Excavation Simulator at Infinity Charter School

June 2024

Harrisburg, PA

Doc worked together with educators and staff and Infinity Charter School to design and build an outdoor excavation simulator for student use. Grades 3-5 will have the opportunity to learn about archaeological methods and practices used in the field when digging for material and cultural remains. By creating an artificial dig site in a part of campus that was previously distrubed by the school's initial building, students have the ability to excavate in a low-risk, high-reward environment: they do not risk destroying any part of the original archaeological record, but gain the valuable experience of learning what an excavation is truly like. Students have the freedom -- and are encouraged -- to innovate, problem-solve, and theorize as they dig, just as real archaeologists do!

Notably, no Indigenous sites or remains are at risk as a result of this project.