Outreach

 

Public outreach is one of the crucial aspects of CSHO’s mission.  In addition to our ongoing lectures and events aimed at the academic community and public at large, below are some of our outreach activities, educational programs and communications that promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the study of human origins. 

 

Education Outreach

ARISE

Several Anthropology Department faculty and their lab members serve as mentors in the ARISE (Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering) program offered by NYU Tandon School of Engineering. ARISE provides a summer research experience in various STEM fields for NYC high school students who otherwise do not have access to a rigorous STEM education. The students spend three weeks taking college-level coursework on scientific method followed by four weeks of hands-on research in a lab, and finish the program by presenting their work at a poster session.  

CSHO currently offers opportunities in the Evolutionary Morphology Lab, the Molecular Anthropology Lab and the Primate Reproductive Ecology and Evolution Lab.  Please check under Research Opportunities in the Department of Anthropology on the ARISE website for more information.

 

Women in Science

The College of Arts and Science at NYU has instituted a Women in Science (WINS) program that seeks to cultivate the talents of women undergraduates who are interested in careers that focus on research in science and math. CSHO faculty member Dr. Shara Bailey is the current director, and is assisted by Ph.D. student Jennifer Eyre.  A core group of undergraduate women, WINS Scholars, are selected after the first year based on high academic achievement and a demonstrated interest in research and a career in science.  WINS aims to nurture the talents of WINS Scholars through an individualized program of study, research, and mentoring. Our goal is to provide the foundation for lifelong success in professional and academic careers that involve research in anthropology, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, neural science, physics, or psychology.

WINS scholars meet regularly as a group, offer peer support to each other, meet with instructors and women scientists invited to address the group, and host events that enable them to meet eminent scientists from STEM fields. The WINS director acts to facilitate mentor relationships with women researchers at NYU.  WINS scholars also raise awareness on campus of the enormous contribution women have made to the sciences.  WINS scholars also benefit from annual scholarship funds.

 

The Little Red Schoolhouse

In 2012, Mark Silberberg, Headmaster of the Middle School of the Little Red Schoolhouse in New York City, approached CSHO professor Rita Wright about establishing a collaborative project between his school and the Archaeology Program in the Department of Anthropology at NYU.

The Little Red Schoolhouse is a private school that emphasizes hands-on academics along with athletics and community service. They challenge their students to ask “questions, think deeply, and have a positive impact on the world”. A major activity in the middle school curriculum is the building of an Egyptian Tomb and its contents. Students learn about archaeology during this experience, as well as through visits to the Brooklyn Museum and Metropolitan Museum. The tomb is a centerpiece for transmitting what they have learned to other students and their parents on visits to the school.

CSHO archaeology graduate students have worked with the students and staff of the Little Red Schoolhouse on and off for several years. Through these efforts, Barry Kemp of Cambridge University agreed to give the students access to his Amarna field reports for use in the tomb project. In addition, CSHO archaeology students have provided in-class visits to the Little Red Schoolhouse. These classroom sessions allow students to interact with objects from CSHO’s archaeological and teaching collections, including faunal remains, stone tools, and ceramic sherds. We are looking forward to future collaborations in which we continue to unearth things together. 

 

SciComm