A total of 20 Ukrainian children and young people were able to get to know archaeological techniques and methods yesterday at the archaeo:lab. (Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS)

Documenting soil colours and deducing house layouts from them, uncovering sherds and flint chips and drawing the find situation, taking samples of charred plant remains from a fireplace and identifying them in the laboratory - these are typical activities during and after an archaeological excavation. This week, 20 children and young people from Ukraine aged 10 to 15 were given the opportunity to get to know these techniques and methods of archaeology in a very practical way at the archaeo:labor of the Kiel  Science Factory (Kieler Forschungswerkstatt, KiFo). The programme was part of a five-day summer school (31 July - 04 August 2023) of the KiFo especially for Ukrainian children and young people.

While the young researchers were practising the crafts of archaeologists on the simulated excavations and in the laboratories of the archaeo:labor, they were also learning about house forms and nutrition in the Neolithic Age. They also learned that people travelled long distances to get in touch with each other back then. "Thanks to some colleagues who speak Ukrainian and gave us additional support, there were no language problems and we were able to give the children an intensive insight into archaeological research," says Dr Katrin Schöps, the head of the archaeo:lab.

On the other days of the summer school, the young people programmed their own little mini-robots with the nawi:werft. In the geo:lab, they learned about the different climate zones of the earth by circling the world in the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden and solving tasks. The ocean:lab gave the participants insights into marine research and with the kunst:werk they tried their hand at intaglio printing and made their own sketchbook.

Background information:
The Kiel Science Factory is a joint facility of Kiel University and the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN). In the thematic laboratories, pupils as well as teachers and student teachers can deal with scientific questions. The archaeo:labor of the Kiel Science Factory was founded in 2021 as a collaboration with the Kiel Cluster of Excellence ROOTS.

The archäo:labor of the Kiel Science Factory
 

Soil colours, simulated on a large banner in the archaeo:lab, reveal Stone Age house ground plans. (Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS)

Even in a simulated excavation, caution is required when uncovering sherds. (Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS)

 In a simulated excavation in the archaeo:lab, the children recover charred plant remains from an old fireplace. (Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS)

The charred plant remains can be identified under the binolular. They provide information about the former landscape and the diet of the people. (Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS)