The Dig at
Sappington House

The high school student archaeological dig is for everyone!
See below how you can participate
It is free to all

The Library of Americana at Sappington House with AIA banner in front.

November 10, Sunday, 2:00 pm at the Sappington House in the Library of Americana, the gray building behind the Sappington House

Student presentations on their experiences and findings on the dig at Sappington House, summer 2019. Invited are the students, their families, friends and the public. Free

The dig runs for 13 days starting Thursday, May 30 until Saturday, Jun 15, 2019 – schedule and hours are listed below, but please note that the schedule for high school students is different than the schedule for kids and adults.

Catch  the Dig at Sappington House. Participate in the program as a high school student, bring kids K-8 for archaeology activity area, or come as an adult observer or volunteer.

All are invited to the dig at Sappington House

The dig at Sappington House - For students

The hands “behind” the dig at Sappington House

The dig at Sappington house is for everyone. All are invited to participate as ENROLLED STUDENTS, or as VISITORS, or as KIDS coming for the archaeology activities area

The three ways to participate in the dig at Sappington house:

• REGISTERED STUDENTS
The dig at Sappington House is for high school students, enrolled in the 13 day service-learning archaeology program. The high school students are part of a team, working with professional archaeologists and teachers in a service-learning project. On the dig, the students have the hands-on experience of doing real archaeology. See more below on this page

• KIDS
The dig is for kids, from kindergarten through middle school, to watch the dig and to visit the kids archaeology activities area. See more below on this page

• VISITORS
The dig is for adults visitors coming to observe the dig, to see the work, to talk to those working on the site, to learn about archaeology. See more below on this page. Those wishing to volunteer will also find contact information below

The dig at Sappington House is free and open to the public, for everyone

The dig is funded and organized by the AIA St Louis Society. Other sponsoring organizations listed on this page below

Dates, times, schedule, and location are listed below

The dig at Sappington House – 2019 is in its fourth and last year

See some photos of the first three years of the digs at Sappington House, 2016-2018. Photos of the past digs

See some photos on Instagram – shdig_coordinator

Follow Sappington House on Facebook

Follow Sappington-Concord Historical Society on Facebook

The three ways to participate in the dig at Sappington House are outlined below

The three ways to participate

As ENROLLED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, or as KIDS K-8, or as ADULTS, plus volunteering

For high school students enrolling in the archaeological dig program, 9th to 12th Grades
May 30 – June 15, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10:00 to 3:00 pm
On Sundays or Mondays there is no dig. 13 days total. Full attendance recommended, but scheduling conflicts can be accommodated. It’s good to know ahead of time what student obligations outside of the dig program need to be considered.

No fees to students or their families. The program is free.

Program designed and funded by Archeological Institute of America, St Louis Society (AIA-StL). Other sponsors of the dig are listed below.

The program: The high school student archaeological dig at Sappington House is an experience of fun, challenge and learning. The program crosses over both history and science. It is a service-learning program, similar to a university archaeology field school. The students get hands-on experience with archaeology, its ways and its thinking. They get a feel for the work-a-day life of an archaeologist in the field. Students work with teachers and under the guidance of professional archaeologists from the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis (ARC). Students, teachers and archaeologists work together in a casual atmosphere of cooperation, research and learning. All together they create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for curious visitors coming to the site. The program also involves personal journaling, diagraming, recording artifact finds, just as professional archaeologists do.

Students
The program is open to students going into 9th to 12th grades, and also graduated Seniors. A special interest in history or archaeology is a plus. Students should come with an idea of how they might benefit from the dig experience. Lastly, it’s fun to do the dig with a friend. So please share around copies of the dig flyer and brochure among friends.

Optional outside student research
Students have the option to pursue additional research topics related to the dig at Sappington House, or archaeology in general, the Sappington House, or the Sappington family. The research may be supervised by one of the dig teachers, or a teacher at the student’s school depending on teacher availability. Student research findings may be presented at the Fall student presentation event which is optional for the students.

Optional Fall student presentations: In the Fall, the students are given the opportunity to share with family and friends something about their experiences on the dig and the finds that they made. The event is intended as a summation of the student’s experience and finds, as well as any optional research, as outlined above. The idea of the students presenting is to emulate the work of professional archaeologists. Archaeologists do their field work, study their findings, and then they share their conclusions with fellow archaeologists and the public. Attendance and participation for the students is optional, but participation is rewarding. Whether students participate or not, all students are recognized and honored in a simple ceremony at the event. The presentations are usually held on a Sunday afternoon in November.

Student media specialists: New for the year 2019, is the opportunity for two students to specialize in documenting and reporting on the dig. Instead of doing the hands-on digging, they will spend most of their time documenting their fellow students working with the tools, techniques, and processes of archaeology. These two students will be learning the processes and thinking of archaeology, but they also will be sharing their experiences and knowledge with the other students and the public. They will be photographing, video recording and doing interviews. They will write articles for print and on-line publishing. Their work will be used and displayed throughout the 13 day dig and at the fall student presentations. Students wanting to be media specialists should indicate that on line 5 of the registration form.

There are still spaces for high school students left on the archaeological dig at Sappington House

Next step for interested students: To register for the dig at Sappington House or to get more information, call or email dig coordinator Steve Hanpeter: 314-918-1617, schs.webmanager@gmail.com; or Sappington House Resident Manager Sally Cakouros at 314-822-8171, shcakouros@gmail.com. There is a registration form for download on the sharing page.

See photos from the past digs, 2016-2018, at Sappington House. Photos of the past digs

For kids from Kindergarten to Middle School visiting the kids archaeological activities area
June 1 – June 14, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11:00 to 2:00 pm
No activities on Sundays or Mondays. Free

Come as a family. No reservations required.

Come as a group. For groups planning to visit, making reservations is requested. Call or email dig coordinator Steve Hanpeter: 314-918-1617, schs.webmanager@gmail.com; or SappingtonHouse Resident Manager Sally Cakouros at 314-822-8171, shcakouros@gmail.com.

Activities: Hands-on simulated dig. Find simulated artifacts. Record and draw them in the free field guide supplied. Immerse yourselves for one to three hours. Watch and talk to archeologists and students actually working. Visit pond. The dig activities area is free. For an optional tour of Historic Sappington House there is a small charge: children $1, adults $5.

The experience: Meet archaeology as an adventure. The simulated dig and observing the dig at Sappington House gets the kids hands-on with archaeology, its ways and its thinking. Fun, challenging and educational.

Groups are encouraged to notify SappingtonHouse Resident Manager Sally Cakouros of their desired visiting schedule.

For more information and group reservations: Call or email dig coordinator Stephen Hanpeter: 314-918-1617,schs.webmanager@gmail.com;or Sappington House Resident Manager Sally Cakouros at 314-822-8171, shcakouros@gmail.com

See photos from the past digs, 2016-2018, at Sappington House. Photos of the past digs

For adults to come visit and view the work taking place on the dig at Sappington House. Whether just curious, a history buff, or archaeology hobbiest, or interested in science, visitors can see the progress, and talk to the archaeologists, the students and teachers.

Visiting the dig is free to all.

There is also the opportunity to tour Historic 1808 brick house Sappington House. Learning about the house and the people who built it is the reason for the dig. For the optional tour of Historic Sappington House there is a small charge: children $1, adults $5.

See photos from the past digs, 2016-2018, at Sappington House. Photos of the past digs

Volunteers are needed. Days, dates, hours are flexible. All that is needed is a desire to have fun welcoming and sharing with others. For more information, contact dig coordinator Steve Hanpeter: 314-918-1617, schs.webmanager@gmail.

See photos from the past digs, 2016-2018, at Sappington House. Photos of the past digs

Dates, times, schedule, location

Dates and times for high school students enrolled in the archaeological dig program
Thursday, May 30 to Saturday, Jun 15, 2019, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays, that is daily except Sunday and Monday

Dates and times for kids and adult visitors
For kids visiting the dig activities area, Saturday, June 1 – Friday, June 14, 11:00 noon to 2:00 pm
For families and adults visiting to view the dig, Saturday, June 1 – Friday, June 14, 11:00 noon to 2:00 pm

The schedule
Thur, May 30 – Dig set up
Fri, May 31
Sat, June 1
Sunday and Monday, no digging, site closed
Tues, June 4
Wed, June 5
Thur, June 6
Fri, June 7
Sat, June 8
Sunday and Monday, no digging, site closed
Tues, June 11
Wed, June 12
Thur, June 13
Fri, June 14 – Last day of digging
Sat, June 15 – Student session with teachers for dig wrap up

Historic Sappington House
1015 S Sappington Road
St Louis, MO 63126 USA

The dig takes place at Historic Sappington House in Crestwood
1015 S. Sappington Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63126
Phone: 314-822-8171 – see web site

Sappington House is located on South Sappington Road where it crosses Grant’s Trail
See directions to Sappington House
Parking is plentiful at Crestwood Elementary School across the street or in the parking lot at Reco Industrial Drive near the pond at Sappington House. The parking lot at the Barn restaurant is for restaurant patrons.

Goals of the dig

The mission of the Sappington-Concord Historical Society is to collect, research, educate and share history of Sappington-Concord area.
The goals of the dig at Sappington House are to:
• Provide an extraordinary experience in history and science for the 12 to 16 enrolled high school students from area participating high schools
• Provide educational opportunities for visitors and the public to learn about archaeology and history of Sappington-Concord and surrounding South St Louis County area
• Contribute to the historic record of the Sappington-Concord area

The four sponsoring organizations

The dig at Sappington House is a coordinated effort of the following four organizations:
• The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) St Louis Society – see AIA National web site, AIA-StL web site, AIA-StL lectures
• Historic Sappington House – see web site
• The City of Crestwood, Missouri; Department of Parks and Recreation – see web site
• Sappington-Concord Historical Society (SCHS)

All of the sponsors of the dig listed above are excited to be able to offer this fun and educational experience to the students, children and adults of the South St Louis County area. It is their mission to educate and inspire students, kids and adults to personally experience history, and in the case of archaeology, to feel the excitement of science too.

Who is who in the Archaeological Dig at Sappington House

Leaders in the participating organizations include the following:
• The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), St Louis Society – AIA National web site, AIA-StL web site, AIA-StL lecture series
President, Ken Williams
The dig at Sappington House service-learning program was initiated by and outlined by Dr Michael Fuller

• Sappington-Concord Historical Society (SCHS)
Dig coordinator, Stephen Hanpeter
The SCHS board of officers and directors
The dig at Sappinton House committee, led by Rachel Azzara

• Historic Sappington House Foundation – see web site
The Sappington House Foundation board, President Denise Lutes
Sappington House Historian, Enid Barnes
Sappington House Resident Manager, Sally Cakouros

• The City of Crestwood, Missouri, Department of Parks and Recreation – see web site
City of Crestwood Mayor, Grant Mabie

Other organizations and individuals
Perhaps it needs to be said that other organizations and many individuals besides the four sponsoring organizations listed above are contributing to the dig at Sappington House. They are contributing time, talent, resources and money.

• Archaeologists managing the dig
Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, Inc.
2812 Woodson Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63114
Phone: 314-426-2577 FAX: 314-426-2599 E-Mail: arc@arcstl.com Website: www.arc-stl.com
Principal Investigator, Robin Machiran
Assisting Investigator, Joe Harl

• Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site for hosting the November Student Presentations in 2016 and 2017

• SCHS members contributing funds to the dig