YAC Newsletter Special Edition

Digital Festival of Archaeology 2020
What is the Digital Festival of Archaeology?
  The CBA Festival of Archaeology is back for its 29th year in 2020 offering hundreds more opportunities to get involved in archaeology across the UK. This year’s Festival will be slightly different to the way we have run it in the past, due to the current Coronavirus situation. From 11th to 19th July we will be running a digital Festival, with a programme of online events for people to take part in. Youth events and activities delivered in partnership with Shout Out Loud
The Council for British Archaeology will be delivering a series of day long events, including the #YouthTakeover Day A Day in Archaeology, Ask an Archaeologist and our Young Archaeologists’ Day. We will be joined by Professor Carenza Lewis (from Time Team) as part of our ongoing Dig School project, Wessex Archaeology will be delivering our Environmental Archaeology Day with careers advice, skills training and a special Archaeology3D handling session. Plus you will have the chance to have your artwork turned into a published comic! This year we have also joined forces with English Heritage to co-create the youth-focused Festival events, as part of the Shout Out Loud project. They are a major partner in this year’s Digital Festival of Archaeology and will be delivering exciting and creative events for audiences aged 11-25. Shout Out Loud is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund through its #KicktheDust programme designed to encourage and involve more young people in heritage. Below you can find out more about the project, our partnership and lots of great events aimed at our younger Festival audience. CBA Festival Events Here at the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) we are really proud of our track record of engaging young people in archaeology through our Young Archaeologists’ Club and the activities we deliver throughout the year. As part of this year’s Digital Festival of Archaeology 2020 we have created bespoke youth events, activities and competitions that anyone can take part in with a particular focus on the Festival’s theme of Climate and Environment. Click here to find out more.

  What can I get involved with?   Online Archaeology Day: Environmental Archaeology Archaeology3D:  Discover how archaeologists can create 3D models of anything from small artefacts to entire landscapes just using photographs. Learn how to take good photos, use the software and produce interactive 3D models.  Find out more: Archaeology3D Student Careers Session: gateway to learning – Wanting to study archaeology? Wanting to know what to study to become an archaeologist? Did you know that as an archaeology company we employ photographers, artists, scientists, teachers and a huge array of other people who help make sense of archaeology? Discover how archaeology is supporting the teaching of hair, make up and theatre studies and how you can access archaeology to support your projects.

To find out more information click here: Student Careers Sessions YAC Activity Day The Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC) is the only UK-wide club where 8-16 year olds can participate in real archaeology and discover why it matters. As part of this year’s Digital Festival of Archaeology, we are encouraging as many of our branches and members as possible to join us for a YAC Activity Day on the 18th July 2020. We will be focusing on the Festival’s theme, Climate and Environment by sharing activities, new resources and showcasing our member’s entries into the Rubbish Art competition. To find out more information click here: YAC Activity Day #YouthTakeover Young people (25 and under) will be taking over on Friday 17th July, when both the CBA and the YAC will be handing over their social media accounts and blogs to young people in a #YouthTakeover, so we can hear their #youthvoice. Our partners at Shout Out Loud will also be joining in and we hope you will too. It would be great if young people working and volunteering with organisations, groups and institutions across the sector could join us in shouting about the value of archaeology and heritage to them.  To find out more information click here: Youth Takeover Day Pandemics, Pits and Potsherds: the Black Death in your back garden An enthralling webinar with Q&A taking the long view on pandemics through the latest research into the ‘mother of all pandemics’, the medieval Black Death. Find out from Archaeologist Carenza Lewis (University of Lincoln and Time Team) how this plague pandemic originated and spread so far, and explore the results of her test pit excavations carried out by thousands of volunteers showing the plague’s devastating impact on UK communities – and how their responses shaped the places we know today. Linked to our very own Dig School project, which shares with online lockdown learners the knowledge needed for test pit digging and analysis, Professor Lewis will show how the pottery data support the proposition that the Black Death really was ‘history’s biggest killer’ and explain why, even today, you should avoid eating marmot kidney tartare To find out more information click here: Pandemics, Pits and Potsherds Ask An Archaeologist Day   Do you have a question you’ve always wanted to ask an archaeologist? We’ve got the perfect opportunity for you. Post your question on Twitter on 15 July using the hashtag #AskAnArchaeologist and archaeologists from around the world will be there to answer. You might want to know how to get involved in archaeology in your area, how to become an archaeologists or what subjects to take at school/college? They are here to help. You can also ask them questions about your favourite period in history, object in a museum or even who is the best archaeologist! Anyone can take part, just follow #AskAnArchaeology on Twitter to get involved in the conversation.  A Day in Archaeology   A Day in Archaeology is a blog based event that showcases how diverse and exciting participating in archaeology can be and inspires the next generation of archaeologists (that’s you!). The idea is that archaeologists and heritage professionals tell us about one day in their archaeological life and how they got there – their journey as a volunteer or the route they have taken in their career so far.  Anyone can take part and share their experience of archaeology, all you need to do is register and upload your blog on the Festival of Archaeology website. If you are a member of our Young Archaeologists’ Club(link is external) or have taken part in an archaeological project lwe want yo hear from you! This day is kindly sponsored by the Royal Archaeological Institute(link is external)   Shout Out Loud Festival Events   Co-delivering the Youth Strand of the Digital Festival of Archaeology 2020 Throughout the festival, Young Producers will be leading the way, running a series of events featuring English Heritage experts and exciting guests, as well as sharing their ideas about heritage through blog posts and social media takeovers. The festival theme, ‘Climate and Environment’ is the inspiration for the programme, which features a Stonehenge special event, discussions with youth leaders including young environmental influencer ‘Birdgirl’, archaeology careers talks, and a digital mystery tour across England to find some of the best examples of historic graffiti! We’ll also be hosting a special episode of the popular English Heritage streaming programme, History at Home Live! hosted by CBBC presenter Ben Shires. We hope to see you at one of our events and would love to hear from you on Twitter (eh_shoutoutloud)/ #ehshoutoutloud) or Instagram (coming soon)!
  Shout Out Loud Events and Activities From Trenches to TV: The 21st Century Archaeologist  If you want to be an archaeologist then this is the place to be to get the inside scoop on what day to day life can be like for an archaeologist. Hear more about how you might become an archaeologist, and learn about some of the most difficult parts of the job and, of course, the best bits too! Join us for this very special YouTube live event and think about where you might find yourself in a few years, in a trench, in a lab or maybe even on the TV!

Find out more here: From Trenches to TV Event Details Stonehenge 3019 – Climate Past and Future If you could picture Stonehenge in the Year 3019, what would it look like? Last year, that’s exactly what we asked a group of young people living nearby and we were amazed at the world they imagined. Discover how our climate has changed over the last thousand years and put live questions to our panel of experts about the environmental challenges Stonehenge could face over the course of the next millennium. Join us for this very special YouTube Live event for an opportunity to explore this year’s festival theme ‘Climate and Environment’ with young climate activist, Mya-Rose Craig, aka ‘Birdgirl’, Susan Greaney, English Heritage archaeologist and BBC New Generation Thinker, and environmental archaeologist Dr Matthew Law.  Find out more here: Stonehenge 3019 Event Details Bacon Sandwiches and Stonehenge: Connecting Local Youth with Heritage Sites In ‘Our Stones’, one young man’s most vivid recollection of Stonehenge at Winter Solstice was the taste and smell of the bacon sandwich he was enjoying on a cold December day. This live discussion will focus on how heritage sites can best support local youth organisations, and examine the ‘Our Stones’ documentary film project led by young people from Durrington Youth at Stonehenge in 2019. We will explore how can heritage organisations not only plan exciting and innovative projects – but ensure they address the needs of local youth, who rarely connect with local heritage sites on their doorstep?  Find out more here: Bacon Sandwiches and Stonehenge   Graffiti: Making a Mark on History Graffiti is as old as humans; from cave walls to the Coliseum in Rome, right up to modern day. But what is ‘graffiti’ in the oldest sense of the word, what separates historic graffiti from modern and why is old graffiti preserved and studied? These are questions we will explore. We’ll also drop into Berwick Barracks where participants from Flodden YAC will reveal the creative approach they took to help understand the 300 year old graffiti they discovered in the Barracks.  Find out more here: Graffiti – Making a Mark in History Event Details
History at Home Live! Festival of Archaeology Special Episode Join us for a special Festival of Archaeology episode of History at Home Live! where English Heritage expert Matt Thompson will be talking to CBBC’s Ben Shires about archaeology through the ages. Archaeological sites have always faced threats, from wildlife to treasure hunters, construction to climate change, the theme of this year’s festival. Explore the ever-increasing role of science in archaeology and how technology offers opportunities to tackle some of the hardest questions about the past. And discover how sometimes, the best thing to do as an archaeologist, is not to go ‘digging’ for answers at all.  Find out more here: History at Home Live! Competitions – Open Now!
Archaeology Showreel: Do you watch archaeology on TV and wonder what it’s like to be in front of the camera? Now’s your chance to show us what you can do! We’ve teamed up with Past Preservers to create a competition for this year’s Festival of Archaeology and we’d like you to send us your #ArchaeologyShowreel.    We don’t expect you to visit an archaeological site and you don’t need any specialist equipment – the camera on your phone and your imagination are all you need.   You could use props from your house to take us on an imaginary museum tour, discover the priceless lost teacup of your back garden, or ask a family member to join you in front of the camera to show off your sparkling interview technique. Have fun and be creative!   Prizes: Past Preservers will be creating a showreel of the best videos which we will sharing online so everyone can see your superstar presenting potential. Winners in each age category will be taken on the books of Past Preservers, a talent representation agency providing a creative hub between the heritage and media worlds. Your showreel will be shown to real TV talent spotters, and you will also be offered the chance to develop future content with the CBA – plus, you’ll receive a year’s free CBA membership on us!  To find out more information and how to enter click here: Archaeology Showreel   Rubbish Art: Think you’re rubbish at art? What about getting arty with rubbish? For our craft competition we are inviting you to get creative and give your rubbish a new lease of life. We’d like you to get crafting and recreate your favourite archaeological sites and objects out of things you would otherwise throw away. How about Stonehenge made of baked bean tins, the Sutton Hoo helmet made from sweet wrappers, or an origami Caernarfon Castle made out of old envelopes? So get ready to cut, sew, stick, paint or papier mâché and create some amazing #RubbishArt!    Prizes: the winner of each category will receive a £50 gift voucher for crafting supplies. The runner up in each category will receive a £25 gift voucher for crafting supplies. To find out more information and how to enter clike here: Rubbish Art Competition Thanks for reading……
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Members Newsletter January 2020

 
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