Education and Outreach

The Northeast Archaeology lab offers a hands-on learning environment where students work directly with archaeological materials and engage with community partners. Our goal is to develop in students an appreciation for past peoples’ diverse lifeways, past environments, and to foster skills in community-engaged archaeology and effective communication of research on human pasts.

Educational Programs and Resources

Annually in October, the Northeast Archaeology Lab participates in the Hudson Museum’s Archaeology Day events. For more information, please visit the Hudson Museum’s website.

An online Anthropology study unit is also available through the Hudson Museum’s Teacher Resources, and includes research and focus areas shared by the Northeast Archaeology Laboratory.

Faculty have also contributed to teacher resources available through the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Citizen Science

Our faculty, graduate students, and research also contribute to the Maine Midden Minders, a citizens-science project to document and monitor erosion of Maine’s shell middens. Shell middens, heaps or mounds are cultural spaces located on the mainland and island coasts and were created by Indigenous people during thousands of years of coastal occupation. For more information and to learn how to get involved, please visit https://umaine.edu/middenminders/

Speakers and Events

Archaeology-related events sponsored by the University of Maine Northeast Archaeology Lab can be found on the UMaine calendar. Our students routinely share their research publicly at the Borns Symposium through UMaine’s Climate Change Institute, the Maine Archaeological Society, and the Eastern States Archaeological Federation meetings.

We support requests to speak at local museums, historical societies, conservation groups and other local venues. Due to staff capacity, we are limited to 3 presentations per year. For speaker inquiries, please contact our laboratory Director, Dr. Bonnie Newsom (bonnie.newsom@maine.edu).

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