Playing with the Past? Or Saving Our Future?

Abstract

The Role of Fundamental Education in the Heritage Industry - As the manager of the Ancient Technology Centre (ATC) in Dorset, England, like many of you, I consider regularly what it is that we actually do. What services do we provide? How are we regarded by the public, by the education sector, by the children we teach, and by those who pay to come through our doors. At face value, the question is simple—are we part of a Heritage Industry, or on the periphery of formal education systems? We are ‘fun’, ‘interesting’, ‘a good day out’, ‘fascinating’ and yes, let’s be frank, a bit ‘weird’—in the eyes of some, we ‘play with the past’.

Keywords

• education
• children
• health
• experience
• archaeological open-air museum
• iron age
• viking age
• early middle ages
• united kingdom