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As a child, I had a secret desire to be an archaeologist. There was nothing more fascinating to me than digging around in the dirt to find clues to the past. So this weekend when I came across the “Bernstein’s Backyard Archaeology Projects” article from USA Weekend Magazine, it brought back a lot of memories of trying to find Native American artifacts in my backyard in New Jersey. I never found any arrowheads or pottery shards (mom found a few horseshoes) but it was fun pretending the rocks and sticks I dug up were ancient relics.

In the article, writer Gayle Jo Carter interviewed survival expert Josh Bernstein, the president and CEO of the Boulder Outdoor Survival School here in Colorado. He’s also the host of the History Channel’s family-friendly, adventure-archaeology series, “Digging for the Truth” (and all around hunk, oh my). Josh gives families five ideas for conducting their own neighborhood digs. (Don’t forget the gloves, kids!)

(From Bernstein’s Backyard Archaeology Projects by Gayle Jo Carter)

1. Have a friend destroy a small clay pot and bury it in a secret spot. Then try to find it (no fair looking for fresh dirt!). Next, dig up the pot and try to put it back together.
2. Dig a 2-by-2-by-2-foot section in the ground. (Kids, get permission from your parents first, and stick to your own yard.) Note every item you find — rocks, wood chips, sticks. Pinpoint those findings on graph paper, and label and place the items in individual bags for your collection. Don’t forget to refill the hole with dirt.
3. Bury a chicken bone for two weeks. Then dig it up and compare it with a fresh chicken bone. Now imagine a bone that has been in the ground for 5,000 years. Pretty amazing.
4. Empty a bag of household trash (kids, if it’s not yours, get permission first) and search through it. Separate the items, looking for those that would not decay in, say, 10 years. Then try to reconstruct in writing what kind of activities took place in the house based only on those items.
5. For “explorer” extra credit: Try to find and list 10 insects, 10 birds, five mammals, 10 trees and 20 plants within 30 minutes just in your immediate neighborhood. Give the list to a friend or family member and have him or her try to find the same items.

Some wonderful books for your young archaeologists:

• Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past is an activity book for kids ages 9 and up that contains practical, real world activities. Readers can analyze soil or make an oil lamp like ones the ancient Greeks used. Each chapter offers an overview of a historical era then describes the pioneering efforts of archeologists who worked on digs from those times.
• Hands-on Archaeology: Real-life Activities for Kids - For children in grades 4-10. This book shows parents and teachers how to help children conduct real-life archaeological digs. Hands-on Archaeology offers small-scale activities for at home or in the classroom using everyday materials. Then there are activities where the author takes kids out if the school to an empty lot in the community.
• Stone Age People (Make it Work! History) - Helps children ages 8-11 discover the past by hands-on projects, facts, photographs, costumes, and maps.
• Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) - This is a great introduction to archaeology for children ages 5-9.
• Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) - for ages 4-8
• Let’s Go Rock Collecting (Let’S-Read-And-Find-Out Science. Stage 2) - for ages 4-8

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