Beyond the Classroom

An annual event where we host local high schools to come for a full day of anthropology-related activities run by Anthropology graduate and undergraduate students, and professors. Click here to learn more.

In collaboration with the Museum of Ontario Archaeology, we run our zooarchaeology matching games, an artifact sifting activity, and provide volunteers for their larger events. You will see us running our activities on Family Day, at their Maple Harvest Festival, and at their Medway Heritage Festival.

As of 2026, we began our collaboration with the London Children’s Museum. On June 20, 2026, we ran “Anthropology Day: The Bone Zone” at the museum, where everyone who stopped by became real anthropologists and discovered how scientists use bones and skeletons to study people, animals, and the past through a series of exciting, hands-on stations where they can investigate, compare, and uncover clues. The series involved:

Forensic Anthropologists: Work alongside detectives to solve mysteries. Learn how anthropologists identify bones in the human body and practice filling out a real skeletal inventory. 

Primatology: Learn about your closest relatives! Discover how monkeys, apes, and humans are connected by comparing their skeletons, movement and behaviours. 

Zooarchaeology: Become a bone detective and explore how animals have lived alongside humans throughout history. Can you identify different animals just by looking at their skulls? 

Mummies: Journey to ancient Egypt and uncover the secrets of mummies – both human and animal! Learn how scientists use modern technology to digitally “unwrap” mummies and learn how to write your name in hieroglyphs.

On July 27, 2026, we ran our “Are you Smarter Than an Archaeologist?” Zooarchaeology matching game. You've got to step into the role of an archaeologist and explore how animals have lived alongside humans throughout history, and then put to the test of seeing how many animal skulls you can identify.

We have been running activities at Western University’s annual Science Rendezvous event. This event is designed to inspire young children and youth through activities and demonstrations. 

We have been in partnership with CAGIS (The Canadian Association for Girls in Science) for over 3 years now, running events/workshops, such as Women in Archaeology (typology and cookie excavations), Hominin Evolution, and Museum Archaeology. CAGIS is Canada’s largest and longest-running STEM (science, technology, trades, engineering, and math) club for girls and gender-diverse youth aged 7-17.

The London Newcomers Club is a space for women new to the city of London and the surrounding areas, or who have experienced a major change in life circumstances, who organize activities that encourage socializing and education to create meaningful connections. We were involved during one of their organized activities, hosting a pottery workshop to create coil pots using techniques from early Indigenous settlements. 

We have had three of their groups (Scout Troop, The Cubs, The Beavers) join us to earn their science badge by completing a typology lab, a zooarchaeology bellringer, and a 6-station forensic-focused lab. 

For the younger groups, we modified the activities to better suit the learning environment.

We not only host and run events, activities, and workshops. We also present at conferences to educate others about what we do and why we do it. 

Western Anthropology Graduate Student (WAGS) Conference 2023

For the 2023 WAGS, we had a double header. Maris Schneider and Maddie Hertz presented the following presentations: 

Start Curious, Stay Curious - A circular approach to lifelong learning 

As education outreach coordinators actively engaging with and beyond the London public education system, we have worked with students of all ages, ranging from elementary to university. This presentation explores the profound impact of relationships built through this work, fostering lifelong learning in students and instructors. Departing from a conventional linear perspective, our exploration adopts a circular lens to education, facilitating dynamic interactions among students and fortifying fundamental attitudes toward learning. Research highlights the pivotal age of 5-6 when children formulate foundational beliefs about learning and adopt a scientific mindset. As students progress into middle and high school, studies reveal a concerning trend of negative attitudes toward science and learning, disproportionately affecting young girls. This disillusionment often stems from a perceived lack of relevance to studied topics. Through collaborative engagement with students of diverse age groups, our overarching goal is to instill a passion for lifelong learning grounded in continuity, creativity, and effective learning strategies. Reflecting on our own educational journeys within a circular trajectory, we aim to initiate involvement with children from a young age, kindling curiosity in sciences, arts, and humanities, ensuring it endures over time.

Sustaining curiosity in spite of it all - Potential pathways to maintain lifelong learning

In theory, a circular approach to lifelong learning has numerous benefits, including social and intellectual enrichment. However, the reality of implementing such a system is fraught with challenges. Proximity to experiential learning opportunities, access to funding and resources, the presence of individuals and organizations with the appropriate educational capital and capacity to make such experiences possible, and overarching educational bodies and polities that support this pedagogical approach are all necessary for the proper functioning of this system. In this presentation, we will walk through each of these cases and how they have impacted our ability to promote a circular approach to learning. We will discuss what we have learned from our own experiences and suggestions that can be applied to future learning experiences at the individual, group, and governing levels. Engaging with district school boards and provincial and federal policy to promote student achievement, developing STEAM partnerships and networks across and between all age groups, and shifting priorities away from early tracking and grade retention and instead focusing on instilling curiosity and intrinsic motivation for learning will allow for a more effective education system that is better able to draw upon multiple perspectives and inherently support lifelong learning that is continually re-enriched by its community.

Canadian Archaeological Association 2025

At the 57th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Archaeological Association, Maris Schneider presented on behalf of the Outreach team about Learning to teach. Teaching to Learn. Reflections on Teaching Archaeology Beyond the Classroom. Western Anthropology Educational Outreach aims to extend archaeological education beyond the university setting, developing programs to engage diverse audiences in non-traditional learning environments. Ontario students have limited exposure to archaeology before entering higher education. To address this, we designed High School Anthropology Day, a hands-on learning experience that introduces students to all fields of anthropology. We also partner with the Canadian Association for Girls in Science and the Museum of Ontario Archaeology to foster a sense of community through educational engagement. These collaborations create diverse and cross-disciplinary learning experiences for various age groups, including primary-age children. Engaging with young children challenges our assumptions of what is “known” in archaeology and promotes reflection on how we present information. Tailoring archaeological education to a wide age range necessitates ongoing adaptation and innovation, which entails challenges. Institutional barriers, funding constraints, and resistance to change at local and provincial levels highlight limited experiential learning opportunities in grade school education. We aim to leverage our university resources to provide meaningful educational experiences that spark curiosity and positive perceptions toward archaeology among children. By reimagining how we teach archaeology and branching beyond our teaching comfort zone, we can foster an accessible and socially engaged discipline.

Western Anthropology Graduate Student (WAGS)  Conference 2026

Returning for another year, the 2026 WAGS conference’s theme was “Teaching & Learning Anthropology: Translating our Knowledge to Public Spaces.” Our presenters were two senior undergraduate members: Rashin Mosallai and Meagan Hardy, who spoke about evolving in the anthropology field based on their involvement in the committee. Beginning in 2024, when they first joined the committee, to 2026, when they presented, the members used Outreach as a mirror, reflecting on their growth as educators and its effects on the development of WAO. Recipients of the Best Undergraduate Podium Presentation Award, Rashin Mosallai and Meagan Hardy, won for their presentation: “Learning by Teaching: Undergraduate Experiences in Anthropology Education.” 

Western USC’s Outreach Conference

We got invited in Spring 2025 and again in Spring 2026 to run workshops for seventh and eighth-grade students from across London and the surrounding region who come to this annual conference. In 2025, we ran a new activity, the Cookie Excavations, and put a spin on our Zooarchaeology activity by bringing all Canadian animals for the students to play “Name the Skull”.  In 2026, we ran a full day of biological anthropology with a series of exciting, hands-on stations. The students became real anthropologists and discovered how scientists use bones and skeletons to study people, animals, and the past.