Transportation collections: On the road to public education

Abstract

Boxes stacked on boxes, long aisles lined with endless shelves of artifacts. These are familiar sites to many archaeologists who look wistfully at the latent educational potential of archaeological collections. Stored in these boxes and drawers are many compelling stories-stories of history and prehistory that the public craves. But who has the time to tell them? Few archaeologists find the time to conduct the level of analysis they might want to do never mind the seemingly "extra" work of a public education program. Public education, however, should never be considered "extra," especially on projects carried out under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). It is easy to get so caught up in following the details of section 106 of NHPA that one forgets Section 1 of the same act, which states that the purpose of the act is to enrich public life. The NHPA was passed, in part, because "the preservation of [our] irreplaceable heritage is in the public interest so that its vital legacy of cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, economic, and energy benefits will be maintained and enriched for future generations of Americans," and because then current preservation programs were considered inadequate "to ensure future generations a genuine opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the rich heritage of our Nation," (NHPA Sec 1(b)4-5). When sitting in storage, however, this "rich heritage" is available only to the people who happen to pass through the storage room. Most archaeologists agree that not all Cultural Resource Management (CRM) projects produce results that are worth sharing, but when there are interesting results, we have a professional responsibility to share them with the general public. However, finding the time and resources is a challenge. It is unfortunate that there is little or no dedicated funding to fulfill this aspect of one of the corner stones of the national preservation program. The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has addressed the problem partially by incorporating public education into the daily activities of their curation facility. Curation is another critically under funded program, but bringing public education into the curation facility has helped both programs. Public programing began in earnest at the MHC when the collections from the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project (better know as Boston's Big Dig) were delivered to the MHC for permanent curation. The Big Dig, the largest highway construction project in the world, is a good example of how public education can happen with limited resources and within the context of section 106 or other CRM projects. The ongoing Big Dig education program works because two crucial elements are present. First, the integrity and significance of some of the identified sites were astonishing for an urban core and produced some very exciting discoveries. Second, since the completion of the excavation phase, the MHC has made it a priority to provide local schools and the general public with access to the results of the archaeology through a program of exhibits, school curricula, and public programs. This institutional support continues despite an uneven history of funding for the program. A summary of the core elements of the program follows accompanied by some remarks on how we completed the programs within our limited budget.