On Saturday April 25, 2026 from 5:00-7:00pm in the Honors College (HON 196), 3363 N Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211 the Hortus Academicus/Brew Garden initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will hold a tasting competition with three judges choosing the top three brews, all of whom are professionals associated with local businesses involved in brewing, dispensing, and/or reporting on fermented beverages.

The judges for 2026 are: Jerry Janiszewksi (Wisconsin Historical Foundation Board of Directors, Old World Wisconsin Historic Brewhouse Consultant), Daniel Kern (Head Brewer at Water Street Brewery), Rob Novak (Director, Old World Wisconsin Brewing Experience). There will also be a People’s Choice award with non-contestants casting their votes via ballot for their favorite brew. Joe Yeado has generously agreed to offer the winner the opportunity to brew their beer using the pilot brewing system at Gathering Place in River West with a launch party at GP to follow.

Any brews with archaeological/historical pedigrees are welcome (i.e., based on specific finds or documentary evidence for a particular Nordic grog, medieval gruit, or other beer) but feel free to experiment. We’ll also be asking all entrants to provide a grain bill/recipe as well as a few images presenting the story of their entry in the form of a short PowerPoint. Check out past entries at and

Instructions on how to submit can be found here: /anthropology/calling-all-brewers-uwms-5th-unhopped-iron-brewer-challenge-is-now-accepting-submissions/

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A recent 51ÁÔÆæ InFocus article written by Sarah Vickery spotlights Anthropology and Museum Studies alum, Cassie Coffey. Cassie is the Director of Playful Experiences at the DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville, Illinois. Cassie discusses how her experiences at 51ÁÔÆæ shaped her career and how hard work and curiosity guided her path to success.

This anthropology alum’s work is (literally) child’s play

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Professor Lemke was interviewed to provide a scientific point of view about various underwater mysteries around the world.

Click on the link below to access the 51ÁÔÆæ Report article about Professor Lemke’s contributions to the show.

51ÁÔÆæ underwater archaeologist appears on History Channel show

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A new open-access archaeology lab has just dropped! 51ÁÔÆæ Support for Undergraduate Research (SURF) students Elsie Touchstone and Rachel Stewart along with their research mentor, Dr. Shannon Freire, presented their co-created Archaeological Dating Lab at the 2024 Midwest Archeological Conference (MAC) meeting. Use the QR code to access all relevant materials. The materials are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Stay tuned for additional posts about 51ÁÔÆæ Department of Anthropology students at the MAC!

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Read more here:

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Anthropology successfully graduated a substantial amount of students this year and we couldn’t be more proud of them. This year we had six PhD students, seven Master’s students, and almost 20 undergraduates finish their degrees. PhD dissertations ranged from Cultural Anthropology papers about games and society to the Iron Age Archaeology of Europe.

Congratulations to all who graduated and good luck with your future careers!

The post Congratulations to our Class of 2023! appeared first on Anthropology.

SURF students working with Dr. Shannon Freire focused on different aspects of the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery project such as osteology, demography, data management and story mapping.

SURF students working with Dr. Jean Hudson and Dr. Emily Middleton were part of project focused on experimental archaeology and taphonomy. Students involved include: Taylor Rynish, David Shaw, Abbie LaChance, and Anissa Zaske. You can find detailed descriptions of their projects on Dr. Middleton’s blog.

Award Winners

Undergraduate Researcher, Rachel Stewart, was awarded an Outstanding Presentation Award for her project,

Visiting Assistant Professor, Dr. Shannon Freire, won the Mentor of the Year award for the dedication and support she provided to her SURF students. Eighteen others were nominated.

Click for a list of all Anthropology student project abstracts.

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