I would really like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has sent me replies on and off list on this topic. I have some questions for a few of you, but the response has been overwhelming. I'm giving a public talk this evening and digging on the weekend, so it may take me a few days to get back to you all in person. Truly thank you - there are so many wonderful programs out there, it has been exciting to learn about them all.
Best,
Sarah
***************************
Sarah Croucher
Assistant Professor
Wesleyan University
Anthropology Department
281 High Street
Middletown, CT 06459
USA
Telephone: 860-685-4489
http://scroucher.faculty.wesleyan.edu/
http://beman-triangle.research.wesleyan.edu/
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carol McDavid
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 3:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: Youth archaeology programs
Hi all,
I received several off-list replies asking for more info on the program we do for Boy Scouts -- so Robert Marcom gave me permission to post his reply to Sarah Croucher.
I should also add that Robert is a certified Boy Scout instructor -- I'm not sure what that entails, but I assume any Boy Scout office can provide the info. I am not sure if he is required to have it to teach the class, or if it is just necessary to have a certified person present.
Also, note that Boy Scout instructors are not allowed to take money for the work. The Yates Museum does charge for the classes they sponsor on their site, to cover lights, air conditioning, etc., and they often pass on a small donation to our nonprofit, CARI. However, Robert and his wife Ruth donate their services to both the Museum and CARI to make the class possible. And of course, as Robert mentioned, the Houston Archeological Society often donates some time as well.
Thanks!
Carol
*****************************
Carol McDavid, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Community Archaeology Research Institute, Inc.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rice University Secretary, Society for Historical Archaeology Co-editor, Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage
(http://www.maneypublishing.com/journals/cah)
1638 Branard
Houston, TX 77006
www.publicarchaeology.org
.....................................
Perhaps my wife and I could offer input. We have conducted youth-oriented archaeology programs for the Yates Community Archaeology Program over the past 4 years. We've held programs lasting between one and four days and have been hosts to boys and girls from the age of 8 years old, and up.
I will begin the process by offering a few observations which we consider key to the process:
We insist on the participation of parents or adults at the ratio of one adult to five youth. We've found that this ratio reduces behavior problems significantly.
We limit the duration of activities to 2 hours per session. We have structured breaks, because mischief breaks out during unsupervised break periods. Water and fruit snacks make for an excellent break. (Snacks are included in the cost for our program.) We inform our parents that we will not be responsible for discipline and we make it clear to them that they should expect to take care of any discipline necessary. We reserve the right to call a responsible adult and have a student removed from participation.
We've found that parents/supervisors really value that we make sure each participant is able to take part equally. For example, when the participants have finished cleaning artifacts, they begin learning how to classify the materials on their tray. We spend time individually with each one to make sure they are able to identify the materials their artifacts are made of. We consider it VERY important to make it around to EVERY participant, so we do not move on to another activity until everyone has had
individual attention.
We've tried both faux digs and actual excavation (depending on the age of our students) and we've found that faux dig work well with the 8 to 12-year-olds, but older children can easily be trained to perform actual excavation providing you have the time and staff. We are fortunate to have enlisted members of the Houston Archeological Society to work with us, gratis.
These are a few of the lessons we've drawn from our experience. We would be happy to answer any questions you might have for us.
Robert and Ruth Marcom
-----Original Message-----
From: Carol McDavid [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 2:35 PM
To: 'HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY'
Subject: RE: Youth archaeology programs
My CARI colleagues Robert and Ruth Marcom (Robert is a CARI director) have developed a very nice program for the Boy Scouts archaeology badge, which has worked with other groups too.
I'll ask Robert to write you off-list, Sarah.
Carol
*****************************
Carol McDavid, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Community Archaeology Research Institute, Inc. (CARI) Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rice University Secretary, Society for Historical Archaeology Co-editor, Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage (http://www.maneypublishing.com/journals/cah )
1638 Branard
Houston, TX 77006
www.publicarchaeology.org
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Croucher, Sarah
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 9:34 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Youth archaeology programs
Histarchers,
I'm hoping that some of you might be able to help me out. The community partners I am working with on a project here really want to get a summer youth program going for kids to get more involved in archaeology. I think we can mobilize resources to make it work, but I need more ideas of how to structure this type of program. I am wondering if any of you have experiences you could share of anything similar. This would be something more than just a one day session, so I'm hoping that some of you might have done week long (or longer) programs you could discuss. There seem to be a couple of different routes that we could go down to structure a program, so I would really like to hear about other experiences and get some ideas of what might be most successful in terms of the types of activities, ages of kids involved, structure of the day, staffing etc.
Please feel free to contact me off list about this:
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Thanks so much,
Sarah Croucher
***************************
Sarah Croucher
Assistant Professor
Wesleyan University
Anthropology Department
281 High Street
Middletown, CT 06459
USA
Telephone: 860-685-4489
http://scroucher.faculty.wesleyan.edu/
http://beman-triangle.research.wesleyan.edu/
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