over the course of several months I conducted a research project on Hupa, Yurok, and Karuk basketry hats from the Klamath River area in Northern California. This project culminated in presenting my results to the public and to the museum staff in the form of an academic lecture at a research symposium. I later presented a similar version of this talk at a Handweaver's Guild of Boulder meeting in the fall of 2016.