Archaeology Family Day​ - National Museum of Natural History

• Talk to archaeologists. Learn about fascinating finds, career paths, challenges in the field, and the joy of discovery.
• Do archaeology. Practice the skills archaeologists use to piece together the past. Participate in mock excavations, illustration, decoding ancient writing systems, experimentation and artifact analysis.
• Explore collections. Examine museum artifacts in the Q?rius Collections Zone.
• Get resources. Find out about opportunities to get involved in archaeology in your community.

Archaeology Family Day is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.Registered guests will receive a special gift at the registration check-in table! Check-in anytime during the program.

Archaeology Family Day Workshops:

Workshops: Making Oak Gall Ink – An Art-Science Exploration of an Ancient Technology

Join Irish archaeologist Steve Mandal and learn how to make the ink used to write ancient Egyptian texts, the Book of Kells, and the Declaration of Independence.

Participants will:

• Learn how these galls are formed and why indelible ink was significant to the promotion and sharing of human knowledge, especially literature, science, art and music
• Watch a demonstration of the ink-preparing process and actively participate in each step
• Take home a quill and a personal writing sample using the ink.

Register for one of the following sessions:

• Session 1, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
• Session 2, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
• Session 3, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Check back for upcoming Family Days in 2019!