Institute for Heritage Education

It's Teacher Appreciation Week! Thanks to the thousands of teachers who've connected their students with Project Archaeology over the years, and to all teachers of every sort.

See upcoming P.A. opportunities here: https://projectarchaeology.org/events/

We at IHE like to give the floor to the teachers who use Project Archaeology in their classrooms. Below are comments teachers left us after attending a P.A. professional development event, where they learned to use scientific and historical inquiry to help their young students build a strong education foundation.

If their words resonate, please donate to IHE/P.A. during the 24 hours of Give Big Gallatin Valley, from 6 p.m. Thursday April 30 to 6 p.m. Friday May 1. Please share as appropriate.

https://www.givebiggv.org/organizations/institute-for-heritage-education

Thank you!

** I had a rough school year and this has been extremely powerful for me. The content is incredible, but the inspirational and motivating impact this has had is so important. I am falling in love with my content again. This has been the best professional development I have attended. Thank you!

** Project Archaeology has brought new joy to my teaching.

** Unfortunately, science and social studies sometimes get a back seat to reading and math. So to be able to bring them all together in one project that also gets the kids active and problem-solving, and is inquiry-based, is huge.

** The beauty of inquiry is that the teacher gets to step back and become less a conveyer of knowledge and more of a facilitator of learning. The kids are coming to these understandings, things that they’ll remember for much longer than if I had just told them.

** I loved this institute and can’t wait to implement this curriculum in my classroom.

** Hands-on, interactive lessons were great!

** This program provided an amazing experience that I will bring back to my students & school. The combination of experiential learning and curriculum planning & implementation were fantastic.

** Excellent course. Meaningful P.D. (professional development) that opens the heart and mind.

** The ability to have these experiences did not seem possible. Being able to meet these amazing educators, understand the importance of cultural heritage & inclusive history, and go to these culturally significant places were a major highlight and I am beyond grateful to have been able to participate.

https://www.givebiggv.org/organizations/institute-for-heritage-education

Thanks for your support!

Give Big Gallatin Valley runs from 6 p.m. Thursday April 30 (tomorrow) to 6 p.m. Friday May 1. As a Valley-based public charity, IHE is one of the giving options. Please consider a gift thru GBGV!

https://www.givebiggv.org/organizations/institute-for-heritage-education

Just make your gift during the open period, and we will thank you very much.

Why here, why now?

* Like many nonprofits, IHE/Project Archaeology has taken a hit to income from the loss of federal funding. As we diversify funding streams, donations from the public are an essential piece of that puzzle.

* The GBGV sponsor, the One Valley Community Foundation, will pass on your entire gift. 100%. No fees.

* You don't have to live in the Valley to donate. Anywhere is okay.

* We are dedicating the funds we raise from GBGV to a major Montana Project Archaeology teacher institute in the summer of 2027: the Little Bighorn Institute: Archaeology and Oral History of the Northern Plains.

https://www.givebiggv.org/organizations/institute-for-heritage-education

Some details here on the Marquette, Michigan Project Archaeology workshop July 14-16, with the focus on Ojibwe culture.

Ojibwe Culture and Archaeology Teacher Workshop – PROJECT ARCHAEOLOGY Discover new ways to engage students with the past through hands-on scientific inquiry of social studies content. Explore a midwestern wickiup shelter and learn

Thanks to the Elkhart County Historical Museum (Indiana) for bringing Project Archaeology to their community!

Thanks to the Society for American Archaeology for honoring Project Archaeology with this award! As PA's national nonprofit partner, we couldn't be prouder of this excellent education program's successes, using scientific and historical inquiry for these purposes:

** Creating cultural understanding.
** Building a strong K-12 educational foundation.
** Strengthening critical thinking, collaboration, and citizenship skills.

Take your pick -- or picks: three Project Archaeology events/workshops this summer ... in Alabama, Michigan, and Utah!

https://projectarchaeology.org/events/

Next up for educators: Discover how archaeological inquiry can serve as a way to teach history, social studies, and STEAM subjects -- an all-day workshop in New Paris, Indiana based on Project Archaeology's "Investigating Shelter." These materials are applicable to upper elementary and middle school grades.

It's coming right up, on April 17, with a registration deadline of April 10, so don't let the grass grow under your feet, Indiana teachers!

The Elkhart County Historical Society, an IHE grantee, is organizing this opportunity. Indiana Humanities also supports the workshop. Details in the link below.

Project Archaeology Educator Workshop - Elkhart County Parks Project Archaeology is a national heritage education program designed to help all educators introduce archaeology to their students and program audiences. Discover how archaeological inquiry can serve as a way to teach history, social studies, and STEAM subjects.

Professional Development Grant Awards 2026

We are proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Professional Development Grants! We received a wide range of proposals from eleven states and were able to fund four professional development projects for heritage educators this year.

• Plum Bayou Mounds Archaeology Park, Arkansas - This teacher workshop will coincide with the Annual Training Program in Archeology (the Arkansas spelling) to allow middle and high school social studies teachers to see real archeology and archeologists at work as well as learn about the resources for teaching Arkansas history that are available from the Arkansas Archeological Survey.

• Elkhart County Historical Society and Elkhart County Parks, Indiana. The historical society and park will host a Project Archaeology educator workshop at the DeFries Homestead at River Preserve County Park. The primary goal of the class is to build capacity in archaeology education among K-12 and homeschool teachers, collegiate professionals and students, and heritage and park interpreters in the Michiana area.

• From Trowels to Teaching, Maryland - This project builds on the success of the first “From Trowels to Teaching” program in June 2025 and will prioritize community histories and places underrepresented in the historical record; emphasize Native American participation in the planning, development, and ex*****on by collaborating with local Tribes; provide K-12 teachers with professional development that will result in publicly accessible archaeology lesson plans; and protect historic properties.

• Project Archaeology: Investigating a Midwestern Wickiup, Michigan – This project will help sponsor the first Project Archaeology professional development in Michigan. The three-day workshop for local and regional educators will focus on Project Archaeology: Investigating Shelter and Investigating a Midwestern Wickiup. The entire experience will be enriched with oral history by a member of the Ojibwe tribe, field learning, and classroom-ready lessons.

Thanks to all those who submitted applications, and best of luck to our grantees!

We are grateful for your donations at the end of our 35th anniversary year! Your dedication to our educational mission, Discover the Past – Shape the Future, advances our efforts to

💜 connect teachers and students to the past
💜💜 protect cultural heritage
💜💜💜 and foster collaboration

Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for this program!