The high school students spoke of their experiences and findings on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at the US Grant National Historic Site.
The high school students who participated in the June 2016 dig at Sappington House, spoke of their experiences and findings on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at the US Grant National Historic Site. The following quotes are excerpts from their presentations.
Alexis Klosterman – Lindbergh
“I’ve always wanted to go into a criminal justice field …so when this opportunity to come to the dig and do some archaeology arose I …(thought)…that would be a really good experience…”
Evan Moss – Lindbergh
“…I wanted to do some community service again to learn more about my community… I also thought it was a very fun experience how I got to meet new people and experts about the science(s). It really brought out my love of history even more.”
Jessica Umulisa – Lindbergh
“…I didn’t know anything about archaeology. (It) was …(a) new experience” so I was very very interested in trying it out.
Through this…we learned how to work together, how to communicate and… we got to do community service. We got to learn more about the Sappington house. The last week we got a tour and it was very interesting to see… the lifestyle of people from the past …see how they lived and how the world has evolved.”
Grace Wallace – Ladue
“I like archaeology and anthropology…but I’m more into history so I am going to go (into) a little bit of the context of what was going on during this time period.”
Hannah Marvin – Ladue
“I loved finding little bits of ceramic pieces and little pieces of glass. It was just so cool to imagine that at one point all of these little fragments had been part of something much larger.”
“The… paper fasteners along with the pigs bones and pigs teeth seem like small discoveries, but they are certainly part of something bigger and exciting. I am so happy to have been able to participate in this opportunity. Thank you to everyone who gave me this chance and thank you to you all for taking the time today to learn about our findings.”
Laura Ewald – Ladue
“I really enjoyed this opportunity to go on the dig because of what we found and I learned a lot from finding and being able to experience this with professional archaeologists. It really helped me with my interest in history. Most high school students don’t get to do something like this, so I was very excited and I hope to get to do something again like this in the future.”
A.J Owari – Ladue
“One thing that I thought was interesting to know is the day after we found this (piece of pottery) we also went inside the house and we saw other pottery and material. It all seemed to be very similar to this. It was definitely curious.”
“I felt like I really got perspective for what it was like for the people during the time. I really got respect for the people during the time because to cook the way they did and to really take care of their area took a lot of time and a lot of effort.”
“Perseverance, I definitely felt, I learned that during my time because (I) really had to get in there. It was a hands-on experience for me. I’m really happy that I got to do this with my school.”
See the excavation exhibit page.
See the main information page on the dig at Sappington House
See photos of the student presentations on November 20
