Bringing Archaeology to You: Insights from the Roving Exhibit and Archeology Laboratory

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

One of the most important aspects of the National Park Service is to preserve the “cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” However, cultural resources—including archaeological sites—are often inaccessible to the public. In order to promote equity by making archaeology in the National Parks more accessible, the Northeast Archeological Resources Program (NARP) developed the Roving Exhibit and Archeology Laboratory (REAL) with funding from a National Park Foundation grant. REAL is a traveling pop-up with hands-on activities introducing concepts like excavation, survey, cataloging, and paleoethnobotany. The goal of REAL is to bring tangible educational opportunities to learners through outreach events at parks, as well as in schools, libraries, and summer camps, presenting a unique way to engage with the public and highlight underrepresented histories. NARP brought REAL to five locations in the Northeast during the summer of 2022. In this talk I will discuss insights from the 2022 REAL deployments and how this initiative promotes meaningful connections between archaeologists, parks staff, and learners of all ages.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36072.0