• Image of the reconstructed stockade at Fort Vancouver and Pearson Air Museum looking northeast from the Land Bridge.

    Fort Vancouver

    National Historic Site OR,WA

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  • Information on Pearson Air Museum

    Information about Fort Vancouver National Historic Site assuming direct operational responsibility for Pearson Air Museum. More »

Archaeology For Kids

Kids Digs

At Fort Vancouver, archaeology is an essential lens for studying the past, especially the communities who left no written records. In this program, designed for upper elementary students, students learn basic archaeology through participating in a mock excavation, guided by college students participating in the Public Archaeology Field School.

Students run all aspects of the excavation, including excavating with trowels, screening dirt, measuring and mapping their finds, and recording other data. This program also teaches the reasoning behind resource protection laws, and helps children learn the importance of stewardship of national treasures.

Please check the park's special events calendar for a schedule of dates for Kids Digs.

 
Wee Dig Archaeology

Young students learn about stratigraphy, an important concept of archaeology

NPS PHOTO

Wee Dig Archaeology

Young campers are introduced to the science of archaeology and the history of Fort Vancouver! Big words translate to basic concepts as campers compare excavation to a puzzle, stratigraphy to a layer cake, and themselves to artifacts and archaeologists! Campers visit an 1840s children's bedroom, explore a hands-on archaeology exhibit, and see real artifacts to learn how archaeology teaches us about the lives of children who lived at Fort Vancouver. A historic snack, recess full of 1840s games, climb to the top of the bastion, and Junior Archaeologist Ceremony - complete with certificates and pins - polish off this memorable visit to Fort Vancouver.

More information on the Wee Dig Archaeology program will be forthcoming later this year.

 
Kids Digs
National Park Service staff teach students about archaeology during Kids Digs
NPS PHOTO

Did You Know?

Image of O.O. Howard from the New York Historical Society's Civil War Treasures Collection

Did you know that a number of U.S. Army generals served at Fort Vancouver NHS’s Vancouver Barracks early in their careers? The list includes Generals Oliver O. Howard, George C. Marshall, Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan, Phillip Sheridan, William T. Sherman, Omar Bradley and George Pickett. More...