The magical world of Discovery.
The natural curiosity that abounds in all children is a tool to be harnessed in their education. One important subject that children should be taught about is archaelogy. Archaeology is the study of our human past, and children have so much to learn from it. It is an interesting world, and can be such a wonder for the kids. One of my earliest memories is finding a stone with a fossilized shell. I was so excited, I could not wait to tell everyone I saw about my remarkable discovery.
There are a number of different resources that children can use to discover the joys of archaeology. The most important one is to visit museums. Most museums have information for kids, which use easy to understand language and demonstrations to help them understand. Nothing beats the ability to see these sorts of artifacts first hand, so museums will always be the best learning resource for archaeology. A museum with interactive displays can be fantastic. Not only are the kids having fun, but they are learning so much at the same time.
If your child is more computer minded, there are also many different online resources that are appropriate for kids that are interested in archaeology. These are a good starting point to go to get some information to help teach your kids. One site in particular that I have found to be full of information is the National Parks Service website.
The National Parks Service Archaeology for Kids Program is a wonderful resource to help to teach children about archaeology. It has information on archaeology and its origins, its importance, and how it is methods. It has a number of different projects that kids can try either on their own or under supervision with you. These projects are a great way to get the kids involved in archaeology, and to learn to love to make discoveries. It is a good way to get them to understand how human life has changed over the course of time and to get them to appreciate the lessons of the past. Some of these projects will help get the kids out of the house, get them dirty, teach them about the past and possible create life long happy memories.
Back to the NPS website, the NPS’ WebRangers have a number of different links for the kids. One great one is the “Stories from the Past” which has the kids using pictures to tell a story. Doing these activities correctly will result in secret passwords when they have all the passwords, they can get a certificate. This is an especially good way to get the children involved, and is especially great if you are having a rainy day and the kids can’t get outside.
Archaeology harnesses the natural curiosity that children have, and we should make sure that this curiosity is satisfied. The more kids seek answers for themselves about things, the more independent and fore-ward thinking they will become. Many kids find archaeology interesting, and hopefully they will learn a thing or two in the process.
