

Dig Into History
Spring 2016 MagazinesIf you think "Dig Into History" sounds like a hybridized name, you're right. The publishers want this magazine to be the educational crossroads between archeology and history. And its rich content effectively reflects that, as well as its origins-the merger in 2014 of Cricket Media's archeology magazine Dig and the world history magazine Calliope into a single, 56 page, glossy, high-quality publication.
Each themed issue presents in-depth features and departments that start, typically, by exploring archeological events, experiences or concepts, in a conversational narrative, before seamlessly expanding into the relevant historical context. In the recent horse-themed issue, for instance, one feature tells the story of how petroglyphs (rock art) chronicle the arrival of horses in Arabia. Another studies the evolution of using horses for transportation, illustrated with ancient sculpture and painted objects. One of the issue's many departments, Art-i-facts, shows a 370-foot, prehistoric, galloping, white horse beautifully carved into a British grasslands field-created 3,000 years ago!
Yet, the magazine is willing to go far afield of archeology to explore any number of compelling topics. Recent issues cover Winston Churchill, "Dollars and Sense," and Vergil's "Aeneid," all with well-researched and well-written features that tell a variety of fascinating facets of the topic-like why Roman Emperor Augustus asked Vergil to write the "Aeneid," or why Winston Churchill loved to paint, or what's behind the age-old allure of gold.
Meanwhile, Dig Into History's short-form pieces include the cartoonish lessons of "The Calliope Chronicles," the etymology column "Fun With Words," the reader-expert Q&A "Ask Away," the altered-picture challenge "What's Wrong Here?," and the archeologically leaning department "Let's Go Digging," among others.
Smart and curious students in late-elementary and early middle-school grades who thrive on digging deeper to learn something new will dig this magazine.