#GivingTuesday
This #GivingTuesday, your gift brings the fascinating world of archaeology to our community. We need your help to raise $10,000 by December 3 to support educational programs and exhibits that connect people of all ages to the past.
Your donation directly supports hands-on programs, lectures, and exhibits at the San Diego Archaeological Center. Whether it’s through our interactive Ancient Echoes workshops, engaging Living Room Lectures, or inspiring school field trips, your contribution helps share the wonders of archaeology with the community.
Double Your Impact!
Thanks to a generous matching donor, all donations made by December 3 will be matched up to $4,000—doubling the impact of your gift! Plus, many employers offer donation matching, so check with your company to see if your gift qualifies.
How To Give
Donate Online: Donate through our Online Giving Form.
Mail a Check: Checks made out to the San Diego Archaeological Center may be sent to the following address:
San Diego Archaeological Center
ATTN: Development
16666 San Pasqual Valley Rd
Escondido, CA 92027
What Your Gift Supports
Lectures & Workshops
The Living Room Lecture series invites archaeologists and authors from all over the US to present their research, while in-person presentations provide a platform for local archaeologist to share their findings. These education opportunities are offered on a pay-what-you-wish model to increase accessibility to local history. Last year, 438 people attended our lectures. Recent topics include the Nathan Harrison Site, Archaeological Oddities, Frauds, and Mysteries, and Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt.
The Ancient Echoes series provides attendees with an interactive experience revealing the ancient origins of popular modern-day activities, including creating art and making mead. In our popular Pints and Pigments workshop, attendees learn how Ice Age rock art is made then create their own artwork using traditional pigments. This fall, the Center added two more topics, 10,000 Years of Beer and Ice Age Pigments: Handprint Edition, with more subjects coming soon.
It was such a unique experience to get an educational experience with the art! Love the combo of learning and creating. – Erin Myers, Pints & Pigments workshop attendee
Free family-friendly events introduce archaeology to all ages. Programs include weekly readings of an archaeology-themed book during Storytime with an Archaeologist and monthly archaeology-related art projects during Art with an Archaeologist. This year, 107 museum guests joined us for these programs.
School Programs
Local school groups can step into the fascinating world of archaeology with field trips to the SDAC. Students learn what archaeology is, where we work, the variety of tools we use, and how we study the past here and all over the world. 1,290 students from 18 schools visited the museum last year, up from 730 students the previous year.
The field trip was extremely educational and fun. Everyone really enjoyed the scavenger hunt and the pottery making. – Danielle LaChusa, Housing Director for the Mesa Grande Indian Housing Authority
For schools that are unable to visit our museum, the Center brings archaeology straight to the them through our classroom outreach program. Last year, SDAC provided nine off-site school and community programs reaching 252 youth.
We appreciate you visiting and teaching our students about archaeology! The students were so engaged and loved your enthusiasm. They were very excited to bring back their pinch pot and share with their families what they learned. – Second-grade teachers at Los Penasquitos Elementary School
The Center also partners with environmental organizations such as the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy and Volcan Mountain Foundation to educate the community about the importance of preserving cultural resources along with natural resources.
Exhibits
A new exhibit coming this fall will examine popular pseudoscientific topics related to archaeology.
About the San Diego Archaeological Center
The mission of the San Diego Archaeological Center is to promote the importance of cultural resources through education and preserve them in partnership with Tribal and other communities. We engage the community with dynamic educational programming and exhibits to foster a deeper understanding of the past and its relevance to our world today; encourage appreciation and respect for other cultures, past and present; and reinforce critical thinking skills.