Exhibition: digNubia

Connect Savannah (Linda Sickler)

An article looking at the new digNubia exhibition, which includes contributons from Dr Robin Bailey, whose brainchild the exhibition is:

Bailey had a grand idea — develop an interactive exhibit that could be used to showcase the achievements of the Nubians and introduce students to science and technology at the same time. The result is digNubia, an interactive exhibit, Web site and documentary film.

“All three can be used as stand-alones,” Bailey says. “The exhibit also has a manual that educators can use to integrate the information into their classrooms.”

The creation of digNubia was funded by a $2.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation as digNubia: Exploring the Science of Archaeology. Bailey is the founding principal investigator for the project, which was completed by a staff he organized at the Education Development Center in Newton, Mass. in 2002.

A grant to bring the exhibit to SSU was provided by the Georgia Humanities Council. After traveling around the country, digNubia will be presented in SSU’s Adams Hall through March 2 as part of Black History Month and the Savannah Black Heritage Festival.

“The exhibit is quite sophisticated in design and fabrication,” Bailey says. “We wanted to take it to more places other than the big museums.

“All the crates are on wheels, and there are instructions to set up everything step-by-step,” he says. “You can set it up with just four people, but we’re using teams of students and faculty.”

School and recreational groups already are signing up for tours, but Bailey says the exhibit is for anyone who wants to learn about Nubia and archaeology. The display focuses on three areas and eras of ancient Nubia: Kerma, Napata and Meroe.

Through digNubia, participants can actually take on the role of an archaeologist. The exhibit includes an archeologist’s tent, with all the equipment and materials found on an actual dig.

See the above page for the full details.