…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus attends the Georgia Council for the Social Studies Conference in Athens along with hundreds of teachers, many of whom, she discovered, are quite knowledgeable about Georgia archaeology.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus attends the charity auction to raise money for the SGA’s Endowment Fund that was held in conjunction with the 2011 Fall Meeting.

…In which Abby the ArchaeoBus visits Ft. Hawkins, in Macon. Abby describes excavations to uncover palisade walls that were built in 1809, and the flood of visitors who toured the Bus and displays.

Abby the ArchaeoBus discusses visiting the Southeastern Archaeology Conference in Florida, and participating in Public Archaeology Day while parked outside the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville. Enjoy photographs of the event as part of the diary entry.

The ArchaeoBus spent Friday, October 21st, 2011 at Georgia Council for the Social Studies conference in Athens, attended by 510 educators. The ArchaeoBus, accompanying displays, and the door prize the SGA offered were all well-received.

This week, 24–31 October, 2011, the SGA’s ArchaeoBus is at Fort Hawkins and open to the public, while excavations are in progress. This is the first time the ArchaeoBus has visited active excavations! Fort Hawkins, on a hill above the Ocmulgee National Monument and downtown Macon, dates to 1806, before Macon was founded. On the 31st, attend a Press Conference at 3:00PM, when you can see all that was found during the week, and tour the ArchaeoBus. At 5:00PM, the first Fort Hawkins Halloween Hauntings will begin, with ArchaeoBus tours a major highlight of this free, fun, family event.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample item photos in the full story.

Attend the Georgia National Fair and help the SGA by volunteering to present the ArchaeoBus to the public. No experience necessary! The ArchaeoBus is the SGA’s fun mobile classroom and museum. The 2011 Georgia National Fair in Perry runs from Thursday, October 6 through Sunday, October 16.

SGA’s ArchaeoBus, nicknamed Abby, visited a week-long Girl Scout Eco-camp in Oglethorpe County in July, 2011. Amy Glinski, leader of the camp, along with SGA’s Tom Gresham and Teresa Groover presented a half day of programming and hands-on activities to 40 girls who ranged from 6 to 13 years old. We think this was another successful venture for the ArchaeoBus and was a slightly different audience and setting. We are finding that the ArchaeoBus is readily adaptable to a wide range of audiences.

Fifty-seven visitors toured the ArchaeoBus when it was parked at the Madison County Library in Danielsville on April 16th, 2011, and browsed exhibits set up in the library. The ArchaeoBus created a good bit of excitement and all who visited were impressed and appreciative. A Facebook comment later that weekend observed, “we saw tons of cool things…the ArchaeoBus was great!!!” Two kids bounding up to the library chanted ArchaeoBus! ArchaeoBus! ArchaeoBus!

Abby the ArchaeoBus met countless numbers of the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Georgia National Fair in Perry this October. Visitors had a unique opportunity this year to learn about Georgia’s archaeology and preservation in a fun and interactive way, courtesy of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. Families and adults were actively engaged in learning these messages, as were field trip students. Countless children left Abby positive messages in her visitor book. Also, a special thanks to the hard working cadre of volunteers at the ArchaeoBus exhibit.

Volunteering for the SGA is not a daunting task as one might think, being at the Georgia National Fair all day with the ArchaeoBus smelling livestock, eating fatty foods, and dealing with rowdy kids. The ArchaeoBus volunteers report they had a great time and all said they would do it again!

The annual Seven Islands Artifact ID Day on October 23, 2010, was hosted by the Ocmulgee Archaeological Society (OAS) and the Butts County Historical Society (BCHS). Members of Taylor County High School’s “Benjamin Hawkins Historical, Expeditionary, and Geographical Society (BHEGS) volunteered to help manage the archaeology tent. Now in its fourth year, the event has continued to gain support and receive more visitors.

In the full story, click through photos from two days spent with the ArchaeoBus at the Georgia National Fair, in Perry. Visitors of all ages enjoyed the Fair from October 7–17, 2010. SGA members pulled together to staff the ArchaeoBus exhibit with three or more volunteers at all times, helping thousands of fair-goers learn about Georgia archaeology.

Visit the Georgia National Fair—October 7–17 in Perry, and step into the ArchaeoBus! We’ll have lots of information plus activities for kids! Kids can make a seed packet for next spring, and plant seeds Native Americans in Georgia used to cultivate! The full story has a downloadable Fair map with the ArchaeoBus location marked, and a downloadable handout about Native American agriculture in Georgia.

The ArchaeoBus handlers have filled the ArchaeoBus schedule for October! There’s CoastFest, ten days at the Georgia National Fair, and then two days in Athens with teachers attending the Georgia Conference on the Social Studies!

Read the story of the SGA’s ArchaeoBus, as told by Abby the ArchaeoBus herself. Abby wants to share her experiences with the whole wide world, via this website! Abby includes many snapshots, so you can feel like you’ve spent time with her, too!

The SGA’s 2010 Spring Meeting, held Saturday, May 15th, at The Parks at Chehaw, just outside of Albany, featured demonstrators knowledgable in the skills of ancient peoples. The theme of this year’s Archaeology Month was Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques. The full story has more photographs.

The 2010 SEAC Public Outreach Grant has been awarded to Fort Frederica National Monument, St. Simons Island, Georgia, for their project “Digging History” at Fort Frederica: Community Archaeology Festival. The festival features SGA’s ArchaeoBus.

UPDATE: new photos!
Rita Elliott, one of the most active, creative and energetic SGA members in recent memory, was awarded the prestigious Governor’s Award in the Humanities at a banquet in downtown Atlanta on May 11, 2010. She was presented the award on stage by Governor Sonny Perdue’s special assistant and former DNR Commissioner Lonice Barrett, Georgia Humanities Council President Jamil Zainaldin, National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman and former Congressman Jim Leach, and Humanities Awards Committee Chair Swann Seiler.

How could Native American Indians in Georgia have survived in a vast “wilderness” for thousands of years? That question will be answered on Saturday, May 15th at The Parks at Chehaw in Albany. Human survival long ago required mastery of the many skills to be demonstrated and explained by experts who have studied and learned them. So, if you’ve ever wanted to get back to basics—this program is for you!

Long-time SGA member and past president Rita Elliott has been informed in a letter from Governor Sonny Perdue that she will be a recipient of the prestigious Governor’s Award in the Humanities. The presentation ceremony will be held Tuesday May 11, 2010 at the Old Georgia Railroad Depot in Atlanta, beginning at 10:30 AM with a lecture. The awards luncheon will follow at noon. Ticket information is in the full story.

Attend the SGA’s Spring Meeting on Saturday, May 15th, 2010, at The Parks at Chehaw, outside of Albany, and tour the ArchaeoBus!

CoastFest 2009 broke all records for attendance this year with over 7000 visitors. The SGA sent the ArchaeoBus and set up tables, with many volunteers helping educate the visitors. The theme was “Save Georgia’s Dirt!”

The ArchaeoBus wranglers have been busy. During the past six months with few attempts to solicit venues, we have exposed 8,500 people to the Archaeobus and archaeology. Read the full story for a summary of ArchaeoBus activities, and a discussion of funding sources and some volunteers (a hearty thank you to each!) and expenses.

The online version of Jacksonville’s The Florida Times-Union published a story on the Society’s own ArchaeoBus on 24 November 2009. Elementary school students sort pottery in this photo by Terry Dickson. Read the full story by clicking [More] below.

With the crash of a champagne bottle over her fender, a new green bough laid upon her, the cadence of a drum roll, and the suspenseful unveiling of the tarp, Abby the ArchaeoBus was officially christened. Over 70 guests participated in the historic event during the spring Archaeology meeting in Macon on May 16, 2009. [...]

Ryan Blackburn, of Online Athens, the online version of the Athens Banner-Herald, has written a glowing article about the SGA’s own ArchaeoBus! (picture from Online Athens)

The SGA’s Spring Meeting on Saturday, May 16th, with the theme Mounds in Our Midst: Monuments of Prehistoric Culture in Georgia, hosted over 100 attendees who enjoyed formal presentations, informal networking, and the unveiling of SGA’s newest outreach project: the Archaeobus!

You are invited to attend the unveiling of the SGA’s latest big project, the ArchaeoBus, our new mobile archaeology classroom! Door prizes! Refreshments! An interactive kazoo event! After the “christening” you can tour the ArchaeoBus and see the exhibits inside! Mark your calendar, and come to Macon on May 16th!

Are you curious about all this hub-bub over some old vehicle? Come satisfy your curiosity and see the brand new ArchaeoBus at its christening. The ArchaeoBus, (A.B or “Abbey” for short), becomes official on Saturday, May 16, 2009, at 4:00 pm, after the presentations at the Spring Meeting!

The Society for Georgia Archaeology is pleased to announce a recent birth after a long labor. The new arrival is a beautiful, baby bus. ArchaeoBus arrived on November 21, 2008, measuring 16’ long and weighing several tons. Proud Godparents include the ArchaeoBus Committee. These baby pictures show the new bus, swaddled in its designer ‚“wrap” [...]

In November 2008, the ArchaeoBus got wrapped, thanks to a generous grant from the Georgia Transmission Corporation.

ArchaeoBus is quickly becoming more than just a pretty face! The last Profile article described the colorful “wrap” that will embellish the exterior of the vehicle and create an exciting traveling billboard for public archaeology outreach. Thanks to Best Buy Children’s Foundation, ArchaeoBus will now be equipped with substantial technology that will expand the potential [...]

The Archaeology Bus Committee has several exciting items to report to the membership. First, John (JC) Burns of jcbD, has generously provided pro-bono work to create the graphic and text design that will go around the vehicle. This will allow the vehicle to be “reborn” from the bookmobile that it was to the new and [...]

The story of the transformation of the Bookmobile acquired by SGA from the Athens Clarke County Regional Library continues! The Archaeology Mobile Advisory Panel had its first meeting on Saturday, November 10. Joined by about 93,000 fans in town for the UGA-Auburn game, members of the advisory panel converged on Athens from around the state. [...]

The bus is here!! The Society for Georgia Archaeology (SGA) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a book mobile from the Athens Regional Library System and the beginning of an innovative, large-scale project. The project, now known as the Archaeology Mobile project, but soon to have an official name, is an ambitious plan aimed [...]