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You are here: Home / Building on the Past – Education

Building on the Past – Education

The Fairfield Foundation is dedicated to involving the community in our efforts to discover and preserve local history. We offer hands-on activities to people of all ages who want to experience an archaeological dig, get their hands dirty in the lab, or help to preserve and restore historic structures.

Our outreach programs include public dig days at sites like Fairfield Plantation and New Quarter Park, preservation workshops, summer camps, cemetery clean-ups, and more! We also host public lab nights every Tuesday evening at the Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education in Gloucester Courthouse. Check out our calendar to learn how you can get involved!

Fairfield also offers educational programming to schools across the Middle Peninsula. Our goal is to offer place-based learning experiences that integrate archaeology into class curriculum and demonstrate how subjects like math, science, history, and geography are applied in our field. We have visited classrooms in every school in Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex counties, and are working to expand our programming to reach every school on the Middle Peninsula and nearby.

Education Links:
‘Save Our History’ Videos
Armed with a grant from the History Channel we set out to challenge Botetourt Elementary fourth graders with a simple question, ‘What is a Plantation’. The students toured four Gloucester County plantation sites and documented with video, artistic sketches and written reports of what they found. Be sure to check out the entire video series and watch how these kids got involved in the history of their county.

Fairfield video ‘Who we are and what we do’

Contact us to learn more or schedule an Educational Outing for your group:
Rachel Boyd, Public Outreach Coordinator
[email protected]

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Blog Categories

  • 3D model (6)
  • Archaeology (99)
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  • Education (105)
  • Events (45)
  • History (21)
  • Preservation (110)
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From the blog

  • Remembering George Wesley Catlett February 27, 2025
  • Wood’s Mill: an Overlooked Chapter of Gloucester Hall’s History December 2, 2024
  • The Revolutionary World of Lewis Burwell July 2, 2024
  • Lives from the Catlett Family Cemetery at Timberneck: Robert, Mary, and John Thruston January 31, 2024
  • “The best church I have seen in the country” Excavations in search of the 17th-century Abingdon Church January 12, 2024

Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education (CAPE)

Opening Hours:

Grounds are always open to the public to view the building exterior and signage. The CAPE is open for tours on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at other times by appointment. Lab nights at the CAPE are on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 6-9pm.
Address: 6783 Main Street Gloucester, VA 23061

News From Our Blog

  • Remembering George Wesley Catlett February 27, 2025
  • Wood’s Mill: an Overlooked Chapter of Gloucester Hall’s History December 2, 2024
  • The Revolutionary World of Lewis Burwell July 2, 2024

Looking for Something?

Contact Us

The Fairfield Foundation's mission is to promote and involve the public in hands-on archaeology, preservation and education activities within Virginia’s Middle Peninsula and surrounding areas. We are a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization offering public programs, research opportunities and outreach activities since 2000. We operate five properties in Gloucester County: Fairfield Archaeology Park, Timberneck House at Machicomoco, Edge Hill Texaco (the C.A.P.E.), Rosewell Ruins and Visitor Center, and Walter Reed birthplace. For more information about us and other historic resources on the Middle Peninsula or to arrange presentations on a variety of topics related to local history and archaeology, please contact us. Check out the calendar for upcoming activities.
The Fairfield Foundation
P.O. Box 157 White Marsh VA 23183
Phone:
(804) 815-4467
Email:
[email protected]
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