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Targeting Your Audience

Tailoring Avocational and Youth-Oriented Public Archaeology Programs for Rural Populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2020

Marieka Arksey*
Affiliation:
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, 10515 Mackall Road, St. Leonard, MD 20685, USA greg.pierce@maryland.gov
Marcia Peterson
Affiliation:
Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist, 1000 E. University Drive, Laramie, WY 82071, USA (marcia.peterson@wyo.gov)
Greg Pierce
Affiliation:
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, 10515 Mackall Road, St. Leonard, MD 20685, USA greg.pierce@maryland.gov
*
(marieka.arksey@maryland.gov, corresponding author)

Abstract

The Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist has as one of its main objectives to actively engage the population of Wyoming in archaeological stewardship. To achieve this goal, in the past five years, we have launched the youth-oriented Summer Ventures program and the adult-oriented Wyoming Avocational Archaeology Training Program. Both programs were inspired by existing programs in other parts of the country and were launched following research and target audience surveys on how to best adapt them to Wyoming. Despite this preliminary research, our in-field experiences over the past few years have shown some patterns that are causing us to rethink both programs. This article discusses these initial in-field testing years, the issues we have encountered, and the ways we are redesigning both programs to better target the appropriate audiences in light of the different lifestyles of populations, particularly those of youths, in a rural state.

La Oficina del Arqueólogo del Estado de Wyoming tiene como uno de sus principales objetivos atraer activamente a la población de Wyoming en la administración arqueológica. Para lograr este objetivo, en los últimos cinco años lanzamos el programa Summer Ventures orientado a los jóvenes y el Programa de Entrenamiento de Arqueología Vocacional de Wyoming orientado a los adultos. Los dos programas se inspiraron en los programas existentes en otras partes del país y se lanzaron luego de una investigación y encuestas de público objetivo sobre cómo adaptarlos mejor a Wyoming. A pesar de esta investigación preliminar, nuestras experiencias en el campo en los últimos años han mostrado algunos signos que nos están haciendo repensar ambos programas. Este documento comentar de estos años iniciales de pruebas en el campo, los problemas que hemos encontrado y cómo estamos rediseñando ambos programas para apuntar mejor a las audiencias apropiadas a la luz de los diferentes estilos de vida de las poblaciones, particularmente las de los jóvenes, en un estado rural.

Information

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology

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