Museum-Based Assignments at Strawbery Banke Museum

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Public Archaeology in New Hampshire: Museum and University Research" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Strawbery Banke is a 10-acre living history museum in Portsmouth, NH, with nearly 40 extant historic houses. Strawbery Banke archaeologists have been researching the area for over 50 years, assembling a collection of over 1 million artifacts related to the residents of this historic port city. In the spring and fall semesters of 2019, the Collections Department staff worked with the University of New Hampshire Anthropology faculty and students enrolled in the capstone course "Cultural Sustainability and the Role of Public Archaeology," to offer students hands-on experience with archaeological collections and research. Students developed narratives about unique histories of the site, informed by documentary and material evidence, and shared these narratives with museum visitors and the public through a mobile app, social media platforms, and on-site. This presentation describes the museum's archaeology programs and the development of the Anthropology course, and discusses the challenges and successes of museum-based assignments for students.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Public Archaeology in New Hampshire: Museum and University Research   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 278