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Mini Archaeological Dig for Kids
Kudos to BlueHouse School for this project.
For our mini dig, I bought a disposable lasagna pan, a small bag of play sand, and a Playmobil cave woman figure, baby and accessories for a cost of about $10 total. The rest of the supplies I gathered from around the house.
First, set up a grid across the dig site using pencils, tape and a string.
Next, dig with a sturdy plastic spoon and sift the excess sand into a bucket.
As you discover artifacts, chart it , bag it and label it accordingly.
After the dig, we completed artifact log sheets inside.
If you are using a Chipping tool, you can dampen the Sand with some water in different areas and set it to dry, this way the Sand gets hard, and you have to chip parts away, also you could put artefacts inside the wet areas to make it more difficult to remove them cautiosly
Step #1: Discovery
She discovered her first artifact in quadrant C2. She carefully charted, bagged and labeled the find.
Step #2: Mark it on Diagram
She then marked her second find on the artifact log dig site diagram.
Step #3: Prediction
She later predicted it to be an ancient bowl!
Step #4: Dig without Finding
She was disappointed she didn't find anything new in this quadrant.
I explained that archaeologists often dig for days or weeks before making even one small discovery.
Step #5: More Brushing
She enjoyed brushing away sand from the artifacts...even more than digging, I think.
Step #6: End of the Day
She found five artifacts during our dig. After careful examination and a little creative thinking, she correctly determined they were a spoon, cup, baby carrier, fork and bowl.
Step #7: Log it
Even pint-sized archaeologists keep meticulous records. She recorded each artifact's quadrant number, description and predicted use. She also drew a picture of each item.
Step #8: Conclusion
Our mini dig was a huge success, yet I somehow managed not to capture one smile on film. She says she wants to be an archaeologist when she grows up. Sounds good!
I'm pretty sure I didn't even know what an archaeologist was at age five.
Download Archaeological Dig Artifact Log.
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