Educational Ambitions: Bridging Past and Present

For more than 30 years, the Office of Archaeological Studies Education Outreach Program has brought archaeology to life for New Mexicans of all ages and backgrounds. Through hands-on learning experiences, people dig deeper than textbooks and truly connect with the past.

With a new division director, John Taylor-Montoya, and new funding from the state legislature for OAS’s first full-time, permanent instructional coordinator, ambitious plans for reaching new audiences around the state are afoot. These are intended to build upon OAS’s long-time success in educational outreach, including as a two-time recipient of the Society for American Archaeology's Excellence in Public Education Award (in 2005 and 2012).

New Mexico boasts a rich archaeological legacy, from discoveries such as the Clovis and Folsom sites, to pioneering figures in the field like Adolph Bandelier and Edgar Lee Hewett, founder of the Museum of New Mexico. Uniquely, it is a state with a culturally diverse population. There are Native American communities on ancestral lands, in some cases for millennia, Hispano residents whose roots date to the initial colonists of 1598, and Anglo and other families who arrived over the Santa Fe Trail in the 1820s or by rail in the 1880s. Still others come in droves from all directions today.

“Archaeology bridges past and present, enabling people to connect with their heritage,” says Taylor-Montoya. To that end, OAS tailors its offerings to different constituencies and audiences ranging from school children to museum professionals and community groups. Their educational tools include a traveling "touch and feel” tabletop museum offering a tactile experience of archaeological replicas; demonstrations and workshops in creating replica technologies; and curriculum resources for teachers.

New Mexico, the fifth largest state in the U.S, is largely rural with over 60% of the population living outside of major cities. Despite its vast size, between October of 2023 and March of 2024, OAS programs reached over 11,262 individuals statewide. In an effort to further extend its reach, OAS has committed to partnering with national parks, museums, libraries and tribal communities in all 33 counties at least once a year. Plans are also underway to strengthen relationships with the Museum of New Mexico's eight historic sites, many of which are located near rural communities.

“When we get our new instructional coordinator, I have ideas for where we want to go, like expanding our definition of diversity to include neurodiversity as well as cultural diversity," says Taylor-Montoya.

Visiting instructors familiar with working with deaf or blind students, for instance, can employ adapted teaching methods—such as tactile models, sign language interpretation and audio descriptions—that make archaeology engaging and relatable for these audiences. Also in its nascent stages is programming for naturally curious preschoolers. For these young students, seeing and touching objects, or sorting replica artifacts by size, shape or material, can spark a lifelong love of learning and history.

In time, Taylor-Montoya sees even greater educational expansion on the horizon. He says that volunteers are key to reaching new audiences. “I would love to have folks with expertise or a background in education who are interested in donating time or volunteering for events,” he says.

Ensuring that every New Mexican has the opportunity to understand our state’s origins also requires new and ongoing funding. “Private funding through the Museum of New Mexico Foundation for specialists to assist OAS outreach staff with curriculum development and materials is important for these new initiatives,” he says.

This article and images are from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s Member News Magazine.