How I Spent My Summer Vacation: A Model for Archaeology Camps in Service of Public Outreach

Summary

Public outreach and education has increasingly become an essential component of archaeology. Helping the community become invested in the past can do wonders for perpetuating the archaeological ideals of cultural preservation and conservation. Instilling these values in the younger generation is one of the most effective ways to create a more culturally conscious future. The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Archaeological Research aims to meet this goal through their educational outreach program titled "Legacy: Hands on the Past". The Legacy program offers many archaeology based learning opportunities for local students, teachers, and other community members throughout the year. Within this presentation we will highlight one of the longest running methods to connect the past to the present employed by the Legacy program. After years of fine tuning, the Legacy team has developed a highly successful model to create an annual archaeology themed summer camp that couple learning and fun for a holistic experience for students. This paper will outline the model while emphasizing the benefits, challenges, and changes Legacy staff has encountered along the way.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17194