Evaluating the Authenticity of Egyptian Cartonnage Fragments: Educational Outreach in Search of the Truth

This paper presents preliminary results from a five year longitudinal study on the efficacy of integrating museum resources into elementary and middle school curricula through educational outreach activities, over the Internet and in the classroom. From 1997 to 2003, museum educators at the University of Illinois' Spurlock Museum have explored how students unable to travel to the museum could make the most effective use of the museum's online resources. Using problem-based learning methodologies, museum educators worked with several local school teachers to develop a series of projects that were closely integrated with the students' classroom activities. This paper evaluates the results of the program and presents the process of developing one of these projects: an analysis of the authenticity of ancient Egyptian cartonnage fragments.