Update: The Education Committee put together this workshop for the ARARA Conference. Due to the current pandemic, the ARARA 2020 conference will be postponed until 2021. Look for this workshop next year!
Education Workshop at ARARA Conference
Karen Steelman & Jan Gorski
At the ARARA 2020 Conference in Great Falls, the Education Committee will be hosting a workshop by Project Archaeology for ARARA members and local elementary school teachers on Monday, June 8th. This workshop will be paired with a half-day field trip. Currently, Dry Wolf Cave is shaping-up as the field trip destination. Teachers will receive 2 hours of Continuing Education Credits. The Committee will advertise this workshop to all Montana elementary school teachers. We also hope ARARA members interested in volunteering at their local school across the US will attend this workshop to bring rock art education into your own communities.
Project Archaeology (projectarchaeology.org) is a network of archaeologists, educators, and concerned citizens that are working to make archaeology education accessible to students and teachers nationwide through high-quality educational materials and professional development. Their aim is to give students a basic understanding of how archaeology works and to teach students to respect and protect our nation’s rich cultural heritage. In 2018, Project Archaeology launched a series of curriculum for teachers and students in grades 3-5, entitled Investigating Rock Art. This program is supplemented with online regional investigations at sites across the country.
The ARARA workshop leader, Sabre Moore of the Carter County Museum, is a lead author on a new regional supplement, Investigating Rock Art at Medicine Rocks State Park, MT. The curriculum with transform grade 3-5 classrooms into a community of student archaeologists who ask questions, make observations and support their inferences with evidence, analyze primary sources, and relate culture to their own lives, all while learning about Montana’s archaeological resources.
Look for this option on the Monday Field Trips once the conference registration and field trip sign-up is available online!
