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Let’s Find a Barn and Put On a Show

Ten Lessons Learned from Designing Public Programs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Beverly A. Chiarulli
Beverly A. Chiarulli*
Affiliation:
Anthropology Department (retired), Indiana University of Pennsylvania , bev@chiarulli.net
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Abstract

Archaeologists are regularly asked to present public programs. The audiences are varied, as are the settings. Often, the programs are one-time events, and archaeologists usually talk about current or favorite projects. However, public programs may run into unexpected problems because they take archaeologists into unfamiliar situations. In addition, not all programs, including some that seem successful, leave the audience with the message the archaeologist intended to convey; occasionally, the audience will even receive the opposite message. This article is designed to help anyone preparing public programs to avoid some common problems. The lessons fit into three groups. The first group consists of knowledge lessons: know your audience, know their interests, and know their community. The second group consists of logistical lessons: how many programs or classes should be involved? How long should each program last, and what facilities should be used? The third group consists of development lessons for both you and your audience, including building goals and objectives into the program and using appropriate assessment methods. It also includes creating networks that support your program. Can you develop the individual encounters into a coherent approach? Whether a program is designed for a single school class of 30 fourth graders or for a booth at a county fair visited by 4,000 fairgoers, each one should be designed to provide a coherent message to the audience.

Resumen

Resumen

A los arqueólogos se les pide a menudo presentar sus programas al público. Las audiencias son variadas, así como son los puntos de vista. A menudo, los programas son eventos de una sola vez, y los arqueólogos a veces hablan de sus proyectos actuales o preferidos. Muchos programas, especialmente uno de los programas caen en una categoría que me recuerda a las películas de la década de 1930, en las que a menudo Judy Garland o Mickey Rooney aparecieron. En estas películas, los personajes principales encontrarían lo que necesitaban para recaudar dinero o ayudar a alguien, para hacer un espectáculo y lograr ese resultado. A menudo, uno de los protagonistas podría sugerir “encontremos un granero y pongamos un espectáculo” con sólo unos días de preparación. A veces, el espectáculo podría resolverse con éxito, otras veces, se encontrarían con problemas inesperados. Los programas de arqueología pública pueden funcionar en patrones similares de preparación, que pueden conducir a problemas inesperados. Además, no todos los programas incluyendo algunos que parecen ser exitosos, no pueden haber dejado en la audiencia con el mensaje que pretendían transmitir. De vez en cuando, un programa dejará a la audiencia el mensaje contrario de lo que se pretendía dar. Este documento está diseñado para ayudar a todos los que preparan los programas públicos a evitar algunos problemas comunes.

Type
How-To Series
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 4 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Designing and Assessing Public Education Programs in Archaeology , November 2016 , pp. 550 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016

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References

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