The UC Davis Department of Anthropology Museum (UCDAM) curates collections of archaeological, ethnographic, biological and archival materials.
About the Museum
The museum maintains a teaching collection that includes casts and reproductions of artifacts from a variety of prehistoric human groups. Although the bulk of the collections are not on public display and are available only for research, the museum's teaching collection and those of the UC Davis Department of Anthropology are accessible through outreach events.
The UCDAM education outreach program hosts presentations on a variety of anthropological topics upon request and without charge. We especially invite elementary and high school students in the greater Sacramento area to visit the department for an introduction to anthropology and a private viewing of related collections. We often can accommodate large groups of students by traveling to their school with durable objects from our collection.
Presentations can be selected from a list of popular topics or can be specially tailored to suit the interests of student groups. Outreach presentations provide an excellent way for teachers to enrich instruction of fourth-grade social studies (e.g. "Californian Prehistory") and seventh-grade science (e.g. "Human Evolution" or "Microevolution") curricula. UC Davis Anthropology graduate students design and facilitate all presentations, and are happy to include a discussion about their own research and career path. We also welcome community college groups for a discussion of career paths and educational opportunities in anthropology.
Explore the Department of Anthropology Museum website to view an online gallery, learn about course work in museum studies, and discover additional resources.
Outreach for Public Schools
We invite elementary, middle and high school teachers and their students to visit us for a hands-on introduction to a variety of fascinating anthropological topics.
- What does it mean to be human? Who are our closest relatives? Why do we walk on two legs?
- What was the world like before history? Where do we come from? How are we different? The same?
The UC Davis Anthropology Museum Education Outreach Program offers presentations on a variety of popular topics – or on subject matter that we can tailor to your curriculum. We welcome individuals and groups of students by appointment weekdays. And if your class has more than 50 students, we may be able to bring selected collections to your school.