Helping kids learn about archaeology – an ongoing learning experience

The project I am developing for CAP this semester is, as I wrote in my intro post, a public engagement program titled “Dig the Past” designed to teach children about archaeology and campus history through hands-on simulations of real archaeological activities.
On Sunday, September 15, my student facilitators and I hosted a trial run of “Dig the Past” at McDonel Hall. I’d recruited a few classmates with young children who kindly agreed to be the first test participants of the activities. My goals were to see how well the kids’ attention spans and interest levels matched with the requirements of the activities, and how much or how little explanation or hands-on intervention of each activity and its related concepts I should incorporate. And, of course, I wanted to make sure the kids would have fun!

Overall, I can say the trial run was pretty successful. My bright young participants had no shortage of attention span and seemed to love getting their hands in dirt and on real artifacts. I got some feedback on how I could organize the program to help it flow and maintain a balance between information and fun, and some additional logistic insights I hadn’t previously thought of – like wet wipes to clean hands after digging and screening!
The program’s first official run takes place this Saturday, September 21 from 1-3 PM in the Auditorium of the MSU Museum. Thanks to the trial run, it should go more smoothly than it would have otherwise, and it will (I hope) be a lot of fun and learning for everyone involved. See you there!

Author: Adrianne Daggett