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Community archaeology: Reach Out Project

Senior Human Osteologist Mike Henderson led a hands-on archaeology session for a classroom of children in a short film and free resource for the Reach Out Project. The project aimed to attract more pupils into science careers, improve teaching in science and increase science literacy.

Pupils from All Saints Church of England Primary School in Fulham, London, took part in the classroom session exploring Life and Death in Victorian London.

Teacher Ellie McMahon, remarked: “Cross-curricula links are a fantastic way of getting children excited about the curriculum…it gets children to be able to experience things in a hands-on way, in a visual way.”

Through a series of activities, Mike encouraged the children to investigate what human remains and artefacts reveal about people in the past. From skeleton models and jigsaws to storytelling and handling sessions with real archaeological artefacts, the pupils gained a basic understanding of the techniques used by archaeologists to study the past.

The free resource and online CPD is available to primary schools in the UK via Reach Out Project, developed by TigTag and Imperial College London.

Tadpoles - Thames Discovery Programme

Since 2017, Thames Discovery Programme - London’s largest community archaeology project - has been helping communities to develop archaeological skills with foreshore experts.

The Tadpoles is a group of young people aged 8-18 who meet regularly on sites across London led by community archaeologists. They learn about the basics of foreshore recording and can get stuck into practical sessions down on the foreshore and put their newly acquired skills to work recording and observing the archaeology of the River Thames foreshore and discovering the rich heritage of the river. No previous experience is needed to join and every member of the Tadpole group will have the opportunity to complete the CIfA accredited Archaeology Skills Passport.

John Sage, Tideway’s corporate responsibility manager, said: “Our goal at Tideway is to reconnect London and Londoners with the River Thames, and this fantastic programme is an opportunity to explore the rich history of the river from its very own banks.”

The programme is run by an experienced archaeology team who are DBS checked and first-aid trained. Thanks to support from Tideway the Tadpoles sessions are all free of charge.