An Archeology Excavation can be a fun science activity for people of all ages. We provide these generalizations as guidelines about what children at different ages might do during an Archeology Excavation at the Discovery Center's Experiment Station, in a sand box or in their backyard. Listed below are science and technology process skills that children may be practicing during their explorations. Please remember, each child develops at a different rate. Some children in each age group may be able to do some of the things described in the age group before or after their own.
How might infants explore an archaeological excavation?
Explore and Observe - Infants
Archeology excavations - whether real or pretend - often involve sand and small pieces of broken pottery or other objects. Infants are intensely oral explorers- putting everything possible in their mouths. For these reasons, an adult must closely supervise infants who participate this kind of activity.
Infants can and do benefit from supervised exploration of the same kinds of tools and objects that older children use in more complex ways. If setting up an activity for a group that will include infants, include some objects that are safe for them to mouth, so they can satisfy their real and true need to 'see' with their mouths as they learn about their world.