The University of Alabama’s Natural History Museum is giving students a chance to work with scientists this summer
These camps are all part of the museum’s 35th annual Museum Expedition and will primarily focus on paleontology. The campers will work with the scientists for a week while collecting samples, learning about the care and maintenance of materials and why they should be preserved.
“The goal is to supplement what they learn in schools,” said museum naturalist Todd Hester in a recent release. “There’s so much focus on testing now that students lose that curiosity of what nature and science is really about. This gets students out of the classroom where they can learn science at the hands-on level.”
The students find teeth, turtle, fish, marine and shark materials but according to Hester, one year a high school student found what was almost a complete shark’s vertebrae. If this were to happen again, the museum would keep the material and list the student as a collector.
Both camps can hold 20 students. The middle school camp is June 17-22, and the high school camp which is open to rising seventh, eighth and ninth grade students is June 24 through June 29. They are both $350.
A Teacher Legacy Workshop will run from June 12-14 for $40.
Rising third through fifth grade students can attend a half-day Art Camp June 17 to June 21.
From July 22-26 rising fifth through eighth grade students can attend a Science Day Camp. This will be a mixture of the art camp and the expedition where the campers will venture out based on things studied. Each day camp is $125 and lunch is not included.
This summer there will also be activities for the whole family to enjoy like searching for fossils, tubing and various day trips. These are $25 per person or $20 if you’re a museum member. They do ask that you bring a lunch with you.
To find out more or register for the day trips or camps call (205) 348-7550 or email them at [email protected]. To register or get more information on the expedition, call (205) 348-2136 or email them at [email protected].