Unearthed: How Archaeology Inspired Our Innovation Projects

As part of the First Lego League robotics program, students take on an Innovation Project each year, researching a real-world problem connected to a global theme and proposing an innovative solution. This year’s theme, Unearthed, focuses on archaeology, and I have to admit, it’s a topic I hadn’t dug into before (pun intended). Now that I have, I absolutely love it.

Archaeology brings together history, geology, anthropology, and sociology. With students, we’ve been exploring some of the real challenges archaeologists face: site preservation, artifact recovery, and even protection from natural hazards. Along the way, we’ve looked at places like Ayutthaya here in Thailand, the Terracotta Warriors in China, and underwater archaeological sites. We’ve also investigated how technology is transforming the field, from LiDAR and AI to 3D scanning.

To make it more hands-on, we recently tried an activity that put students into the shoes of archaeologists. Using donated clay pieces, we broke them, buried them in soil, and gave student teams basic tools to excavate and reassemble the artifacts. It was messy, engaging, and surprisingly powerful. Students quickly realized how difficult this work can be, and it helped them empathize with the people in the field which is an essential step in the design thinking process. Best of all, it sparked a flood of creative ideas for their own innovation projects. They were so engaged they didn’t want to stop and move back to robotics.

This unit has reminded me how rich archaeology can be as a learning context. It connects so many disciplines, offers authentic challenges, and naturally inspires curiosity. I wish it appeared more often in our curriculum, because the opportunities for inquiry and creativity are endless.