Bringing the Past
to Life -- Chicora's Education Programs
Anyone who tries to make a
distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing
about either. -- Marshall McLuhan
At Chicora we take these words to heart -- if we can't entertain a student,
we can't educate them. So our programs are designed to include interesting
visuals and hands-on materials. We encourage students to engage in critical
thinking and analysis -- they will come away knowing facts and knowing how to
pose questions to explore the answers in greater depth:
- Unlike standard museum programs, we bring the program to you -- at your
convenience. No scheduling buses, no permission slips, no substitute teachers.
- Everything we bring, your students can touch.
- Our programs offer a unique educational experience, yet our costs are
affordable -- averaging $1 - $4 per student.
- These are the only programs of such a variety in South Carolina -- and
they are always presented by a "real archaeologist" -- a professional
archaeologist working in the state of South Carolina for over 15 years, with
experience working with children since 1975.
Prehistoric Motifs -- 3rd-5th grades --
pottery designs of prehistoric South Carolina Native Americans
Students examine and handle actual pottery fragments, each with a different
design, and learn how the prehistoric Native Americans of South Carolina
created those designs. Following the discussion, students will participate in
the school's choice of activity: (1) students recreate the designs using clay
(re-usable, 1" ball of clay) and tools, each student may keep their clay, or
(2) students recreate the complicated stamped designs with rubber stamps on
paper bags, each student may keep their "Indian design" bag.
Three Cultures of South Carolina -- 3rd - 8th grades --
How the first three cultures of South Carolina contributed to our lives today
Students learn how European-Americans, African Americans, and Native
Americans contributed to South Carolina history and culture by handling
archaeological artifacts from all over the state, examining photographs and
drawings of the different types of houses each group lived in, followed by a
discussion of their contributions to our language, place names, and foodways.
African-American Archaeology in South Carolina -- 5th - 12th
grades -- Archaeological artifacts of African Americans found in South
Students get a closer look at the lives of African Americans in South
Carolina by handling, examining, comparing, and discussing archaeological
artifacts from slave and freedmen sites. Students will learn what the
artifacts can tell us about the past, as well as the importance of both
written materials and oral histories from their own families.
General South Carolina Archaeology -- 5th - 12th grades --
Archaeological artifacts found in South Carolina
Students get a closer look at the archaeology of South Carolina by
handling, examining, comparing, and discussing archaeological artifacts from
plantation and Native American sites. Students will learn where, when, what,
and how artifacts and archaeology can tell us more about our history.
Archaeological Analysis -- Advanced 5th - 12th grades --
Detectives of the Past
Small teams of students examine artifacts from an important site in South
Carolina; through that analysis and use of resource materials, teams then
compete to correctly deduce the county, town, time period, and function of
this site, and why it is important to South Carolina history.
Guess What's Coming for Dinner? -- 8th - 12th grades --
How do archaeologists know what Indians ate? (science and math components)
By examining and handling animal and plant materials, the students will gain
an understanding of how archaeologists are able to determine the foodways of
the prehistoric Native Americans. In the discussion of the different types of
foods and how they are collected and prepared, students will also be
introduced to an understanding of Native American social groups.
Forensic Archaeology -- Restricted to high school only --
What can bones tell us? (math and science components)
By examining and handling bones and photographs, students will gain an
understanding of how the archaeologist can determine sex, race, and age of
human remains, from archaeological sites to crime scenes.
The Mummy Returns -- 5th - 12th grades --
Drawings, photographs, and replicas are used to explain what Egyptian
mummies are, how they were made, and what they can tell us about an ancient
civilization. Discussion includes "the Curse of King Tut's Tomb" and who
Imhotep ("The Mummy") really was.
Program Guidelines --
What you need to know before registering for any of Chicora's programs
Class size is limited
to 20-25. We must limit class size in order to allow each
student enough time to touch and examine artifacts, participate in an
activity, and join in discussions. Our programs are not designed for
auditorium presentations to large groups.
are firm. Some of the programs for younger students are
not challenging enough for older students, and certainly the topics restricted
to high school students are too mature for the younger students, despite their
for programs is done by phone only. Because Debi
Hacker, a professional archaeologist, presents all of these programs, you must
speak with her to arrange for programs. This ensures there are no conflicts
with other schools or her work schedule.
provide a map and directions to your school, as well as a letter of
commitment. To ensure that there are no
misunderstandings as to time, location, program title, and number of students,
you must fax or mail these items as soon as possible after registering for the
Payment must be
in advance or a purchase order number provided.
This prevents misunderstandings with the school or PTO requesting the program.
Education Boxes must
be returned in a timely manner. If you choose to keep an
available Education Box for your class to use, it must be returned to us after
one week, so that it can go on to another class. When you schedule a program,
be prepared to notify us of how and when you will return the box to us. Most
teachers in the area surrounding Richland County will probably find it most
convenient to return the box to our office in person. Others may choose to
return it by UPS (insured) at the school's expense.
us regarding special needs students. Most of our
programs are readily adaptable for students with learning disabilities and/or
physically/intellectually/emotionally impaired students.
arrangements. Arrangements must be made directly
with Debi Hacker, who handles all of our education programs. Naturally she
is very busy and it may take a few days for her to contact you, but she
will. You can call 803-787-6910 or email
The costs of our programs are:
- $100 per day for schools in Richland, Lexington, Calhoun, Newberry, and
Fairfield counties, between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm
- $100 per day plus 0.45¢ mile in all other counties, between the hours of
9:30am and 3:30pm
In these times of tight budgets we're are glad to provide these programs to
teacher groups and/or PTOs, to introduce them to the subject and provide
incentive for raising interest/funding for classroom programming. Of course,
these may be scheduled for teacher work days or late afternoons (or early
evenings for Richland or Lexington counties).
Do you have Field
Programs in Archaeology?
When it is possible to schedule field trips to one of our sites we always
welcome visitors and provide educational programs on-site. We can't usually,
however, plan this in advance simply because we often don't know what site we'll
be working on more than a few weeks in advance. But, if you are interested, let
us know and we'll be happy to keep you on our list to contact when we're doing
work in your area.
Do You Allow
Yes, we always welcome volunteers. There are insurance and medical
requirements, but if you are interested, let us know.
A Few Links
One good link for finding news articles on archaeology is
Anthropology in the News.
Just be careful to verify the accuracy of the articles!
An interesting link that provides information about Native groups around the
world is Native Web.
Don't see what you
Please call us at 803/787-6910 or contact
Debi Hacker -- we'll be happy to work with you to develop
a program to meet your needs.