International Archaeology Day – 2020

International Archaeology Day, October 17, 2020

Digitally Digging

This year, AIA-Milwaukee’s International Archaeology Day event is going digital!

In the age of COVID-19, the AIA-Milwaukee society officers have been brainstorming on how we can creatively rise to the challenge of having a fully online IAD. We will all miss the face-to-face audience engagement that we’d otherwise have at IAD but we are excited to experiment with hosting our event virtually.

Although the details of the event are still in the works, we’ve tentatively scheduled our online event for Saturday, October 17th. One of the hallmarks of Archaeology Day is hands-on engagement, so we’ve planned two family-friendly activities.

  1. Decorate a Pot Contest
    Designed by former society President, Dr. Jane Waldbaum, is the “Decorate a Pot” contest. This activity asks participants to design and decorate their own historically-inspired ceramic pieces, drawing from one of four categories: Ancient Greece, European Iron Age, Bronze Age Near East, or Southwestern US. A number of ceramic experts from UWM and Marquette University will judge these contest submissions, and photos of winning entries may be featured on the AIA-Milwaukee website!

     

    2. Contest Winner

    Erin Schmidt, Marquette University
    Materials Used: Bowl for structure, tape, cardboard, pen

    The Classical Greek pots have a design which tell a story. I like the idea of simple lines creating a broader epic. My design includes a scholar (on the left) and a warrior (on the right) along with a wheel. This is to represent the two sides of Classical Greece and the wheel represents the circle of how these two sides were constantly chasing after each other.

  2. Trowels and Owls Challenge
    AIA-Milwaukee Vice-President Emily Stanton designed the second activity – the “Trowels and Owls” Challenge. This activity invites participants to explore the world of owls through nature, art, and architecture.

More information will be provided in the near future about how to participate.

We hope that our Digitally Digging event will provide an entertaining and creative addition to people’s routines, especially those searching for safe, educational, and engaging content. To paraphrase a webinar from earlier this year, “Everyone is a ‘non-visitor’ right now. We need to create and offer experiences to engage with you collectively, but in separate spaces. People still want to share things!”