Archaeology on YouTube: 2024.12.26

Join the AIA as Solange Ashby (UCLA) presents Ancient African Queens This lecture was given live at 8pm Eastern on October 16, 2024. Description: This lecture focuses on a sequence of queens of the ancient kingdom of Meroe (Kush/Nubia) who ruled contemporaneously with Roman control of Egypt and the authors of the New Testament gospels in the 1st century of the Common Era (AD). Dr. Ashby contrasts the queens’ self presentation with the ways in which New Testament authors and contemporary Greek historians such as Strabo describe the sole-ruling Meroitic queens. Bio: Solange Ashby received her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Ashby’s expertise in ancient languages, including Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Meroitic, underpins her research into the history of religious transformation in Northeast Africa. Her book, Calling Out to Isis: The Enduring Nubian Presence at Philae, explores the Egyptian temple of Philae as a Nubian sacred site. Her second book explores the lives of five Nubian women from history including queens, priestesses, and mothers. Dr. Ashby is an Assistant Professor in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA where she teaches Egyptology and Nubian Studies.

Join the AIA as Chip Colwell (SAPIENS) presents On the Origins of Stuff. This lecture was given live at 8pm Eastern on September 25, 2024. Description: Over three million years ago, our ancient ancestors realized that rocks could be broken into sharp-edged objects for slicing meat, making the first knives. This discovery resulted in a good meal—and eventually changed the fate of our species and our planet. In this talk, Chip Colwell shares his thrilling and accessible new book, So Much Stuff: How Humans Discovered Tools, Invented Meaning, and Made More of Everything published by the University of Chicago Press. An archaeologist, public anthropologist, and former museum curator, Colwell traveled the world to investigate how humanity took three leaps that led to stuff becoming inseparable from our lives—inspiring a love affair with things that made humans who we are and may also lead us to our downfall. Bio: Chip Colwell is an associate research professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, and the editor-in-chief of SAPIENS, a digital magazine of the Wenner-Gren Foundation about anthropological thinking and discoveries. He is the author and editor of 13 books including Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America’s Culture, which received six major book awards.

Live presentation recorded on May 17, 2024. Letter deadline is May 28, 2024. More info: https://www.archaeological.org/preserving-ecuador-jordan-and-ukraine/ Visit (or revisit) some incredible archaeological highlights from these three countries and learn more about how to compose a letter to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee during our webinar. Join the AIA for brief presentations by experts who have traveled, lived, and worked in Ecuador, Jordan, and/or Ukraine and learn how you can advocate for the protection of archaeological sites in these three countries. The countries of Ecuador and Jordan recently requested that the U.S. renew the bilateral agreements that protects their cultural resources from being illegally imported into the United States and Ukraine has requested that a similar bilateral agreement with the United States be put into place for the very first time. After a whirlwind virtual trip across the globe with cultural heritage professionals Sarah Rowe (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), Morag Kersel (Depaul University) and Roksolana Makar (Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab), make sure you join AIA VP for Cultural Heritage Ömür Harmanşah in writing a letter in support of preserving the cultural heritage of Ecuador, Jordan, and Ukraine to the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee!

Letter deadline: May 28, 2024 If you’ve traveled to Ecuador, Jordan, or Ukraine and/or appreciate their cultural heritage, your experience and passion can help the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee with their upcoming deliberations. Watch this short video to find out how you can join the AIA to speak up for threatened archaeological sites. Visit https://www.archaeological.org/preserving-ecuador-jordan-and-ukraine/ for letter templates and more information.

Attending your first academic conference can be daunting, especially if you want to present your research. But with the help of the AIA, you can learn all about how to get your foot in the door. The panelists on the AIA Annual Meeting Submission webinar offer insights about the AIA-SCS Annual Meeting, including how to find funding for travel, what the benefits of attending the Annual Meeting are, how to submit an abstract, plus other advice on how to write an abstract for the Annual Meeting. This webinar was co-sponsored by the AIA Student Affairs Interest Group. The Student Affairs Interest Group (SAIG) consists of AIA members with an interest in the expansion of opportunities for student participation and professional development within the AIA and the promotion of student scholarship as well as student issues to other members of the AIA through its various programs and publications. SAIG Website: https://studentaffairsaia.wordpress.com/ Learn about the 2025 AIA-SCS Joint Annual Meeting: https://www.archaeological.org/programs/professionals/annual-meeting/ Questions about the Annual Meeting? Send them to annualmeeting@archaeological.org Our Panelists: Kevin Mullen: Director of Meetings and Associate Publisher, ARCHAEOLOGY magazine (kmullen@archaeological.org) Dr. Megan Cifarelli: Professor, Manhattanville College & Chair of the AIA Program for the Annual Meeting Committee (megan.cifarelli@mville.edu) Dr. Amanda Chen: Assistant Professor, Kansas City Art Institute (achen@kcai.edu) Tina Bekkali-Poio: PhD candidate, University at Buffalo & Chair of the AIA Student Affairs Interest Group (cmbekkal@buffalo.edu)

Join the AIA for a fascinating evening as Deborah Carlson (Texas A&M) presents Excavating a Shipwrecked Marble Column Destined for the Temple of Apollo at Claros. This presentation was held live at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific on 4/17/24. Between 2005 and 2011, researchers from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University excavated and raised the remains of an ancient ship that was wrecked off the Aegean coast of Turkey at Kızılburun in the first century B.C. This ship was transporting about 60 tons of white marble blocks and architectural elements that originated in the quarries on Proconnesus Island in the Sea of Marmara. Ceramic artifacts and coins help narrow the date of the shipwreck, but the pieces of a single monumental Doric column suggest that the ship was destined for one of the most important oracular sanctuaries in the ancient Mediterranean. Join underwater archaeologist Deborah Carlson as she lays out the evidence to solve this maritime mystery!

Join the AIA as Kisha Supernant (University of Alberta) presents Finding the Children: Using Archaeology to Search for Unmarked Graves at Indian Residential School Sites in Canada. This lecture was given live at 8pm Eastern on 3/27/24. In May 2021, the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation in British Columbia, Canada, announced that 215 potential unmarked graves were located near the Kamloops Indian Residential School using ground-penetrating radar conducted by archaeologists. While this was not the first announcement of unmarked graves associated with Indian Residential Schools, it garnered national and international attention. The subsequent months saw significant commitments of funding from the government to support Indigenous communities who wanted to conduct their own searches. Many Indigenous communities turned to archaeologists to assist them in designing an approach to finding potential unmarked graves of their relatives. In this talk, Supernant provides an overview of how archaeologists have been working with Indigenous communities in Canada to locate potential grave sites and discuss the opportunities and challenges in this highly sensitive, deeply emotional work.

Join the AIA for a fascinating evening as Nam C. Kim (University of Wisconsin-Madison) presents “Barbarians”, Bronzes, and the Legendary Capital of Ancient Vietnam. This presentation was originally given 2/28/24 at 8 pm Eastern time. Vietnamese lore tells us that over two thousand years ago the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam was home to powerful indigenous kingdoms, fortified capitals, and exquisite bronze craftsmanship. In contrast, the neighboring Chinese Han Empire claimed the region was inhabited by unsophisticated “barbarians” in need of “civilizing”, prompting imperial annexation of the region. This lecture explores the region’s archaeological record and what it means for scholarly debates, as well as for Vietnam’s national imagination, cultural heritage, and descendant identities.

Society Sunday 2024 - February 4, 2024 - CONTENT WARNING: This talk will include images of human remains. - Find your local Society and see what they're up to: https://www.archaeological.org/programs/societies/find/ - Check out Petra Creamer’s project RLIIM – Rural Landscapes of Iron Age Imperial Mesopotamia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092306352009 Join us as the AIA Societies Committee presents a virtual presentation and Q&A with Petra Creamer, "'Be(com)ing Assyrian': Navigating Imperial Power from the Bottom-Up." At its height, the Assyrian Empire (c. 1350-600 BCE) stretched from modern-day Iran in the east to Egypt in the west, controlling more territory than any entity the world had yet seen. This talk will delve into the profound impact of the Assyrian Empire and its administrative structures on the lives of individuals under its hegemony. Drawing from archaeological and historical evidence, the discussion explores the intricate web of socio-economic, cultural, and political transformations experienced by the non-elite populace under Assyrian rule, focusing on the core area of the empire (the Assyrian "Heartland") along the Tigris River. Insights from ongoing research illuminate how the empire's administrative policies influenced Assyria's subjects - from those residing in urban centers to rural communities. This talk particularly dives into the implementation of massive infrastructural projects across the landscape, the establishment of centralized governance systems, and the navigation of personal identities that shaped the idea of "be(com)ing Assyrian".

Join the AIA for a fascinating lecture as Jeff Altschul presents Cultural Resource Management: What Most Archaeologists Do For A Living. This presentation was originally given 1/24/24 at 8 pm Eastern time. Today, there are about 12,000 archaeologists working in the US with less than 10 percent of them employed by universities. While university anthropology and archaeology departments are shrinking, the applied sector, known as cultural resource management (CRM) is growing. What accounts for these opposing trends and what, if anything, can we do about it.

Heritage Broadcasting Service ( https://www.heritagetac.org ), or just plain Heritage, launched on January 1, 2021. Developed by the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 300 outstanding film titles from many countries on familiar subjects. As of December 30, 2024, new films include: “Detached,” “The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke, Season 1, Episode 5: Bronx Legends,” and “Humanity's Footsteps, Season 1, Episode 12: The Frankish Family.” Check out these films and more, only on Heritage! https://www.heritagetac.org/ #archaeology #archeology #heritage #anthropology #history #culture #heritagebroadcastingservice #film #documentary

Season 11 Episode 3 Strata: Portraits of Humanity, December 2024 (Portuguese pavement; seed recovery at Greek Neolithic site) (1) “Missing Footsteps”: An icon of Portugal’s culture, Portuguese pavement, comparable to Roman mosaic pavement, is one of the country’s biggest symbols of engineering and pride, as well as a stone in the shoe of urban mobility. (2) “Living with Earth”: This documentary was entirely shot in northern Greece with archaeobotanist Tania Valamoti and her team, who are finding and analyzing seed remains from the Neolithic period in the excavation of the Dikili Tash site. These seeds can help define how the ancient Neolithic people grew their food. #heritage #strata #archaeology #archeology #anthropology #history #culturalheritage #strataportraitsofhumanity #culture #film #documentary

Heritage Broadcasting Service ( https://www.heritagetac.org ), or just plain Heritage, launched on January 1, 2021. Developed by the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 300 outstanding film titles from many countries on familiar subjects. As of December 16, 2024, new films include: “The Shadows of Loneliness,” “The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke, Season 1, Episode 4: The Heart of Chinatown,” and “Strata: Portraits of Humanity Season 11, Episode 03.” Check out these films and more, only on Heritage! https://www.heritagetac.org/ #archaeology #archeology #heritage #anthropology #history #culture #heritagebroadcastingservice #film #documentary

Heritage Broadcasting Service ( https://www.heritagetac.org ), or just plain Heritage, launched on January 1, 2021. Developed by the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 300 outstanding film titles from many countries on familiar subjects. As of December 2, 2024, new films include: ““Lost and Hungry in the Amazon: A Yanomami Story,” “The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke, Season 1, Episode 3: Spoken Word in the Village,” and “Humanity’s Footsteps, Season 1, Episode 11: The Frankish Warrior.” Check out these films and more, only on Heritage! https://www.heritagetac.org/ #archaeology #archeology #heritage #anthropology #history #culture #heritagebroadcastingservice #film #documentary

Heritage Broadcasting Service ( https://www.heritagetac.org ), or just plain Heritage, launched on January 1, 2021. Developed by the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 300 outstanding film titles from many countries on familiar subjects. As of November 15, 2024, new films include: “Ancient Sea Peoples of the North Atlantic,” “The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke, Season 1, Episode 2: Harlem Renaissance Revisited,” and “Strata: Portraits of Humanity Season 11, Episode 2." Check out these films and more, only on Heritage! https://www.heritagetac.org/ #archaeology #archeology #heritage #anthropology #history #culture #heritagebroadcastingservice #film #documentary

Season 11 Episode 2 Strata: Portraits of Humanity, November 2024 (Sweat lodge ceremony; Native American and White pioneer descendants share close family histories) (1) “Sweat”: A sweat lodge ceremony cannot be documented. This is a re-enactment of the director’s journey to the sweat lodge ceremony through sound, image and narration. (2) “Two Way Seeing”: In 1849, the Kalapuya Chief Camafeema and his tribe welcomed new neighbors, Charles and Melinda Applegate, into the Yoncalla Valley, beginning a long-lasting relationship that would continue into modern day. Their direct descendants, Kalapuya elder Esther Stutzman and historian and author Shannon Applegate now share their family histories while archaeologists explore the homestead, providing a different way of understanding the complex relationship between Native Americans and settlers. #heritage #strata #archaeology #archeology #anthropology #history #culturalheritage #strataportraitsofhumanity #culture #film

In each episode of The Poet Speaks series, host Amanda Eke embarks on a poetic journey, diving deep into the local culture and uncovering the rich history of oral traditions. From the bustling streets of New York City to the vibrant neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, Amanda explores how words have shaped and preserved cultures, rituals and societies throughout history. Amanda meets with local poets, people and cultural experts, bringing to life the dynamic world of spoken word poetry today. She reveals the timeless power of poetry in connecting humanity across ages and continents, showcasing the enduring influence of poetic expression on our collective consciousness. Join Amanda as she travels the globe, from iconic urban centers to hidden gems, discovering the stories that have shaped our world and the poets who continue to inspire us. New episodes available on Heritage Broadcasting Service (heritagetac.org) beginning October 28.

Heritage Broadcasting Service ( https://www.heritagetac.org ), or just plain Heritage, launched on January 1, 2021. Developed by the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 300 outstanding film titles from many countries on familiar subjects. As of October 28, 2024, new films include: “The Battle of Lake George,” “The Poet Speaks with Amanda Eke, Season 1, Episode 1: Subway Chronicles,” and “Humanity's Footsteps, Season 1, Episode 10: The Gallic Banquet.” Check out these films and more, only on Heritage! https://www.heritagetac.org/ #archaeology #archeology #heritage #anthropology #history #culture #heritagebroadcastingservice #film #documentary

Heritage Broadcasting Service ( https://www.heritagetac.org ) , or just plain Heritage, launched on January 1, 2021. Developed by the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 300 outstanding film titles from many countries on familiar subjects. As of October 15, 2024, new films include: “Francisco Albo: Greek Seamen in the First Voyage Around the World,” “The Mystery of the Lost Red Paint People,” and “Strata: Portraits of Humanity Season 11, Episode 01.” Check out these films and more, only on Heritage! https://www.heritagetac.org/ #archaeology #archeology #heritage #anthropology #history #culture #heritagebroadcastingservice #film #documentary

Season 11 Episode 1 Strata: Portraits of Humanity, October 2024 (Ancient graffiti in western Alps; reclaiming Indigenous lifeways in Alabama) (1) “When the Romans Called upon Their Gods: Graffiti Dedicated to the God Mercury”: The walls of an ancient temple in the western Alps contain graffiti that illustrate how people practiced their religion 2000 years ago. (2) “They Never Left: Indigenous Reclamation and Return in the Southeast”: Some Indigenous people were never forced to leave what is now known as the State of Alabama. In this film, three Indigenous people answer their ancestors’ prayers to reclaim traditional lifeways, protect the environment and teach us all how to better our relationships with the natural world and with Indigenous people. #heritage #strata #archaeology #archeology #anthropology #history #culturalheritage #strataportraitsofhumanity #culture #film

Check out our podcast "Who Were The Magi?" for the full conversation.

Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel, Associate Professor of Religion at Ferrum College, discusses the origins of his book "The Magi" in this clip from our podcast "Who Were The Magi?" Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel is Associate Professor of Religion at Ferrum College Get Eric's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Magi-Theyve-Remembered-Still-Fascinate/dp/1506473733 Become a Bible & Archaeology patron: http://www.patreon.com/bibleandarch Send us your questions: bible-archaeology@uiowa.edu Visit the Bible & Archaeology website: http://www.uiowa.edu/bam Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bible-and-archaeology/id1753393688 Find us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3tbe91wqMwkHcudArRi1ue?si=d483a9f54bf94753 Guest: Eric Vanden Eykel Hosted and Produced by Jordan Jones Additional Contributors: Mary Kathryn Lichty and Noah Jedlicka

Check out our podcast "Who Were The Magi?" for the full conversation.

Archaeolgists excavating at Minya in Egypt have discovered a large number of Ptolemaic mummies, 13 of which were found with gold tongues.

Check out our podcast "Who Were The Magi?" for the full conversation.

Presented by: Professor Hannah Thompson (Royal Holloway, University of London) is a partially blind academic and activist. Her research focuses on the intersections between Critical Disability Studies and French Studies and she has published 3 monographs and numerous papers on nineteenth-century French literature. Hannah is currently working on creative audio description in museums, art galleries and theatres and her notion of ‘blindness gain’. She was Production Consultant for the Donmar Warehouse’s installation BLINDNESS in 2020 and worked with a range of theatres and audio describers during her AHRC 2021-2 EDI Fellowship ‘Inclusive Description for Equality and Access’. In April 2023 she became PI on a £1M AHRC-funded grant The Sensational Museum which aims to ‘use what we know about disability to change how museums work for everyone.’ Hannah writes about her place as a partially blind academic in a resolutely sighted world in her blog Blind Spot (http://hannah-thompson.blogspot.com/)

How can house museums represent diverse stories? Where and how do we find queer narratives in historic sites, especially when they appear to be fixed in narrative and time. In 2023, Indigo and Robbie from the Georgian House, a National Trust for Scotland property in Edinburgh, ran a programme of events relating to LGBTQ history in the Georgian period. This discussion panel is a case study for exploring how to engage visitors in “alternative” readings of heritage collections to capture intangible histories. By reinterpreting objects or considering them in a different context we can recreate queer narratives and establish income generating visitor experiences that reintroduce past lives to modern audiences. Presented by: Indigo has been working in the heritage sector for over seven years across Australia and Scotland. She recently completed an SVQ in Museums and Galleries Practice through Museums Galleries Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland. Indigo has worked in a diverse range of properties, from castles to convict barracks. She specialises in public programmes that make space for marginalised stories in traditional spaces. In her current role at the Georgian House, a National Trust for Scotland property in Edinburgh, she has been working hard alongside her colleague Robbie, on a programme of events relating to LGBTQ history in the Georgian period. She is also the co-chair of the National Trust for Scotland’s LGBTQ network. Robbie has been working in Edinburgh’s tourism industry for just under ten years. His successful TikTok page, which reaches over 100,000 followers, focuses on Edinburgh’s History for an international audience. This unique perspective has led to a growing interest in Scotland’s heritage practice and engagement with a visitor focused outlook. While Duty Manager at Mary King’s Close, Robbie provided the research for the launch of their Pride Tours which focused on Scotland’s LGBTQ past. This led to him being a finalist for the Thistle Awards in 2023. In his current role as the supervisor at the Georgian House, Robbie has developed a wide range of evening events, all based on his own research.

This session will help attendees to learn more about the work of Kids in Museums and how our organisation can support museums to be more welcoming for children, young people and families. This virtual briefing and discussion session and will enable attendees to think about low and no cost changes they could make to enhance their museum’s family provision using the Kids in Museums Manifesto. Our Manifesto is a set of simple guidelines for museums, heritage sites and cultural organisations created with children, young people and families. It sets out what they feel makes a heritage site a great place to visit. We will also be talking about our free self-assessment tool, which is aimed at museums to enable them to do a light touch self-audit of how well they meet our Manifesto. The self-assessment tool is particularly aimed those with limited budgets. Presented by: Laura Bedford, Head of Programmes at Kids in Museums. Laura has worked in or with museums for over 20 years, with previous learning-based roles at the National Maritime Museum, Geffrye Museum (now the Museum of the Home), Te Papa and the Museum of Wellington City and Sea. Laura previously managed the National Alliance for Museums, Health and Wellbeing and was the director for GEM’s health and wellbeing intermediate course. She is a steering group member for the Playful Places Network and a Trustee for Ware Museum. She has worked at Kids in Museums as the Head of Programmes since September 2018. Her role includes leading on the development and delivery of training and consultancy.

The blooming of the corpse lily Amorphophallus titanium in summer 2019 recorded the highest ever audience figures to the Glasshouse at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh with visitors queuing up to sniff the stench of ‘rotten meat’, ‘garbage’, and ‘sweaty socks’. Museum and gallery initiatives have tended to shy away from ‘bad’ odours, however, focusing instead on pleasant smells from the past. The enormous public interest in the flowering of the corpse lily shows that there is value in olfactory objects—especially unpleasant ones—in cultural and heritage institutions that have up until now been underexplored. It is in this context that this talk takes place, refocusing its attention from foul-smelling flowers to malodorous mushrooms: the dune stinkhorn Phallus hadriani, a phallic, smelly fungus that attracts flies and other insects to help disperse its spores. As part of a two-year project titled ‘Fragrance in the Fungarium’ hosted by the Botanics, Siôn Parkinson will examine the odour of this fascinating fungus to reveal aspects of how it appeared to artists and botanists since the sixteenth century and the challenges they continue to face in describing its foetid smell in both language and illustration. Siôn will share how his experimental approach to working with heritage scientists, mycologists and fragrance designers aims to find new ways of capturing and communicating heritage smells of mushrooms to the wider public. The talk will conclude with a broader discussion about how Scottish museums and galleries can work collaboratively to highlight stories around intangible heritage relating to olfaction. Presented by: Dr Siôn Parkinson, AHRC Research Fellow at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Siôn Parkinson is an artist, musician and researcher on the cultural history of stinkhorn fungi. He is an AHRC Early Career Fellow at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh where he is investigating the smell of mushrooms as cultural heritage with a special focus on the malodour of the dune stinkhorn Phallus hadriani. Siôn's research combines odour analysis and creative interpretations of mushroom-related olfactory objects, such as old books, botanical artworks and fungus-rich environments across Scotland’s four Royal Gardens. He has a PhD in sound studies from the University of Leeds where he was an Amanda Burton Scholar. Before that, he trained as a sculptor at Central Saint Martins and The Slade. His book Stinkhorn: How Nature’s Most Foul Smelling Mushroom Can Change the Way We Listen will be published by Sternberg/MIT Press in 2024.

Living Links is a long-standing research partnership between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and the University of St Andrews, focusing on exploration of human cognition through behavioural and observational studies of brown capuchins and common squirrel monkeys living together in an exhibit of the same name at Edinburgh Zoo. Fifteen years after opening the exhibit, we began a complete overhaul of the visitor experience, jointly funded and working in close collaboration with researchers from the University of St Andrews, and the interpretation, learning technology and keeper teams at Edinburgh Zoo. We set out to tell the many varied stories of Living Links; including explaining how research works at the centre and some of the amazing discoveries made there over the years, as well as to inform people about our curious monkeys and some of the conservation challenges they face in the wild. We have created a unified look and feel for the area which blends innovative storytelling and physical interactives with on-site citizen science opportunities and a six-part online lesson programme for primary schools and families to continue their learning offsite and provide us with detailed learning analytic data. We have conducted extensive evaluation in partnership with St Andrews looking at dwell times and engagement in the new versus old approaches, and the effectiveness of citizen science and our conservation messaging. Presented by: Lizzie Seymour, Learning Technology Officer and Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Lizzie’s background is in design and media, and she has more than 10 years’ experience working in creative technologies across various industries from web development, graphic design and marketing to education. Since moving to Edinburgh in 2017 to become the first dedicated Learning Technologist established in a zoo environment, Lizzie has worked hard to demonstrate the benefits of embedding technology in conservation education. In 2019, Lizzie was named ALT Learning Technologist of the Year, an international award in recognition of her unique work using technology to build greater connections between zoo visitors and communities, with animals, conservation, and the environment. Outside of work Lizzie is a member of the Digital Learning Network (DLNET) committee and lead for the events sub-group, focused on bringing digital skills and networking to the museum and heritage sector. Lizzie is also a trained mental health first-aider with the Scottish Artist Union and a commissioned public artist, having contributed a piece to the ‘Giraffe About Town’ trail around Edinburgh in 2022. When not working or crafting, Lizzie can be found roaming the various beaches around Edinburgh with her puppy Beinn.

Museum Accreditation is a standard inclusive of the whole UK sector. It is available to and used by all types of museums, from the smallest volunteer-run museum through to national institutions. For those smaller organisations, without access to a museum professional, mentors are invaluable. They open up the scheme and the support from the wider sector allowing volunteers and their museums access to the benefits. This introduction will cover an overview of the Accreditation Scheme and its benefits, the importance of the mentor role in the Scheme and why mentoring is a great development opportunity for individuals to take up. Presented by: Jenny Youngson (she/her) is a Museum Development Manager: Accreditation at Museums Galleries Scotland. She supports Scottish museums to achieve and maintain the UK Museum Accreditation Standard. She is responsible for ensuring the sector understand the Standard, how to articulate that they are meeting its requirements, and most importantly, how Accreditation can support the development of museums. She works with the UK Accreditation partners (Arts Council England, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Museums Council) to make sure that the Standard supports museums of all sizes and types across the whole of the UK. Jenny joined MGS in 2011, following roles in collections management and logistics with local authority museums. She continues to have a passion for museum stores and decants. Her role with Accreditation allows her to visit many museums and see behind the scenes, a privilege she is delighted to have.

In 2026 the Royal Scottish Academy will celebrate its bicentenary. As Scotland’s oldest surviving artist-run institution, the RSA and its Academicians have played a significant role throughout the years in shaping the nation’s art and its cultural landscape. The RSA is keen to celebrate this anniversary across Scotland, to properly reflect the national role of the RSA and its Academicians and their impact on the forming of a shared national collection. We are warmly extending an invitation to cultural venues in Scotland to become involved in the bicentenary project and help develop it at a national level. RSA Academicians, both in the past and now, form part of every community in Scotland and their work features in public and private collections the length and breadth of the country. In honour of these connections, the project will align with institutions’ individual display strategies and local priorities and hopefully not add to already stretched budgets and resources. Involvement could range from updating labels with the RSA 2026 logo to a series of exhibitions across the year. The project is supported by Museums Galleries Scotland and ArtUK. We hope that there will be wide sector engagement and that SMF members might take on a role of advocacy with us, spreading the word to other venues and encouraging more diverse involvement, within and outwith the museum and gallery sector. Presented by: Sandy Wood is Head of Collections at the Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture. He is responsible for the management, care of, and access to the RSA’s uniquely formed collection, Recognised as a collection of National Significance to Scotland. Sandy joined the RSA in 2003 after graduating in Fine Art from Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, later completing a Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. Starting work at the RSA as a technician, he was appointed Assistant Curator in 2010 and Collections Curator in 2013. His areas of interest include the stories woven between historic and contemporary practice and practitioners, artistic lineage and legacy and the revealing of art through process and artistic voice. Recent exhibitions and publications have included James Cumming RSA (1922-1991): Symbols of the Mind, 2015; UnRealised: Architectural Imagination from the RSA Collections, 2016; Ages of Wonder: Scotland’s Art 1540 to Now, RSA and Touring Scotland, 2017-21, Andiamo! Forty Years of the John Kinross Scholarships to Florence, 2021, and William Gillies: Modernism and Nation, 2023

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) cares for over 42,000 collection items across 148 Properties in Care. We identified a need to perform a detailed, Spectrum-compliant audit of all our collections, capturing updated, consistent and accurate information about these objects, including images. By the end of the project in 2025, the 5-member team will have visited all 148 properties to perform inventories, from Jarlshof in Shetland in the North of Scotland, down to Dundrennan Abbey in Dumfries and Galloway in the South. This presentation will describe how the introduction of the Collections Inventory Project team to the Collections & Applied Conservation department has allowed a consistent method of inventory to be applied across the regions, and has fostered collaboration and support within the organisation. Presented by: Inga Edwardson is Collections Inventory Team Manager at Historic Environment Scotland (HES). She is responsible for managing the Collections Inventory Project team who are working to produce updated, accurate and consistent information about HES’s collections across Scotland. Kate Grimshaw is a Collections Inventory Assistant and is responsible for the implementation of the Collections Inventory Project. She travels between sites, inventorying and photographing objects, and prepares the data for addition to the CMS.

Since 2022, our focus at the National Trust for Scotland has been on understanding more about our schools audiences. We want to know who is engaging with us, the impact of our work, and what teachers want from us in this post-covid, climate-emergency era. We have properties and places throughout Scotland and have the capability to reach school pupils in every local authority area. Our current challenge is how we do this in a way that is sustainable, targeted and widens our reach in line with our 10-year corporate strategy, Nature, Beauty and Heritage for Everyone. We also want to ensure we’re working in partnership with others to expand our collective work with schools. This session will highlight the results of this initial work, with a focus on those that may be useful to others in the sector. In sharing some of our key findings, we want others in the sector to be empowered to make decisions about their current and future work with schools. We’ll also highlight areas we’re looking to develop in the future and would love to work with others in taking them forward. Presented by: Sarah Cowie, Senior Heritage Learning Advisor at National Trust for Scotland. Sarah has worked in the sector since 2004 in a range of institutions including charities, independent museums, local authorities, and national organisations. She has worked with a variety of audiences and currently leads learning at the National Trust for Scotland, with a particular focus on schools. Sarah is also a Trustee for the Group for Education in Museums and recently gained her AMA. Interests include making museums and heritage sites accessible, developing digital learning, evaluating impact, and bringing organisations together.

We’re really excited that our Marseum learning resource has now launched, and we’re sharing some information about how your museum can run your own out-of-this world project! We’ve developed this resource with Daydream Believers, as part of our Workforce for the Future programme. We will demonstrate how your museum can use the Marseum learning resource resource to run Education, Learning and Outreach activity with young people who might otherwise be excluded from participation in their local museum. As part of our Workforce for the Future project, Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) have collaborated with Daydream Believers to create the Marseum learning resource, with the aim of inspiring young people to grow their confidence, develop employability skills and learn more about museums and galleries. In Workforce for the Future, MGS are working in partnership with Developing the Young Workforce to deliver youth employability projects in museums and schools in lower Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) areas. S1/S2 Pupils work to co-create a resource with their local museum, learning about the diversity of job roles in the sector and increasing their employability skills. The learning resource has been designed to support these projects, with our first four pilot Marseum projects lifting off imminently with partners in Oban, Fort William, Paisley and Fife! Presented by: Gabi Gillott, Workforce for the Future Project Officer / Museum Development Coordinator (Delivering Change) at Museums Galleries Scotland. Gabi works on two projects at Museums Galleries Scotland, Delivering Change and Workforce for the Future, both of which are focused on making a more diverse range of people welcome in Scotland's museums' workforce and audiences. In both roles, she draws on her experience as a creative facilitator, having worked across a variety of community, arts, and cultural organisations. As Workforce for The Future Project Officer, Gabi supports the delivery of a national project involving Museums and Galleries working with S1 and S2 pupils in lower Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) areas to develop skills and learn more about heritage sector careers. She has also been working Daydream Believers to develop Marseum – a freely accessible learning resource to support more schools and museums to deliver similar projects. As Museum Development Coordinator (Delivering Change), Gabi works closely with museum participants on the Delivering Change programme, supporting the development and delivery of the Museum Learning Programme and creating a network and cohort of museums to embed anti-oppression in their organisation. She also works alongside MGS’s Museum Development Team members, supporting them in developing how they help museums engage with anti-oppression, inclusion and participation, aiming to embed this into MGS’s core approach.