Archaeological Excavation Activity for Kids

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through one of my links, at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see our full disclosure for more information. The Art Kit participates in the Target Affiliate Marketing Program and Walmart’s affiliate program and may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through our links. Please note: Always use appropriate supervision and use caution with small pieces. Be sure products and activities are appropriate for your child’s age and skill level.

Table of Contents

We recently put together a quick archaeological excavation activity for the kids to go along with our current studies and they had a blast! Not only was it easy to put together by using items we already had around the house, but it was such a fun hands-on way to learn about archaeological excavations. To see all the fun, please continue reading below.

What You'll Need

Related: ABCmouse.com First Month Free

What to Do

Begin by drawing or writing on the pottery with markers.

Miss 7 enjoyed drawing on her pottery.

As did Miss 4.

Once the pottery has been decorated, place it in a ziplock bag and seal closed. You may want to place a towel on top of the bag to ensure no shards fly out.

Next, hit the pottery with a hammer (this might be a good place to step in if you have younger children). We did a light tap and only one hit as we didn't want to have too many pieces to glue back together but if you're up for a challenge, feel free to hit the pottery as many times as you'd like. 🙂

Next, prepare your tray by filling it with salt or sand.

Next, bury the pottery pieces in the tray.

Related: Watercolor Fabric Art

Now it's time to excavate! We excavated our pottery by using paint brushes and the kids had so much fun that once they discovered all the pieces, they buried them and excavated them all over again! 🙂

Once all the pottery pieces have been excavated, it's time to put them back together.

We placed a good amount of tacky glue along the cracks and then placed and held the pieces together for about 20 seconds before moving onto the next piece.

The glue held everything together very well and the kids were excited to see their pottery back together. Such a fun activity!

Does this activity sound like something you'd like to try? If so, please share it on social media. Or, pin it to save for later.

Looking for more simple + fun activities? Be sure to check out our other creative ideas:

What else would you like to see from The Art Kit? Let us know in the comment section below.

Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, and please sign up for our newsletter to receive updates and FREE printables.

We love seeing how we've inspired you! Tag us on social media (@theartkit) so we can follow along with the fun. 🙂