Children are digging it for themselves

Budding young archaeologists are making Mayan clothes and stone-age arrowheads at a summer camp with a difference, writes KEVIN COURTNEY

AT THE "Dig It Kids" summer camp in Blackrock, Co Dublin, the children have made an exciting discovery: an ancient burial site, filled with skeletons from early Christian times. The children feverishly brush the sand away from the bones, then pick up their clipboards and begin documenting their finds.

Welcome to a summer camp with a difference, where budding archaeologists can tap into their inner Indiana Jones, and learn about life long ago, in a fun and interactive way. Under the expert eye of directors Stephen Mandal and Lisanne O'Loughlin, the children engage in all sorts of archaeology-related activities, from making Mayan headdresses and stone-age arrowheads, to staging fierce Viking battles and scooping out the brains of a dead pharaoh in preparation for mummification.

Of course, the skeletons are plastic, the brains are just play-gloop, and the Viking battles are fought with nothing more lethal than wet sponges, but there's nothing pretend about the kids' delight at digging up fascinating facts about the ancient world. It's one thing to be told about Egyptian tombs – it's quite another thing to have a real-life mummy jump out of a sarcophagus and chase you around the classroom.

Mandal, whose company CRDS does – among other projects – archaeological surveys, large-scale excavations and environmental impact reports for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, started "Dig It Kids" in 2011 with O'Loughlin, a psychologist, and they have been delighted to see it taking off so quickly. "I noticed my eldest son, Alex, was more interested in going to the museum than playing sports, and a lot of his friends were interested, too," says Mandal.

The week-long camp runs throughout the summer in Willow Park school in Blackrock, and accepts up to 24 children, from age seven to 12. There are six people on Stephen's team, ranging from archaeologists to historians, ensuring each child gets plenty of one-on-one attention. There's a different theme to each day: Mayan, Inca and Aztec, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. On the day I visit, the theme is Saints, Scholars and Vikings, and the kids have had a busy morning travelling back in time. They put the finishing touches on their replica Viking longship and take a well-earned lunch break (with Horrible Histories DVD). After lunch, the children sit back and watch a storytelling presentation of the lives of Viking boys and girls.

Then it's show-and-tell time, as Mandal brings out some lethal-looking Viking swords and axes for the children to touch and examine. "We bought them at a medieval fair in Tewkesbury," says Mandal.

Then comes the part the children have been itching to get to all morning – the dig. The children grab their excavation kits – tray, spade, brush, ruler, pencil and recording sheet – and head outside to where large wooden boxes filled with sand are arranged in a long row, along with wooden sieves and buckets. The kids choose their site, settle down and start carefully digging, their faces a picture of concentration and contentment.

"I love learning about bones, digging them up and measuring them," says Raymond (9). "I enjoyed learning about native Americans," says Max (9). Alex (10), liked the arts and crafts, while for Alexandra (8), medieval archery really hit the target. Nice to see young people really digging what they're doing.

Missed that? Try this

Next week the camp is hosting a week of fun archaeology adventures as part of Heritage Week 2012. During each one-and-a-half hour adventure, kids will play a puzzle game in which they must decipher Viking runes.

This is followed by a show-and-tell, in which they’ll get to touch and and examine various replica artifacts from the Stone age to the Viking era to medieval times. Then they face a time challenge, in which they must place key events in history, such as the birth of Christ, along a 10,000-year timeline. Finally, they’ll get to hunt a boar using a medieval bow and arrow. (Don’t worry – it’s not a real boar, and the bows and arrows are age appropriate.)

The dates and locations are: Rothe House, Kilkenny (Monday); The Blackfriary, Trim, Co Meath (Tuesday); Bru Na Boinne, Co Meath (Wednesday) and Blackrock Scout Hall, Seapoint Ave, Blackrock, Co Dublin (Friday). There are four adventures each day: 9.30-11am, 11.15am-12.45pm, 1.30-3pm and 3.15-4.45pm.

It’s all free, but booking is essential, and there is a maximum of 12 children per adventure.

See Digitkids.ie