School Outreach

Every year the ASC gives tours of its facilities and presentations to school groups upon request. It is particularly popular with elementary school groups where presentations may often meet curriculum requirements. If a tour isn’t feasible, in class presentations are also possible.

Summer 2009 Excel Program

Students in the 2009 EXCEL class excavated the challenge archaeological site at the edge of the SSU campus. Eight students worked on the excavation, which was designed to look like a cellar feature, complete with redwood floor, steps, brick foundation, and pockets of artifacts scattered across the floor. The whole site was buried under 2 ft. of fill that the students had to dig through to reach. The students screened a mountain of dirt, and bagged and tagged artifacts for their big presentation on the last day. Nearly all the parents attended; the students gave great talks and had good analyses of the different collections spread across the cellar floor. Many of the students returned for the 2010 Excel class.

As usual, the class was taught by ASC Staff Archaeologist Mike Newland.

Some Past Activities & Events

In June 2003, seven students from Michael Newland’s July 2002 Excel class participated in a weekend volunteer excavation at Fort Ross. The students, in addition to their excavation responsibilities, spent the night within the fort, went for hike to a nearby rock shelter site, and participated in a short geomorphology exercise about a buried midden in the nearby cove. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a very complimentary article on the excavation and the Excel Program a few weeks later.

Read the San Francisco Chronicle's article about kids taking part in the Fort Ross excavation here.

Back in 2003, Michael Newland visited the Coyote Valley Elementary School to give a presentation about Sir Francis Drake, which got a big write up in the local newspaper.

Read letters from school children...