The Benicia Historical Museum, with the help of the Benicia Historical Society and UC Berkeley’s Archeological Research Facility, will be inviting kids of all ages to get their Indiana Jones on as they uncover Benicia’s past for the new event “I Dig Benicia.”

In honor of October being California Archaeology Month, the three organizations are putting together an event that allows kids to learn about Benicia and California’s past through hands-on archeological activities. This is the first year that Benicia Historical Museum has hosted this event, and it received a lot of support from David Hyde, a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s archaeology department and member of the Benicia Historical Society.

“Berkeley, being a public university institution, really prides itself on having public outreach to local communities,” he said. “There’s sort of an interdepartmental organization called the Archaeological Research Facility which connects archaeologists in all sorts of departments across Berkeley. Through that we do educational outreach opportunities. It typically involves going to local schools, usually in Alameda County because of the convenience and the locale.”

As a member of the Historical Society and a Benicia High School graduate, Hyde thought it would be a good idea to bring that kind of outreach to Benicia. BHM Executive Director Elizabeth D’Huart was thrilled about the opportunity, and “I Dig Benicia!” was born.

Kids will be able to participate in a variety of activities, including grinding corn and sunflower seeds, making adobe bricks out of mud, playing Native American games, designing mission tiles and doing old-fashioned laundry.

“They are actually participating in activities in an historic venue, and I want them to see if they can emotionally in their imagination take themselves back to these early times,” D’Huart said. “I want them to connect with this place as something that’s historically important in terms of the history of California and the nation but also their own personal histories. I want them to make an emotional connection to Benicia and recognize that we’re all tied together.”

There will also be handout packets at each activity station, undergraduate and graduate archaeology students to take questions on working in the field and excavation dig kits provided by UC Berkeley. In this activity, kids dig for artifacts in a box that acts as a mock excavation unit.

“All of the artifacts are from a different part of the world or different time period,” Hyde said. “They’re all sort of connected in a theme, and we hide those in very strategic locales so that students can practice brushing away the dirt and uncovering the artifacts.”

Some of the artifacts are archaeological remains typically found in California, while others are Mediterranean, classical or Mesoamerican.

“In every school I’ve done this activity in, it’s always really fun,” Hyde said.

Hyde said the activity has always been a big hit among kids.

“They come up with amazing stories,” he said. “I’m always amazed by the stories and insights that they come up with.”

Another activity is called “Piecing Together the Past,” and it involves participants using tape to put together broken pieces of pottery. The event coordinators believe there will be something for all participants and hope it can become an annual event for the museum.

“It will probably always be in October because of Archaeology Month,” Hyde said.

Hyde hopes that kids come away with a new appreciation for Benicia’s historical significance as well as an interest in archaeology. D’Huart also hopes parents and children alike come away with more of an appreciation for Benicia’s rich history.

“Often times, the people who live here don’t have a real appreciation for what this place is and what this place can mean ,” she said. “I want their emotional appreciation to increase.”

“I’d like to see people get engaged with what we have and appreciate it,” Historical Society member Bonnie Silveria said.

“I Dig Benicia!” will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Benicia Historical Museum, located at 2060 Camel Road. Admission is free, and the event will be held rain or shine, although some activities may be relegated to indoors in the event of rain. For more information, call the museum at 745-5435 or email info@beniciahistoricalmuseum.org.