FSU ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENTS OFFER ARCHAEOLOGY EXPERIENCE TO RUEDIGER ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Tallahassee – Second graders at Ruediger Elementary will get their hands dirty on February 27 with a “mock archeological dig” sponsored by FSU’s anthropology students. The mock dig program introduces young students to archaeology through the adventure of hands-on activities.

FSU anthropology and classics students’ clubs, Anthropology Society at FSU (ASFSU), and the Archaeology Club, started the first program in February 2007. Since then FSU Anthropology has presented the mock dig curriculum eight times at four local elementary schools (Hawks Rise Public, Cornerstone Learning Community, Maclay, and Ruediger Elementary) to students between second and fifth grades. This year the focus of the mock dig program is to let all the second graders at Ruediger Elementary participate in a mock dig. February 27th will be for the last two classes of second graders.

Each mock dig starts with a brief introductory lecture, where what archaeology is and the types of artifacts that might be found are discussed. Students are shown how to properly hold a trowel and the importance of careful recording of information when excavating. Then students are split into two groups. One group goes to the area where the mock site is set up and they systematically excavate and record the location of each artifact as it is found. The other group goes to the lab, where they analyze artifacts and examine animal bones. After about 25-30 minutes, the groups switch places, so everyone gets to do all the activities. The mock dig concludes with a brief analysis of what the information gathered might suggest about the types of activities that may have occurred at the site, based on the location of the artifacts found.

The mock dig program is a great way that FSU undergraduates and graduate students can share their enthusiasm for archaeology with local elementary students. “We aim to get local kids fired up about science is general and archaeology in particular,” explains Hanneke Hoekman-Sites, FSU anthropology doctoral student. “We want to spark their interest when they are young so they can learn to love science and choose to take science classes in the future.”

Along with sharing FSU anthropology students’ knowledge and love of archaeology, the program is important because it brings school children a new exciting, hands-on experience. As schools face tighter and tighter budgets – with fewer opportunities for field trips -- mock digs, bring the experience of a field trip to the schools free of charge. “We want all students to have the chance to experience science in action,” says Hoekman-Sites.

Other Educational Outreach by FSU Anthropology Students (ASFSU)

For the past two years, women from FSU anthropology have planned and executed forensic digs at the WFSU/Dragonfly TV SciGirls Summer Camp (SciGirls). SciGirls is a local summer camp designed to get and keep girls interested in science. It focuses on girls in middle and high school.

In 2007, Michelle Markovics, FSU anthropology doctoral student and Hoekman-Sites developed an activity involving an archaeological burial site. We buried a plastic skeleton with artifacts for the girls to unearth and interpret. After a muddy excavation (which the girls absolutely loved), the girls examined the skeleton and artifacts to figure out who the individual was (sex, age, height, time period). The program was such a hit that WFSU TV decided to make a short movie about it. We were invited back the next year to run two digs (one for the middle school group and one for the high school group). In 2008, Markovics and Hoekman-Sites recruited three more FSU anthropology doctoral students, Alex Parsons, Maria Fashing, and Katie O’Donnell to assist in a large program being planned. This program had a forensic spin. Suzie Goodhope, volunteer cadaver dog trainer, brought her dogs to find the plastic skeleton. The girls then excavated the site, recovering skeletal remains and clothing. After recovering the evidence, the girls took everything back to the lab for interpretation. Again they identified sex, age, and height. They also looked at the clothing remains for clues of the victim. In the end, they identified the victim from a pile of missing persons reports for the area. Next summer (2009), Parsons, Fashing and O’Donnell plan to continue the SciGirls tradition with a new activity. (Contact at the MagLab for SciGirls is Dr. Patricia Dixon, who is the director of the Center for Integrating Research and Learning.)

Aside from the full mock digs, FSU anthropology students have also been invited to other events to promote archaeology. In 2007, the FSU Department of Anthropology and the mock dig program had a display and activity table at the FSU/Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR) Archaeological Field School Public Archaeology Day. In 2008, the School of Arts & Sciences had a science night at their school and invited anthropology participate. Cyndi Bellicero, FSU anthropology doctoral student, joined others to provide historical artifacts and faunal materials to educate students and teachers about archaeology.