ArchaeOLogy > Meet the OLogist: David Hurst Thomas

KID'S VOICE: What does an archaeologist do?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: I study people. But the hard thing about studying people is I study people of the past. They're not here anymore.

So what we do sometimes is study mummies. What we do sometimes is look at skeletons. But, very often, what we do is we study what people did and left behind. And it's those artifacts and understanding the garbage of the past, that's what archaeologists do.

KID'S VOICE: What do you like most about being a scientist?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: We get data, and we look hard at those data, and we test hypotheses to understand about the past. Very often, we get wrapped up in what we find, because we find some great stuff. Archaeological sites sometimes are full of treasure. Usually, they're full of garbage, but the difference is, it's not what we find, it's what we find out.

KID'S VOICE: What is your favorite place or object in the museum?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: My favorite artifact that's in the museum is the great big Haida canoe that everybody sees when you walk in off 77th Street. And that canoe was 63 feet long-- unbelievable. And it's about our oldest artifact and it's the very first one that ever showed up on a US postage stamp.

KID'S VOICE: How did you figure out what you wanted to be when you grew up?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: So when I went to college, I was pre-med and I was all set to go to medical school. But it turns out that pre-med Basic Science is not a major in college. And I found out that I could study American Indians and still go to medical school.

So when the time came, I had to make a decision. Do you go off and be a real doctor or do I want to go off and be a scientist as an archaeologist? I decided to be an archaeologist. And I've never regretted that decision.

KID'S VOICE: If you weren't a scientist, what would you be?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: The nice thing about being a scientist, I spend a lot of time in the field doing archaeology. But, also, when I'm home, I really like old things. And as an archaeologist, that's a good thing to do.

So I've got an old house. It's 130 years old and I work on it all the time. I've got an old car, a '61 Corvette and I get to restore that. And I've even got an old dog.

KID'S VOICE: What is your advice to kids who want to be scientists?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: Being a scientist, it's hard to explain to kids how much fun it really is. And if someone has an inkling about coming in, I want to be a scientist, there are plenty of chances to do it, but you've got to get your hands on it. This museum has programs where you can come into the labs. We take interns all the time to handle the artifacts. You've got to get out and actually try to do it to see if that suits your personality. And if it suits your personality, you'll know it right away.

KID'S VOICE: What is your advice to kids who think that science is boring?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: If you think science is boring but you have an interest in it, meet a real scientist. Talk to them about how they actually spend their time. And I think you'll find that there's nothing boring about science and it's a whole lot of fun.

KID'S VOICE: What is your favorite kids' book?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: Well, I'm a Dr. Seuss fan. And so I go back to the days of The Cat in the Hat. That was a book that I read when I was a kid. I read it to my kid. And, I don't know, I might take a copy in the field and read it to our interns, too.

KID'S VOICE: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

DAVE HURST THOMAS: My favorite ice cream flavor is Rocky Road, of course.