A Giant Awakes in Nantes

This is a little off topic but very cool.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=214169335485&h=a-akt&u=nuMcG&ref=mf

New Videos Online for the Underwater Archaeology Teaching Kit

Students using the MUA Teaching Kit.

We have recently updated the teaching page with two new videos. The first shows a brief portion of the hands on artifact analysis exercise we conducted with a sixth grade class in Maryland. The second shows how we conduct a black water diving simulation wherein students can not see the items they are touching but have to determine if the objects are man made or from the natural environment. If you don’t have one of the MUA Teaching Kits please see our teaching page for information on how to obtain one for your class or organization.

You can see the new videos here: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/teaching.html

`Jones’: Real archaeologists don’t have whips

Well, most don’t anyway. I’m not saying I have one mind you, at least not publicly. Anyway here’s a link to the article…

Click here.

Excavating the Website: There are Lessons Buried Here

Last week we announced that the Museum of Underwater Archaeology’s “Holding History in Your Hand” (HHYH) classroom learning kits were ready for shipping world wide. The response has been incredible with inquiries coming in literally from around the world. If you’re not familiar with the kit you can view the brochure here. The MUA staff has been conducting the HHYH exercise for several years now. But since we can’t be everywhere at once we worked with members of the East Carolina University’s Maritime Studies Association to create a lesson plan and artifact analysis guide so that school teachers and other organizations could conduct the exercise themselves.

But one of the most exciting things for us was the decision to augment the lesson plan with additional exercises that let teachers use the MUA website as a teaching tool. We’ve built up a great collection of projects written by underwater archaeologists from around the world but after you’ve read say a field journal written in 2006 what more can be done with it? Is it then time to send it off to the archive to wither away? We don’t think so.

Thanks Roy…

This morning I received word that Dr. Roy Rosenzweig passed away yesterday. Roy was the Director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University where I am enrolled as a PhD student. There are many others there that knew him far better than I did and I’m sure could and will tell better stories about him. My time in the program had not occasioned many opportunities to work with Roy. I spoke to him at length only a few times but it occured to me today just how much this man has influenced my own life. I can only imagine how his passing will impact those that worked more closely with him.

The MUA in Boston …. and a Classroom Near You

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology is pleased to announce its latest endeavor: “Holding History in Your Hand,” a program for classroom teachers. This program, entitled “Artifact Analysis” uses a hands-on exercise to teach students how underwater archaeologists learn about people by studying the things they left behind. Through a class discussion of their observations students learn the importance of provenience, context, and conservation. They will learn to make that important step from discussing things to discussing people.

“Holding History in Your Hand” supplies the teacher with a written curriculum presenting the archaeological process, replicas of artifacts for hands on examination, bookmarks, a CD with additional videos of underwater archaeologists at work, other activities for further exploration, and back up copies of all documents teachers can download for future reference.  The classroom activities are supplemented by the MUA’s online exhibit “A Children’s Introduction to Underwater Archaeology.”  The only cost to teachers is for shipping and handling for sending and returning the materials to the MUA.  Please see the Teaching Resource link in the left side navigation menu to download a PDF description for your school at:

http://www.uri.edu/mua

We’re also excited to announce that the MUA will take part in The Archaeological Institute of America’s Archaeology Fair held at the Boston Museum of Science on October 4 – 5, 2007.  We will hold special sessions for the visiting school classes and man a table with information about the new “Holding History in Your Hand,” program and the MUA’s other projects.   A sample kit will be on display. We will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Please stop by if you’re in the area and say hello. We look forward to meeting you!  For more information visit the Boston Museum of Science website at:

http://www.mos.org/events_activities/special_programs&d=2014

The MUA in 2007

Now that the holidays have come and gone I thought it was time for an update. I always worry when we haven’t posted anything for a while that folks will think we’ve run out of steam. Nothing could be further from the truth. 2006 was a great year for us at the MUA. We launched a new version of the site, added six new projects to the “In The Field” section, this blog, and the “Project Journal” featuring East Carolina University’s Program in Maritime Studies (which itself included 26 journal entries, 15 videos, a survey, and learning assessment article).

Right On The MARC

I have had the great fortune over the last five years of teaching underwater archaeological mapping techniques to sport divers. Many students took the class to prepare to work as avocational assistants to professionals. People from all walks of life have taken the class. Far from feeling apart from these folks, I have always felt great kinship with them because of a shared enthusiasm and a profound sense that what we do is amazingly, for lack of a better word, cool.

What is a museum?

 

National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story last week about online museums and how they compared to bricks and mortar museums. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5563221) When I first started the MUA I referred to it as a virtual museum because in my mind it didn’t seem real but I began to think differently after visiting a few local exhibits at the Smithsonian and Mystic Seaport. Several of the exhibits at the bricks and mortar facilities were composed entirely of images. Those with more three dimensional artifacts on display were not available for the general public to touch. Viewers were limited to moving around the artifact to change their viewpoint. The closer I looked at the vistor experience the less differences I could find.

Digital Media and the Teaching and Learning of History

This entry originally appeared in my class blog back in November 15, 2005 and while it was written with history in mind I think its points are applicable to archaeology as well. Like they say on TV if you haven’t seen it, then it’s new to you!

-Kurt

P.S. By the way feel free to leave comments by clicking on the word comment just below all entries to this blog. I’d like to hear your thoughts on what we post.

Digital media has changed the way students learn in general and specifically in history but not in ways one might expect. The hype that surrounds the internet and the promise of rapid dramatic change has not occurred in the way Internet Visionaries had once proclaimed. Despite this, however, things have in fact changed at all grade levels.