Concerning the discussion of the Jorvik Viking Center and it's
"Disney-like" presentation and the ARC (Archaeological Resource Centre) in
York.  Both are presented by the York Archaeological Trust.
        The ARC, an International award winning hands-on Archaeological
museum, is an outgrowth of and response to visitors' surveys taken at the
Jorvik which expressed a desire to have the time to look at and examine
at a more in depth and leisurely pace what they had been exposed to in the
Jorvik.  Often times, groups start out at the Jorvik for an introduction
(the appetizer) and then progress to the ARC for more detailed experiences
(the meal). The one sets the questions which can then be explored at the
other.
Several summers ago, I interned at the ARC as a demonstrator.  Interactive
exhibits require someone to be with the artifacts to poise questions and
prompt thinking processes as the visitors handle actual artifacts--it is
as much a demystifying of what archaeologists do as it is an opportunity
to touch the past and pique the curiosity about those who walked this
earth before us, as it is to create the teachable moment and change
attitudes about the need for preservation of non-renewable archeological
resources and what we can learn from them.
Some of the exhibits included sorting artifacts, the importance of
meticulous recordkeeping and provenience, what and how we learn
about previous lifeways from whatever artifacts are found (including
copralites identified as human by the parasites present, which are
analyzed for diet).
Both the Jorvik and the ARC can be stand-alone experiences, or can work
synergistically for an even greater experience.  While Jorvik deals with
the Viking period, The ARC addresses the whole archaeological picture
including Roman occupation in the first century AD.  The soil conditions
in York provides a wealth of artifacts with excellent preservation which
are not often seen--including leather shoes with wear patterns which
indicate foot problems, or offcuts which show footwear styles.
        In Jorvik, all the various buildings are constructed in the exact
locations where the corresponding artifacts were found relating to the
activity.  It attempts to present the site to as many of the senses as
possible (memorable to most of the school kids is the odor of the outhouse
and the fishing area--scratch and sniff postcards of this area are great
sellers at the museum shop). At the time that I was there, they were in
the process of using laser technology, forensic facial reconstruction, and
skulls from the excavations to reproduce the heads on the models so that
when you now go through Jorvik, all the faces you see on the 22 or so
models are actual Viking faces who dwelled there in the Viking period.
This project should be complete by now.
        One might say the difference between the two places is like that
between snorkelling and scubadiving, but why not try both or let one whet
the appetite for the other?
        The ARC was a great place to work and to learn--even "cool"
teenagers would lose their cool and get excited over the activities.  Most
visitors quickly became engrossed in "doing archaeology".