At this year’s Burroughs Community School Read-A-Thon, Science and Social Studies Adventures (SASSAk12) brought the thrill of exploration straight to the classroom. With the power of books and interactive learning, second-grade students didn’t just hear about a trailblazing fossil hunter—they stepped into her world! Thanks to the Anthropological and Mathematical Analysis of Archaeological and Zooarchaeological Evidence (AMAAZE) research consortium who connected SASSAk12 to Burroughs Community School, SASSAk12 had the opportunity to introduce young learners to the excitement of real-world research. Young learners got an up-close look at what it means to be a scientist. They listened to the inspiring story of Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist, engaged with real archaeological tools, and each class received a Paleo Play Kit to continue the adventure.

Want to see how a simple story sparked big questions, bold curiosity, and maybe even the next generation of explorers? Read on to discover how Burroughs Community School and SASSAk12 are making reading and science accessible, exciting, and unforgettable!

SASSA in the Classroom volunteer and PREP participant, Michael Murphy, will be spending his summer working as a science communication intern with Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Read about how participating in SASSA helped prepare him for this opportunity!

Samantha Porter has been a devoted volunteer since SASSA’s inception. In addition to being active in our program, she is using her research and technological skillset to innovate visitor experiences at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA). Her project, Riddle Mia This, blends social needs, art and history, and technology, and offers an excellent example […]

The Anthropology Department at the University of Minnesota has been a great supporter of SASSA from the beginning. Without them, we would never have been able to get our program up and running! Many of our wonderful undergraduate and graduate volunteers have come from this department as well and we now have an opportunity to […]

Science and Social Studies Adventures is doing what we do best — returning to the classroom to present our engaging modules to a new group of students! We are looking for volunteers — college students, parents, community members — to help us present these modules to students at a local middle school in March and […]

Several of SASSA’s board and staff members have chapters in the new book, Public Engagement and Education: Developing and Fostering Stewardship for an Archaeological Future (hardcover and eBook available now!). Edited by SASSA’s Katherine Erdman, this volume explores different approaches researchers may take to get all ages interested in archaeology as well as how to […]

SASSA will participate in Give to the Max Day on November 14th, 2019. Read more to find out how you can give and how your support will help us thrive!