Archaeology in the Community provides professional development trainings for students, archaeologists, educators, and the public. The new Brush Up series of workshops, organized by AITC and sponsored by the Society of Black Archaeologists, are designed to provide participants with skills in developing public programs, working with communities, documenting local heritage, and communicating about archaeology. For Brush Up workshops, participants receive expert instruction, resources, a quiz to test understanding, and a certificate of completion.
Upcoming Workshops
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Finding and Getting Small Grants for Archaeology
Brush Up Workshops Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 Time: 7:00-8:00 PM Eastern Time Location: Zoom Workshop Description
This workshop is designed to help people interested in using small grants to advance archaeological research, build community programs, or begin a pilot project. The workshop will cover strategies to find small grants, how to interpret calls for submission, and considerations for how to address questions on grant applications. This will include a brief review of putting together a budget and some of the unforeseen expenses that grant-writers should consider during that process. These small grant opportunities are particularly useful for community organizations and graduate student researchers looking to get a project off the ground, take current projects to the next level, or to provide a proof-of-concept before pursuing large funding opportunities from government agencies or philanthropic organizations. Instructor Information
Stefan Woehlke is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Maryland. His work focuses on community heritage empowerment by centering descendant communities in heritage projects. He is trained as a historical archaeologist that focuses on Cultural Landscape analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He also works as a digital preservationist focusing on the 3-D documentation of historic structures, memorials, archaeological excavations, and landscapes. In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Woehlke is the co-founder of Blue Fern Travel, a food and historical tour business in Washington, DC, and co-owner and Chief Curation Officer at Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |
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Beyond LGBTQ+: An Introduction to Queer Archaeology
Brush Up Workshops Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Time: 7:00-8:00 PM Eastern Time Location: Zoom Workshop Description
Queer archaeology has its roots in the quest for and identification of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the past.* Incorporating queer theoretical advances and approaches from other disciplines, queer archaeology has expanded in scope and now serves as a powerful tool to help understand the past. In this workshop, we will use a place-based approach to tracing the development of queer archaeology and how archaeologists are now using it to develop more nuanced interpretations. *A discussion of the challenges of looking for LGBTQ+ people in the past was covered in a previous Brush Up Workshop, “The Relevance of LGBTQ+ Historical Archaeology” on December 4, 2024. Instructor Information
Dr. Megan Springate (she/they) is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. She received her PhD in Anthropology (2017) from the University of Maryland. Dr. Springate began her career in archaeology at a public archaeology field school outside of Toronto, Canada in 1987, where she earned a Senior Social Science high school credit and fell in love with the field. Since then, she has worked in academia, government, museums, the private sector, and non-profits in archaeology or archaeology-adjacent fields. Dr. Springate is the author of Coffin Hardware in Nineteenth Century America (2014), editor of LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (National Park Service, 2016), and has published several articles. In 2021, she received the John L. Cotter Award from the Society for Historical Archaeology. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |
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Archaeology Aligned: Standards-Based Lessons for Today’s Classrooms
Brush Up Workshops Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025 Time: 7:00-8:00 PM Eastern Time Location: Zoom Workshop Description
Struggling to make archaeology more than just a "fun activity" in the classroom? Led by veteran educators (who moonlight as passionate avocational archaeologists), this virtual workshop will show you how to align archaeology lessons with national and state grade level standards, fostering archaeological stewardship in students. You'll learn to navigate the complexities of current education systems, including limitations created by school safety, standardized testing, and technology distractions. We'll delve into the intricacies of state and national standards, helping you understand how to effectively incorporate archaeology into your curriculum. Discover strategies to seamlessly integrate archaeology into existing curriculums and take away teaching methods adaptable to various contexts and archaeological teachings. This session will empower you with the skills and knowledge to make fun and impactful lessons aligned with educational standards. Instructor Information
Julia Berg and Sarah Mason are former classroom teachers, amateur archaeologists, and co-founders of Digging Deeper, LLC, an educational consulting company. With more than 25 years of combined classroom experience, Julia and Sarah are leaders in Social Studies education. They have developed curriculum for both elementary and middle school grades, and specialize in training educators to navigate difficult historical conversations in the classroom. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |
Past Workshops
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Unearthing Ancestors: Exploring Families Through Genealogy
Brush Up Workshops Workshop Description
Genealogy is the study of family lineage. Understanding who you are and where your people came from can be transformative, because it enhances resiliency and strengthens identity. When you know who you are, you show up differently in the world. You navigate life with greater confidence. Studies have shown that people who know their family history are more successful overall--in any field. This one-hour virtual workshop introduces genealogy basics to participants and explores the connection between genealogy and archaeology. Participants will examine case studies where each discipline informed the other. Understanding the tools available for genealogical research is useful for archaeologists and those interested in delving into their own family histories. Instructor Information
Gigi Nelson is an accomplished speaker, genealogist, and historian. Born in Los Angeles and raised in an Army family, she spent her school years living all over the country and overseas. She holds both a BA (Columbus State University) and a Master’s degree (University of Alabama) in American History, and taught college-level history courses and other related subjects. After ten years of teaching, she switched careers and became a military historian with the U.S. Air Force and completed two deployments downrange as a combat historian. In 2017, she finally settled down in Washington, DC, where she switched careers again and began to pursue her passion for genealogy. That passion led her to create the Majani Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit genealogy club for Black youth. When she realized there were no books specifically introducing Black young adults to genealogy, she wrote and published one herself. For the Culture: A Genealogy Handbook for the Cool Kids is a labor of love with lots of pictures and activities to get youth started on their genealogical journey of connecting to their ancestors and finding strength, resilience, and self-identity in their Black heritage. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |
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The Relevance of LGBTQ+ Historical Archaeology
Brush Up Workshops Workshop Description
Finding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender and sexual minority (LGBTQ+) people in the historic past is both important and challenging. By bringing suppressed histories to light, a more complete picture of the past is possible. One of the challenges is that definitions and understandings of what we now call LGBTQ+ identities vary culturally and over time–even over the past generation. By considering this challenge as an opportunity, the potential and relevance of studying LGBTQ+ pasts expands. Beyond individual identities and behaviors (who was in a relationship with who, who identified as transgender, etc.), investigations of LGBTQ+ pasts speak to some of the broad, field-defining themes in historical archaeology. Using place-based examples, in this one-hour virtual workshop we will explore those connections to community studies; social organization; identity formation, expression, and change; marginalization; and oppression and resistance. Instructor Information
Dr. Megan Springate (she/they) is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. She received her PhD in Anthropology (2017) from the University of Maryland. Dr. Springate began her career in archaeology at a public archaeology field school outside of Toronto, Canada in 1987, where she earned a Senior Social Science high school credit and fell in love with the field. Since then, she has worked in academia, government, museums, the private sector, and non-profits in archaeology or archaeology-adjacent fields. Dr. Springate is the author of Coffin Hardware in Nineteenth Century America (2014), editor of LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (National Park Service, 2016), and has published several articles. In 2021, she received the John L. Cotter Award from the Society for Historical Archaeology. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |
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Curb Cut Effect: Addressing Disability and Ableism in Archaeology Spaces
Brush Up Workshops Workshop Description
In this one-hour virtual workshop with a focus on anti-bias, participants will gain a better understanding of disability, ableism, and the meaning of accessibility in the field of archaeology. Have you ever stopped to think about how something as simple as adding a curb cut to the sidewalk has benefitted you at one point or another in your life? Consider your elderly parents or grandparents using mobility devices or parents and guardians pushing their children in strollers. The curb cut design has and continues to benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities. The reality is that at some point in life, almost everyone will temporarily or permanently experience disability. Why not begin to replicate the curb cut effect in archaeology now to prepare ourselves and future generations? Instructor Information
Dr. Mia Carey is the founder of Unearthing Our Past Consulting, LLC. She is a historical archaeologist, facilitator, and consultant. She works with organizations for collaborative and transformational leadership experience guidance and to support diversity, inclusion, equity, belonging, and mattering (DEIB&M) best practices for organizational change. Dr. Carey has 10+ years experience working in state and federal government sectors and 7+ years experience in training and workforce engagement, 504 compliance, and accessibility. Her archaeological research interests include 19th-century African American life and culture; critical race theory; Islam in the Black Experience; and zooarchaeology. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |
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Can You Dig It?: Archaeology for K-12 Students
Brush Up Workshops Workshop Description
The future of archaeology lies in the generations to come. Educating children about archaeology and its impacts gives them a fuller understanding of how our histories are created. Archaeology in the Community is an organization developed to educate youth about the fundamentals of archaeological methods with the goal of promoting the development of archaeological literate citizens. These are citizens who understand basic archaeological terminology and process, who understand their place in local history, and who have a general understanding of the importance of preserving heritage—including their own. This one-hour virtual workshop will discuss the fundamentals of teaching archaeology to K-12 students. Participants will learn how to communicate with different age groups, understand youth culture, develop lessons that are representative of the student population, and—most importantly—how to balance activities so that they are fun and engaging! Instructor Information
Dr. Alexandra Jones is an education leader focused on community outreach and service. Dr. Jones has been an educator for more than 16 years; she has taught in multiple educational environments from primary schools to museums. She obtained dual Bachelors of Arts degrees from Howard University in History and Anthropology in 2001. She obtained a Master’s degree in History from Howard University in 2003 and then attended University of California, Berkeley to obtain a PhD in Historical Archaeology in 2010. Dr. Jones worked for PBS’s television show Time Team America as the Archaeology Field School Director, where she directed field schools for junior high and high school students at each of the sites for the 2013 season. Dr. Jones is the President of the Society of Black Archaeologists and on the Board of Directors of the St. Croix Archaeological Society. She was appointed by President Biden to become the current Chair of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee. Outcomes
As part of Archaeology in the Community's Brush Up series of workshops, participants will receive:
Pricing
Regular Individual: $30 Student Individual: $20 Group (2-15 participants): $50 |