In an effort to
broaden awareness of Fort St. Joseph, we have found it very important that we
focus on developing an educational program. Targeting young students, as well
as those at the collegiate level, will spread knowledge about the fort as well
as deepen understanding about its cultural heritage. Collaborating with schools
is sure to be promising, as teachers and young adults have been attending
summer camps at FSJ since 2002, and showing great interest. The WMU
archaeological field school has been successful in gaining the interest of
college students since 1998.
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| An example of "artifacts" in our trash bag activity |
Currently, we are
working to develop a teacher program that we can share with Berrien County as
well as the surrounding counties in southwest Michigan. We have had success
with a trash bag activity where we present students with a sheet listing
present day “artifacts” (common household garbage) in separate bags, and ask
them to tell us where they think these items are found. After experimenting with
this activity at a recent Career Cruising event and meeting with Sue Reichert
(a graduate student focusing on similar topics) and Elspeth Inglis (Assistant
Director for Programs at Kalamazoo Valley Museum), we have decided to alter the
activity a bit and present physical bags with actual items. Children are often
more responsive to activities where they can engage “hands on.” Both Sue and
Elspeth agreed that it would be wise for us to cater to the students in that
sense, as well as ask more questions that will challenge the students to think “outside
of the box” and independently. If any educators are reading this and are
interested in learning more about this program, please check back frequently
with our social media pages. We will be sure to update you all with of our
progress!
-Anne Volpe
