WHAT: The South Dakota State Historical Society, Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and the US Army Corps of Engineers is sponsoring a three-day Archaeology Camp this summer! This camp is an active, outdoor experience on a real archaeological site. Students should be prepared to hike, work in the dirt, listen carefully, and follow directions from camp leaders and professional archaeologists. It will be a fun, hands-on, and immersive learning experience!
Students will learn an introduction to the field of archaeology, why we conduct archaeological digs, what stories artifacts can tell us about the past, history of fur trading posts, how to map a site, and how to use team-building skills. In addition to excavation at the site, other fun activities may include processing artifacts, learning how to do a pedestrian survey, and practicing with atlatls (ancient weapons which preceded the bow and arrow). There will also potentionally be tours to the Oahe Chapel, the Oahe Dam Visitor Center, and the Turtle Effigy! Actual activities are subject to change depending on weather. A more detailed schedule will be sent out to the 20 campers who are registered and confirmed.
WHO: Students going into grades 4-6 (no exceptions) for the 2025-2026 school year!
WHEN: June 10th, 11th, and 12th , 2025; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT
The program is structured for students to attend all 3 days. Students should not expect to be released mid-day unless there is an emergency. Please do not schedule appointments for them during this timeframe. If a camper can not attend all three days, they should not register.
WHERE:
All drop off and pick-ups will be at the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501. Staff will transport the students to and from the archaeology site which is near the Oahe Downstream Recreation Area.
COST: $50 per camper
REGISTRATION: Registration will begin at 8:00 am Central on Thursday May 1st, 2025 and will close at 5 pm on May 3rd, 2025 or when the camp is full, whichever comes first. Registration is limited to the first 20 applicants who have not yet attended in the past. If your child has attended before, they can join the waitlist by emailing their name to katie.wasley@state.sd.us between 8:00am May 1 and 5:00pm May 3. Past campers will be considered if fewer than 20 new campers register. If the registration has filled and closed you would like to be added to the waitlist but have not atteneded previously, please also email katie.wasley@state.sd.us. No walk-in campers will be accepted on camp days. The registration system will log applications in the order in which they are received. Please note that in previous years registration was full and closed within 20 minutes of opening!
To complete the registration form and submit payment, please click here. Registrations will be accepted online only. Please be sure to include an e-mail address in the space provided on the form. All applicants will be notified via e-mail whether or not they have been accepted!
A few weeks prior to camp beginning, parents or guardians of students accepted will be mailed a letter detailing what campers need to bring and other specifics. This mailing will also contain two release forms which must be signed and returned no later than 5 pm on May 14th, 2025. If these forms are not received by the deadline, the camper will be turned down and replaced with someone on the waiting list.
Here is an overview of Archaeology Camp 2024! As an example of what our camp may look like and what kind of fun activities campers can potentionally expect. Each year SHPO runs the camp schedule and activities closely to previous years, with small exceptions based on weather, staff, etc. In 2024 we had 19 students which were split up into five teams, each team had two team leaders; one a professional archaeologist and the other a State Historic Preservation employee! Click here to see what the 2024 camp schedule looked like and here for 2024 camp photos to get an idea of what fun things campers could expereince in 2025!
