In March 2020, when COVID-19's lockdown restrictions saw schools closed to the majority of children, Carenza Lewis quickly began thinking of ways to help both teachers and parents. Drawing on extensive experience of enabling children and young people to learn from practical engagement in archaeology, she came up with a plan. Almost overnight, Dig School was born. Within a fortnight, 47,000 learners in 26 countries were engaged. In this article, Lewis charts the origins, purposes and achievements of Dig School so far.