On Friday, Nov. 1, the Hoban High School Archaeology class visited The Cleveland Museum of Art to meet with conservation specialists and gain insight into artifact preservation. Following their hands-on excavation experience at Moreland Pioneer Farm, Dr. Jason Anderson, who leads the course, organized the trip to demonstrate how artifacts similar to those uncovered by students are professionally transported, restored, and displayed.
Hoban educators Jason Deal and Dr. Anderson, who were joined by his wife as his co-pilot, were transporting students. The group quickly stopped at Presti’s Bakery in Little Italy before arriving at the museum.
The class was welcomed by conservator Colleen Snyder, a seasoned researcher specializing in Greek and Roman art. Snyder shared insights from her career before guiding students to a presentation room, where they donned gloves in preparation for a hands-on activity.
Working in groups, students gathered around tables, each with an artifact to examine. After a brief presentation on art history and the role of the scientific method in conservation, students were assigned roles, such as artifact handler, scribe, and speaker, to assist in their analysis. Senior conservator Beth Edelstein encouraged them to observe details such as chipped paint, inscriptions, and shape.
“My artifact had some pieces missing and differed in color from one side to the other, leading us to believe it had been broken and carefully pieced back together,” said senior Kieran Magleby.
The students attended a talk on career paths in artifact conservation after the activity. They then visited St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church for a traditional Latin Mass. The class embarked on a 30-minute scavenger hunt at the museum through the Byzantine and Egyptian galleries.
The Hoban Archaeology class returned to school with free art books and a trove of anthropological knowledge to apply in the classroom, ready to dig deeper into the world of archaeology.
