San Diego Gives 2024

Save the date! On September 5, the San Diego Archaeological Center will be part of an incredible group of local nonprofits coming together for San Diego Gives, a special day of online giving. We need your help to raise $10,000 to preserve San Diego’s archaeological record and provide educational programs that inspire appreciation for cultural resources.

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Your Gift Supports:

Museum Exhibits & Visits

Archaeology widens our understanding of human culture, technology, and lifestyle beyond what is written in history books. The Center features permanent exhibits providing an introduction to the 12,000 years of cultural history in San Diego County as well as information about the process of archaeology and the science behind the study of the past. A new exhibit coming this fall will examine popular pseudoscientific topics related to archaeology.

Your generosity helps keep the museum accessible by subsidizing pay-what-you-wish admission and free admission programs such as Museums for All for EBT card holders; Summer Reading Program passes for families who complete the program at San Diego City, County, and other local libraries; Discover & Go passes that families can check out from San Diego City libraries; and Kids Free San Diego for children in October. Last year, 516 out of 1,728 guests visited the museum for free.

Your Gift Supports:

Educational Programs

The San Diego Archaeological Center offers virtual and in-person lectures by archaeologists and authors, hands-on workshops, and presentations to community groups. The Ancient Echoes series provides attendees with an interactive experience revealing the ancient origins of popular modern-day activities. Family-friendly programming such as Storytime with an Archaeologist and Art with an Archaeologist introduces archaeology to all ages. Your gift helps produce these programs and offer free activities for families.

Local school groups can step into the fascinating world of archaeology with a field trip 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. For schools that are unable to visit our museum, the Center brings archaeology straight to the classroom. Last school year, we hosted 1,266 students on field trips at the SDAC and served 376 students through classroom outreach programs.

Your Gift Supports:

Preservation & Internship Programs

The San Diego Archaeological Center stewards over 2 million cultural resources from more than 1,000 archaeological sites around San Diego County.  The SDAC is equipped with over 5,000 square feet of vault space that allows us to provide long-term preservation and care for a wide range of archaeological materials, including artifacts, ecofacts, maps, photographs, and site records.

The Center’s Reference Library holdings focus on the anthropology, archaeology, and history of San Diego County. The Library contains 10,475 books, journals, magazines, monographs, and media files in addition to 2,600+ archaeological reports.

Partnering with local colleges and universities provides a setting for students and volunteers to gain hands-on experience. SDAC internships train future archaeologists in artifact identification, storage requirements, and preventative conservation. Collections Department interns and volunteers gave 1,078 hours of their time over the past year.

About the San Diego Archaeological Center

The San Diego Archaeological Center is a museum and educational facility where visitors can experience San Diego’s past. We recognize and respect the cultural diversity of the community we serve—past, present, and future. We strive to offer a balanced interpretation of the archaeological record using artifacts as visual and tactile evidence of our common humanity.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions Volunteers assist with the design, construction, and installation of Center Museum exhibits.

Volunteers work in the Center’s Research Library, cataloguing materials and organizing on a computer-based system.

Marketing and Administrative Volunteers assist the Development Office or Administration Office with data entry, updating marketing materials and clerical tasks. Computer experience is a plus.

Docents welcome visitors and answer general questions regarding the Center and exhibits. Docents staff the gift shop and help out with administrative and curatorial tasks.

Volunteers support event activities at the Center, such as the Annual BBQ, lectures, workshops, and fundraising events. Be a part of the party!

Volunteer provide support for K-12 programs offered at the Center. These are fun, hands-on programs that kids really enjoy. Teaching experience is a plus, but not required. Background checks are required.

Photogrammetry

With the assistance of Center staff, the intern will use photogrammetry to prepare one or more archaeological collections for digital preservation, as well as create a virtual museum exhibit for our Public Archaeology department. Per approval, special projects of the intern’s choosing are also available. During the research and planning, the intern will receive guidance as appropriate to their selected project. Prospective interns should already be familiar with photogrammetric procedures, and Agisoft Metashape.

Collections Management

With the assistance of Center staff, the intern will prepare one or more archaeological collections for curation. During the course of the internship, the intern will learn to identify artifacts and ecofacts common to the San Diego region, including lithics, ceramics, historical objects, and faunal, botanical, and mineral specimens. Center staff will instruct the intern on archaeological laboratory procedures such as basic artifact analysis, manual and computer cataloguing, storage requirements, and preventative conservation. In addition, the intern will become familiar with historical trends in archaeological practice in the San Diego area and will be introduced to current legal and ethical issues in archaeological curation as well as the concerns and rights of culturally affiliated groups with regard to archaeological materials.

Development and Marketing

Under the direction of Center staff, the intern will support the department in various activities, including, but not limited to, fundraising and grant research; e-newsletter development; social media marketing; and website maintenance. This internship will give the intern valuable, real-world experience in non-profit fundraising and marketing.

Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology

Prospective Interns must have completed three courses: Introduction to GIS, GIS Database Management, and Intermediate/Advanced Methods in GIS. The intern will be assigned a project where they will create shapefiles and maps for curated archaeological collections, museum exhibits, and/or public outreach using ArcGIS 10.6. Center staff will instruct the intern on archaeological GIS laboratory procedures such as computer cataloguing, storage requirements, and database management.

Library Science

With the assistance of Center staff, the intern will arrange and catalog materials in the Center’s library. During the course of the internship, the intern will take a leading role in the cataloging, sorting and storing of research files and creating user guides for these collections. Center staff will instruct the intern on archival procedures, computer cataloging, storage requirements, and preventative conservation.

Public Archaeology

Harness your passion for Public Archaeology and gain hands-on experience with K-12 museum field trips, lectures, and public outreach. Additional projects may include creating virtual museum exhibits and activities, assisting in the development and implementation of K-12 curricula programs, planning and presenting public facing content, or educational field trip content of your own design. Must be able to pass a Live Scan.