AAUW Discover the Future Event in Lansdale

Archaeologist's tools & jar with sample stratigraphy

Last weekend I had the opportunity to host a workshop about archaeology for middle schoolers at Pennbrook Middle School.  The activity was part of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Lansdale Branch’s annual ‘Discover the Future’ event.  The event is a way to introduce young girls (and boys) to the wide range of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  Throughout the day, women with careers throughout STEM held workshops about topics ranging from aeronautics to veterinary medicine. It was a great event with more than 100 students in attendance.

Workshop Classroom setup with clipboards for artifact analysis

During the day I held a workshop explaining what archaeology is and what archaeologists do.  I gave a brief cash course in soil science, stratigraphy, and the basics of excavation; then the students got the opportunity to practice artifact analysis as well as clean real artifacts.  It was a lot of fun working with budding archaeologists!



Here is a link to the local newspaper that tells a little more about the event.