WILLIAMSBURG — Colonial Williamsburg is currently accepting applications for this summer’s high school archeology program.
Students who are already interested in history, archeology, and science are invited to apply for the program as long as they will be entering the 2025-26 school year into grades 9 through 12. The students will get to work in the field alongside the archeological crew with Colonial Williamsburg Public Archaeology Institute.
“What we’re hoping [students] understand, what they take away from this, is this is how you see what you otherwise wouldn’t encounter in history,” said Crystal Castleberry, a Public Archaeologist with the institute.
Students will be working at Custis Square during the program. While this is the same site that the program has been at since its inception five years ago, Castleberry hopes the site will move around as the program continues and expands.
The site is the home and garden landscape of John Custis IV, better known today as Martha Washington’s first father-in-law. He lived at the location as a wealthy Virginia statesman and plantation owner from 1717 until his death in 1749, explained Castleberry, adding he had owned at least 500 enslaved individuals throughout his lifetime. She noted that the excavation of the site is not just about telling the story of a prominent gentry class Virginia family, but seeing what life is like for everyone at the site.
The program will accept 10 applicants for each session — the first session for grades 9 and 10 and the second for grades 11 and 12.) The first session takes place June 23-27, and the second will be in July, running from July 7-11.
The program is free for students, though lodging and travel expenses (if necessary) are up to the students. Applications will be accepted through April 1. For more information on the program and process, visit the official website.
