2010 Transition Year Programme: Not your usual students – Archaeology reaching beyond university.
Archaeology is one of those subjects that Irish school pupils only come across in a very limited way, as part of the History and Geography curricula, prior to being able to choose it at third level. UCD School of Archaeology has for some time been exploring ways of expanding the reach of archaeology in Ireland and in particular to give primary and post-primary school students the chance to experience the subject. As part of this we established the UCD School of Archaeology Transition Year Programme in 2008/09. The programme, now in its second year, invites transition year students to gain a week’s work and research experience at the School of Archaeology. Having just concluded the TY 2010 programme, it seems timely to review the programme’s impact and that of the School of Archaeology’s other outreach activities.
In terms of popularity the numbers speak for themselves. For the first programme in 2008/09 we received 19 applications for the eight available places, most of them from the wider UCD catchment area. This year we received 48 applications literally from all over Ireland. Needless to say that it was extremely difficult to decide which eight applicants would be accepted. In the end the successful candidates came from Galway, Cork and the wider Dublin area, including counties Wicklow and Kildare. During the week the students explore many different aspects of the work the School of Archaeology is involved in on a day-to-day basis. They get to work with artefacts and materials, environmental remains (ecofacts) and work with our conservator, as well as getting the opportunity to attend some of our undergraduate lectures. As one of the perks, the students get a behind the scenes visit to the archaeology collection of the National Museum of Ireland and have the opportunity to handle objects from ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt courtesy of the Classical Museum in UCD School of Classics.
Having been involved in a number of primary school access initiatives over the years, including work with UCD New Era, the School was also very happy to be able to contribute a day of Archaeology workshops to UCD Access Week 2010, organised by the UCD Student’s Union. In this case 50 primary school students could explore ancient objects and artefact, the study of human remains, learn about excavation and environmental archaeology and embark on a virtual journey with the Viking sailors on the Sea Stallion of Glendalough. The presentations were made in small hands-on groups of 4-5 students and provided direct experience and interaction with the materials and those delivering the programme.
The feedback we have received from both students and teachers highlights not only the extreme popularity of archaeology and the great public interest in the subject but also that there is a real demand for subjects, usually confined to third level, to be made accessible to a broader section of the community.
We would like to thank all the schools and teachers that have showed and interest in the Transition Year Programme and everyone who has helped with the running of the programme, in particular Maeve McHugh of the UCD Classics Museum, Maeve Sikora of the National Museum of Ireland, Susannah Kelly and Steve Davis of UCD School of Archaeology and of course the students who partook as well as all the other students who applied to the programme. Additionally, we would also like to thank UCD SU for inviting us to participate in Access Week and the Archaeology PhD Students who gave up their time to participate.
