Teacher Training & Field Opportunities

The following organizations provide opportunities and resources for educators to learn about teaching archaeology. There are programs that bring archaeological lessons into the classroom, and ones that get students and teachers directly involved in archaeological research.

American Foreign Academic Research (AFAR)
AFAR was founded by an archaeologist and educator in the Flagler County, Florida Public Schools. This non-profit organization offers a Maya studies field school for high school students at the Maya sites of Cahal Pech and Baking Pot in the Cayo District of Western Belize. It is open to all high school students through competitive—but non grade-based—application process.

Archaeology in the Community
In a partnership with the Montpelier Foundation, Archaeology in the Community offers the LEARN Archaeology Expedition Program for grade school teachers. Full scholarships are available.

Center for American Archeology
This organization offers summer archaeological training programs for students 14-17 years and an adult field school, which includes excavation and laboratory analysis.

Crow Canyon Archaeological Research Center
This not-for-profit organization in Colorado offers a variety of archaeological education programs for adults, teens, and families. They also provide special courses for educators that are aligned with national education standards in social studies, geography, history, and science. Crow Canyon offers one-week summer programs for middle school students and a three week summer program for high school students.

Earthwatch Institute
This non-profit organization offers short term volunteer opportunities directly assisting scientists in the field. There are opportunities for both educators and students to participate in archaeological field expeditions, and both may apply for education fellowships to support their participation.

Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center (MVAC)
Located at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, MVAC conducts research in the Upper Mississippi River Valley and offers archaeology classes and field schools for teachers and students.

Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s field school offers teachers an opportunity to excavate at Marana’s Yuma Wash site, where Native Americans of the Hohokam and Salado cultures lived between A.D. 750 and early 1400. Teacher workshops and programs for children are also available.

Passport in Time (P.I.T.)
Passport in Time is a volunteer program of the USDA Forest Service, accepts volunteers to assist with archaeological surveys and excavations on national forests. The P.I.T. website lists, by state and by date, those projects currently accepting volunteers.

Project Archaeology
This joint program of Montana State University and the Bureau of Land Management offers workshops and educational resources. Project Archaeology workshops are conducted by facilitators who provide training and mentoring to local educators who wish to incorporate archaeology into their classroom teaching. Workshop participants receive the Project Archaeology activity guides, designed for Grades 4-7, or one of their curriculum guides (Grades 3-5). Online courses are also offered.

Archaeology Education Portals

Archaeology can enliven a classroom lesson in almost any subject, from art to zoology. We encourage you to visit these sources for additional archaeology education resources.

Archaeological Institute of America
Lesson plans and projects that focus on ancient material culture and stress archaeological approaches and ways of thinking. Culture specific projects include Classical, Near East, Roman, and Medieval periods.

Archaeology Education Clearinghouse
The Archaeology Education Clearinghouse is a combined effort of the Archaeological Institute of  America, the Society for American Archaeology and the Society for Historical Archaeology. It is dedicated to promoting the use of archaeology in classrooms and interpretive settings.

Archaeology In the Community
A not-for-profit organization that “promotes and facilitates the study and public understanding of archaeological heritage” with informal educational programs, hands-on learning, professional development, and community events.

Into the Field: Archaeology
A collection from PBS Learning Media with archaeology-focused materials and lesson plans for classroom or home use. The collection includes 1 video, 5 documents, and 5 lesson plans for Grades PreK-13+.

Social Studies Resources
Teaching resources from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, including articles, lessons, activities, posters, worksheets, and videos.

Project Archaeology
This joint program of Montana State University and the Bureau of Land Management offers workshops and educational resources. Project Archaeology workshops are conducted by facilitators who provide training and mentoring to local educators who wish to incorporate archaeology into their classroom teaching. Workshop participants receive the Project Archaeology activity guides, designed for Grades 4-7, or one of their curriculum guides (Grades 3-5). Online courses are also offered.

Teaching With Historic Places
Teaching With Historic Places from the National Park Service includes online lesson plans that use historic sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places to explore American history. Lesson plans can be adapted both for older and younger grades and link to the national curriculum standards for history for Grades 5-12, and Social Studies standards for middle school. Each lesson includes maps, readings, and photographs.

The Heritage Education Network
The Heritage Education Network (THEN) is an alliance of archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, educators, architects, folklorists, museum specialists, interpreters, art historians and others. THEN provides an annotated bibliography of heritage education resources, currently with more than 500 listings.