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| Presenting replicas to second graders |
Being of sound mind and reason, I naturally hesitated when asked to present on the
Timucua (native peoples of north Florida and southeast Georgia) to 72 second graders. Our youth programs are geared towards older elementary or middle school ages. Some of the archaeological concepts are difficult for younger kids to grasp.
Through my personal observations, it appears that our ability to comprehend increases as we grow up but our ability to wonder decreases. When speaking to a middle school audience, you often need to "win them over" with vast amounts of enthusiasm. The defiant looks of "I'm determined to not find this interesting!" must be overcome. However the greatest enemy of any heritage interpreter is the glazed-over look of boredom. You've lost them.
But with second graders, in order to capture their interest, all you need to do is walk into the room! You just need to be holding a spear. Having wild eyes also helps...
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| example of an enthusiastic spear holder |
In fact, just walking down the second grade hallway with replicas in-hand produced gasps of amazement and looks of envy as I passed their classrooms and headed into my assigned one. In the classroom, I proceeded to set up the replicas on a table and the kids sat on the floor (as close as physically possible). We went through each replica and they answered diligently the questions: What materials were available to The Timcua? What did they make this tool out of? What was it used for? What would be left behind for an archaeologist to find 500 years later?
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| clam shell tool |
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| whelk shell tool |
We discussed the great importance of fire in Timucua daily life. While demonstrating the bow drill, the kids encircled me in anxious expectation of flames to burst forth at any moment. Some hid behind chairs to protect their eyebrows from getting singed. My fire producing skills are quite lacking so they were naturally disappointed, but I was still honored that they had so much faith in me!
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| similar appearance to my bow drill demonstration |
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| what class was expecting to see from my bow drill demonstration |
A question often asked of replicas is "
is that real?" Is this pot real?
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| Timucua pot replica |
The answer is YES - the pot is real. It's not just in your imagination. But it's a replica, not something actually used by the Timucua 500 years ago. That's why I think it's important to find something that
was potentially used by the Timucua 500 years ago - something that one can see and touch. It's almost like "proof" to the kids that the information you're providing them isn't "fake news."
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| San Pedro Pottery Sherds from AD 1450 - 1625 |
At the end of the program I allow the kids to touch and smell everything on the table. And most importantly, I ensure that every one of them touches the "real" pottery sherds.
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| Children touching whatever they can |
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| Note: child in the act of actually smelling an actual deer hide |
When I saw the second graders touching the pottery sherds with reverence I felt my job was done!
Text by FPAN Staff: Robbie Boggs
Photo Credits: All photos by FPAN Staff except: bored kid found at
clipart-library.com, bowdrill photo found on
survival.org.au and blazing fire photo found on
bing.com, corn husk doll found on Pinterest
