This full-scale development project would use a multi-platform approach (TV, Field School, and Web site) to engage public audiences and underserved youth in archaeology research and discovery. The project will advance knowledge and practice in the field of ISE by establishing the utility of archaeology as an entry point to multiple STEM fields showing how it answers important questions about human origins-culture, history, and the natural environment. The target audience includes a broad demographic of viewers who will watch the PBS broadcasts. The other key audience is underserved youth who will participate in the archeology digs and be featured in the national broadcast. They will engage other underserved youth who will have the opportunity to participate in the interactive online virtual field school. Primary organizational partners include the Crow Canyon Archaeology Center in Colorado and other archeology organizations at the 4 field sites.
Deliverables include four hours of PBS programming filmed at four archaeological sites telling the stories of diverse cultures (Native American, African American, Hispanic); field schools designed for underrepresented youth both onsite and online; blogs, online discussions, and user-generated videos. The evaluation will determine the impact of the television series, online content, and the on-site Field School on audiences' understanding of, interest in, and interactions around STEM topics within the context of archaeology. Formative evaluation will provide input and help refine the television programs, web site, and field school. The summative evaluation will use a variety of methods and artifacts to determine the degree to which the process of the TV series, web site, and Field School was successful.
The television programs are expected to reach 13 million viewers via broadcast, 300,000 via streaming video and 50,000 unique web site visitors. The lessons learned from this project will be disseminated to other media and ISE organizations.
was a unique collaboration between media producers, archaeologists, scientists, and educators that resulted in public exposure to the multiple STEM concepts and processes that help archaeologists explore significant stories from our nation’s past. Oregon Public Broadcasting produced four hours of primetime public television programming at archaeological sites, ran field schools for middle and high school-aged youth traditionally underrepresented in STEM, and launched a series website presenting video, print, photo, and interactive content on archaeology showcasing many scientific disciplines. The dig sites featured were: A 19th-century former plantation in Maryland ("The Search for Josiah Henson), a 10,000-year-old bison kill site in Oklahoma ("The Bones of Badger Hole"), an ancestral Pueblo site in Colorado ("The Lost Pueblo Village") and a Civil War POW camp in Georgia ("Lost Civil War Prison"). The first three also hosted youth field schools. One additional school was held in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico. Project outcomes include the ratings, online engagement, and press. The programs had wide carriage throughout the PBS system, and garnered 95.16% coverage on public television during prime. Using the Nielsen ratings system calculations, roughly 9,647,764 people watched between June and September 2014. The rica website had 15,553 visitors in August 2014, the month in which most stations aired the programs (not including people who went to the video player web pages). Those visitors conducted 18,266 sessions, spending an average of 02:38 and visiting 2.8 pages. The two days with the highest traffic were August 19 (2,742 hits) and August 26 (3,705) suggesting that viewers visited the website during or after the program. Time Team America has 6,054 "likes" on its Facebook page. During August 2014, the average post on the page received 174 likes, 23 comments, and 30 shares and reached 4,265 users (according to Facebook’s algorithm). Many press outlets covered the program, including USA Today, CNN, The Oregonian, and Popular Archaeology. An important outcome of the project was confirming the original hypothesis that "archaeology, the scientific study of the human cultural and physical past, provides a potentially fruitful gateway into STEM concepts, careers, and general scientific literacy." According to Rockman et al’s evaluation, television program viewers gained a deeper understanding of the role that STEM plays in modern archaeological investigations and expressed interest in these techniques. A youth participant at the Zuni Pueblo field school stated: "I didn’t know Zunis could be archaeologists. I thought only white people could be archaeologists…until [the Zuni archaeologists] came and talked with us." Also, a Josiah Henson field school participant explained that following her experience she felt confident enough in her ability to do science that she enrolled in an honors Biology class, something she would not have done before the field school. Rockman et al’s summative evaluation report includes the following highlights of Time Team America (TTA) : TTA had an impact on projects and programs nationwide that seek to further archaeological discovery. TTA viewers come to be more knowledgeable about the historic treasures that we have in the United States. TTA viewers come to understand new STEM concepts and vocabulary through Archaeology. TTA website presents a wealth of information that is accessible to professionals, fanatics and lay-people alike. Exposure to Archaeologists and other STEM professionals helped generate career awareness TTA field school participants come to see themselves as STEM-capable. Archaeology is unique compared to other sciences in so far as it intersects meaningfully with culture. Archaeology provides inherent features that engage people of all ages and TTA activities are adaptable for use in a variety of settings. In addition to the outcomes for audiences, Time Team America made a significant contribution to the participating archaeological sites. The project brought a wealth of technology (i.e., geophysical surveys and lab analysis) and expertise (on-camera archaeologists). These sites would not have been able to conduct the surveys in as thorough or timely a fashion (or not at all) due to budgetary constraints facing most archaeologists. Additionally, Time Team America flew in experts to synthesize findings and collaborate on interpretation. Each site came away with an extensive geophysical survey report, including recommendations for future research, not to mention public exposure to its research. A final outcome of the project was the professional development of the project team, including media producers, educators, talent, and logistical and support staff. These individuals are now better prepared to collaborate on subsequent effective informal learning creations for audiences.
