Let students do "adult stuff in a kid way" with archaeology.
The Archaeology Perspective (T.A.P.) comes to a number of locations in New York, New Jersey and PA. Geof "Big Dog" Purcell has also done digs in Maryland, and probably CT/RI. Upcoming digs closest to me include:
- Aegean June 2011, Califon, NJ (new dig topic)
- NAI early America - Spring 2011 - Orange County Homeschoolers, NY
- (Roman) Egypt : Tuesday - Friday starting October 4th, 2010 near Blairstown. If you have any questions or are interested in participating please email Natashia for a headcount.
- China - Fall 2010 - Orange County Homeschoolers, NY
- Ancient India - last week of June 2010 (new dig topic!)
" India! A cradle of civilization! What will you find? The remains of 5000 year old
Harrapan cities? An early Hindu Temple (c.500 BC)? A Buddhist shrine (c.200 AD)? The garbage of a house (1850 AD)? It could be all of the above as we dig into the mysterious culture, geography and history of the sub-continent!"
A fun filled week of being able to dig for and find amazing artifacts and learn something new about different countries, geography, philosophy, ancient cultures, remains, and people. The children will also learn to solve on site archaeological puzzles for the dig they are doing.
The attending campers are encouraged and learn, with the guidance of Big Dog, to develop an interpretation and be able to present archaeological evidence from their dig by excavating the site in such a way as to maximize the preservation of information embedded in the context and embodied in the artifacts.
The participants will have a picture of what professional archaeologists do, how they do it, and perhaps why it matters, by determining:
- What are the artifacts? how were they used?
- How were they made? what resources used,
- What is the context of the artifacts? ("in the dirt", "in a bowl"?) how did they get here? (were they lost? hidden? or thrown away?)
- the problem to be solved: how we identify and interpret artifacts and their context, (was this made locally? are the resources local or were they acquired by trade? or war?)
- ways to solve them: by staring, digging, processing, questioning, and
- displaying the artifacts and explaining what was found creating exhibits.
The students will be led through questions like "How we know what we know about the past?" and learn to make crucial distinctions between different kinds of meaning by digging, thinking, exhibiting, and explaining artifacts.
Q: Who runs the camps?
Geof Purcell, a.k.a. Big Dog, Professor of Archaeology and a world renowned archaeologist decide several years ago that children would immensely benefit from the hands-on experience of what it's like to be an archaeologist. Mr. Purcell then created TAP-The Archaeological Perspective- to bring archaeology and children together.
Q: How long is the homeschool (day) camp?
Tuesday through Friday.
usually 10 am to 4 pm for the full day, children ages 7 and up, and 10 am to 1pm for half day campers, ages 5 to 7. (Note: Some camps run from 9 am to noon/3pm.)
Half day campers go home after lunch. In the afternoon, full day campers participate in playing strategic logical board games, which coincide with what they are learning in camp.
If you don't think your child would be ready for a full day program, or your schedule doesn't allow for it, it's perfectly alright just to participate in the half day program.
Children will "dig" mornings Tuesday through Thursday, with breaks for discussion, and their bag lunch. Afternoons are devoted to discussion, slide shows & games which re-enforce the concepts presented. They might trade resources using a board game, or strategize which expedition to fund in a card game. Friday they will set up a "museum", thinking about what they have seen & found, and the stories they built in their heads. Visitors are encouraged to come, look, and partake in the dig themed potluck.
A certain number of parents must stay at the dig - it is not for Geof & the host to supervise all 24 students! If you leave your child, be sure to leave contact information and, in case of emergency, a medical release with the host. Please inform the host and Big Dog of any allergies or special issues even if you are staying.
Q: What do the children do all day?
The dig site is divided into sections and the children are assigned a square, usually two children per square. They are given papers to map their daily dig and mark down what they find. The digging starts once all the campers have their proper digging tools and Big Dog explains the how, what, why, and where. The artifacts are then discovered, logged and cleaned. The children will also watch a slide show and hear Big Dog tell adventures tales of his travels from all over the world, all of which is tied in with the dig the children are doing.
Q: What is the cost for 2009 homeschool archaeology camp?
$170 for full day campers & $120 for half day campers.
20% discount for siblings.
$50 deposit required per child.
All checks need to be made out to TAP (short for "The Archaeological Perspective")
Q: When do we sign up?
In general, your child's spot will be secured once a deposit is received by the site coordinator. (It might be the host, or another parent volunteer.) You will also need to fill in registration forms. The final payment is usually expected about 3 weeks before the dig.
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