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Public Outreach
Public Outreach

Public Outreach

People love learning about the archaeology of their neighborhood or city. Publicizing project results can generate goodwill for the client and can enhance the value of archaeological discoveries.

Outreach products such as signs, posters, brochures, and booklets are effective ways to communicate interesting discoveries from your project and can enhance your prestige among a public that is enthusiastic about the archaeology and history underlying their familiar places.

Well-timed press releases, public talks, and site tours for interested groups direct positive attention toward the overall project. Interpretive exhibits can be installed in common spaces within a residential or commercial development project or in local museums.

Desert Archaeology has helped develop several public exhibits and interpretive signs that combine elements of historical research, graphic design, interpretive writing, and physical display creation and installation. We have teamed with museum professionals to develop temporary exhibits based on Desert Archaeology projects at the Arizona Historical Society, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Amerind Foundation.

Current exhibits and interpretive signs created by Desert Archaeology can be found at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tucson, the Vista del Rio Cultural Resource Park in Tucson, the Julian Wash Archaeological Park in Tucson, selected SunLink light rail stations in Tucson, the Loop connecting Pima County river parks, the Graham County Historical Society, and the Benson Public Library.

Our creative team collaborated with the City of Phoenix to produce a public-interest neighborhood history booklet that was distributed to residents of an area that hosted extensive excavations. Desert Archaeology staff have also helped develop teaching materials for local school districts.

We will work with you to create public outreach materials that are tailored to your audience and your needs. See our Graphics, Mapping, and Cartography page to learn how our visual communication products can enhance your project. Contact us for details and consultation.

Interpretive sign designed by Desert Archaeology highlighting excavations at the Desert Vista Campus of Pima Community College, accompanying a reconstructed pithouse foundation.
This sign, created for the Paseo de las Iglesias trail, incorporates text written by Mike Lindman alongside Catherine Gilman’s maps, Henry Wallace’s aerial photos, and an illustration by Rob Ciaccio.
A visitor to the Honey Bee Village Archaeological Preserve enjoys a Desert Archaeology interpretive sign by Rob Ciaccio and Catherine Gilman that was funded by Pima County and Mattamy Homes.
Desert Archaeology’s Homer Thiel and Trish Castalia teamed with outside consultants to produce several signs highlighting Tucson history for Sun Link streetcar stops throughout downtown, 4th Avenue, and the University district. This one can be found at the Cushing/Avenida de Convento stop west of downtown.
This popular booklet, funded by the Community Noise Reduction Program and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, was a collaborative effort among Desert Archaeology staff and neighborhood associations. It can be downloaded as a free PDF.