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Sometimes, keeping children entertained on a vacation or school trip is just as hard as entertaining them at home or in the classroom. However, it is possible to teach them about human history while indulging many of their interests and hobbies be it art or exploring. Archaeology is the unspoken, unwritten, history of humanity as told by the objects they made, the places they lived, and their remains.
Archaeology has developed over two centuries to be a well respected, scientific discipline but like bird watching or animal spotting, it is one which can be done in the field all the time without having to dig big holes in the ground. A lot of archaeology is spent understanding landscapes and cities, working out the material history of a place. We are surrounded by archaeology whether it is under the ground or just not seen. Here are a few ways you can involve children outdoors in learning about archaeology:
Visit Museums: The obvious place to start on any vacation or trip is the local museums. You can do quizzes while inside, but also set the background for later ideas and challenges. Furthermore, curators work closely with local archaeologists and between them they can design educational activities for children at the museum as well as introduce them to how the museum and archaeology work.
Go Beyond the Usual Tourist Traps: All pay for or free to enter historical and archaeological sites are not the sum total of them which exist in this world. Go beyond the famous and you will find many other sites. For example, most people at Stonehenge go to the stone circle, but do not realize there is a whole landscape of long barrows, round barrows, and other henges in the vicinity.
Learning to Read the Landscape: Not all of a landscape is modern. For example, by counting the number of species in a hedge, it may be possible to guess its age, lumps and bumps in fields may be signs of old buildings, old field patterns or burial mounds. Every landscape has a unique story and gives kids the chance to explore and unravel an area’s past.
Guessing the Age of Buildings: In many older places; especially in Europe, it is possible to tell the age of a building just by its architecture, but also the phases the building has been through. This is a great opportunity to tell the children about different styles and ages, and then get them to
Field Walking: You may need the landowner’s permission, but by walking through a ploughed field you can find all sorts of items including potshards, stone tools, and so on.
Pay Close Attention to the Beaches: All sorts of things can be found among pebbles and grains of sand. Some are washed up by the seas and some come from land worn away by the tides. For example, in southern England dinosaur fossils have been exposed by cliff erosion while in Jersey, neanderthal bones were found. Be aware that cliffs can be dangerous, but do take a look to see if anything has been exposed.
These are just some of the activities children can do while out and about in a landscape. However, there is a whole lot more which will open up the world of archaeology to them. This can range from designing costumes, to learning to make their own historical pots, to drawing pictures of the old landscape or of the people they have learned about. The little skills you give them, will stay inside and when they travel or see new places they will be wondering about the ages of buildings or the stories of landscapes instead of just passing through them unaware.