Archaeology Camp Registration

The South Dakota State Historical Society, Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and the US Army Corps of Engineers is sponsoring a three-day Archaeology Camp this summer! The camp dates are June 4-6th 8am to 5pm all three days. The camp is for students going into grades 4-6 for the 2024-2025 school year. This camp is an active, outdoor experience on a real archaeological site. Students should be prepared to hike, work in the dirt, listen carefully, and follow directions from camp leaders and professional archaeologists. It will be a fun, hands-on, and immersive learning experience! Students will learn an introduction to the field of archaeology, why we conduct archaeological digs, what stories artifacts can tell us about the past, history of fur trading posts, how to map a site, and how to use team-building skills. In addition to excavation at the site, other fun activities will include processing artifacts, learning how to do a pedestrian survey, and practicing with atlatls (ancient weapons which preceded the bow and arrow). There will also be tours to the Oahe Chapel, the Oahe Dam Visitor Center, and the Turtle Effigy! Registration will begin at 8:00 am CDT on Wednesday May 1st, 2024 and will close at 5 pm on May 3rd, 2024 or when the camp is full, whichever comes first. Registration is limited to the first 20 applicants who have not yet attended in the past. Prior participants may apply, but their names will be added to a lottery and only considered if there are less than 20 new campers. No walk-in campers will be accepted on camp days. The registration system will log applications in the order in which they are received. Please note that in previous years registration was full and closed within 20 minutes of opening! The registration link is: https://www.sdhsf.org/archaeology-camp-registration.html