Our paleontology department is in its second summer of coordinating a dig
at the Malcolm X Library site in east San Diego. This program brings in
neighborhood high school students to do the survey, mapping, salvage
excavation, and fossil preparation and lab work for the site. Since the
library is new (it just opened last year), the students have done all the
survey and salvage paleontology work for the site. There is some funding
for the transportation to the museum on the days that they do lab work.
The students also go to elementary school classes in the fall and teach
the younger children what they have learned about paleontology over the
summer (a lot). It's been one of those projects that just fell into place.
Since the students are from an age group as well as an economic group that
has been underrepresented here, the project is especially important to us.
The program is coordinated jointly by the education anmd paleontology
departments. The students are enthusiastic because the work is real and
their contributions are significant.

Sally Shelton
Director, Collections Care and Conservation
President-Elect, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections

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|                                                                       |
|                 San Diego Natural History Museum                      |
|                          P. O. Box 1390                               |
|                San Diego, California   92112  USA                     |
|             phone (619) 232-3821; FAX (619) 232-0248                  |
|                     email [log in to unmask]                          |
|                                                                       |
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