Somewhere in the 3,600 acres of Valley Forge National Park, archaeologist Janet Six sat in a ditch, scooping dirt into a bucket, like a child in a sandbox. Across the dig site, archaeologist Julie Steele shook the dirt through a large sifting box. Something caught her eye. The park is encouraging children to volunteer at the site to make it an all-ages learning experience. Recently, a group of 14 children, including a troop of boy scouts, helped out for a day.
Older people are more set in their ways.
The children are given instruction on how to use the trowel, a hand-held shovel that is the archaeologist's basic tool. They learn to scrape away at the ground so they won't damage any artifacts that may be below the surface. The soil they scrape is put into a bucket, which gets transferred to a large, boxy sift, which helps separate the trash from the treasures. But it is rewarding when you find something. John was 5 years old when he decided he wanted to become an archaeologist.