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Before archaeologists can begin digging, they have to do a survey. Surveys help them find where people lived in the p...

What can be used to perform surgery, cut metal, and even listen to your favorite CD? A laser! The term "laser&qu...

A magnetometer lets archeologists measure magnetic strengths and detect buried artifacts without digging and destroyi...

Archaeologists learn about how people lived in the past from the remains they left behind. Over time, architectural r...

Growing up in Panama, Chuck was interested in old ruins, Spanish forts, and archaeological sites. In college, he work...

Located off the coast of Georgia, St. Catherines is an island with white sandy beaches, a variety of wildlife, and de...

Scientists often need to examine things that are too small to be seen by the human eye, like bacteria or the tiny cel...

The Viking mission was the first to explore Mars' surface. Two spacecraft, Viking 1 and 2, each with an orbiter and a...

Want to turn something old into something new?

Archaeology is the study of past cultures through material remains. These material remains might be a majestic pyrami...

Guatemala is located in Central America. It sits south of Mexico and northwest of El Salvador and Honduras.

Jade is a special and rare rock. For thousands of years, people around the world have been using this durable and bea...

Take a peek into a mineralogist's scrapbook to see why he thinks jade is so special.

Pathfinder landed on Mars' surface carrying thesix-wheeled Sojourner rover, a mobile robot. Rover and lander took ov...

Most reflecting telescopes use glass mirrors to focus light from faraway objects, such as stars and galaxies. In a li...

If there's life on any other planet in our solar system, it's probably on Mars. Scientists have sent orbiters, lander...

The Hubble Space Telescope is the first major optical telescope to orbit Earth.

When "ologists" observe plants, animals, fossils, or rocks, they know they won't remember every detail. So...

Carefully removing the fossils without damaging them takes talent, special tools, and lots of patience.

Before telescopes were invented, people gazed at the night sky with amazement and dreamed of a closer look.

Reading + Video

Earthquakes are happening all the time. Find out what makes the earth shake.

George Harlow travels the world over to study how jade, rubies, and diamonds form. George wants to find out what thes...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) runs the space program, but that's just part of what they do.

The deep sea is not an easy place to explore. To observe the ocean below 2,000 meters (or 6,562 feet), scientists mus...

Many artifacts at the American Museum of Natural History will spend time in the Conservation Lab, the Museum's hospit...

About 80 million years ago in the Gobi Desert, sixteen dinosaurs hatched in this nest. One of the hatchlings died bef...

On July 5, 1997, the six-wheeled robotic rover, Sojourner, rolled down a ramp from the Pathfinder spacecraft onto the...

Edwin Hubble was one of the great astronomers of the 20th century. His work made the Universe a bigger place. He prov...

On a clear night, Mike Shara sees more than just the beautiful twinkling of stars when he gazes at the sky.

A galaxy is a giant, spinning object made of gas, dust, and stars held together by gravity. Galaxies come in differen...

Less than 100 years ago, many scientists thought that our Milky Way galaxy was the entire universe. Then, in the 1920...

What was the universe like right after the Big Bang? To find out, you'd have to look back in time. That was the job o...

Find out from a zooarchaeologist how humans have tamed and bred horses.

Create weather tools to gather wind, rain, and pressure data in your neighborhood.

See how you can make your own paper from old scrap paper and other materials.

Learn about the diagrams scientists use to organize all the groups of living things.

Investigate an "artifact" and record your observations in a field journal!

Reading + Video

Astronomy is a BIG subject. We've brought learning about it down to size with these big ideas.

Decorate, shatter, and piece together your own pottery artifact!

See how artifacts and ruins give us glimpses of what life was like long ago.

All the DNA in a cell is called a genome. Your body contains trillions of copies of the human genome -- one in each o...

Christina was always fascinated by archaeology because it combined her love of history with her interest in world cul...

Deformed conglomerate is a metamorphic rock that has been changed by heat and pressure.

Obsidian doesn't look like your typical rock. In fact, it looks more like dark glass than a rock you'd pick up in you...

For Steve Quinn, art and science have always gone hand-in-hand. As a kid, he liked to draw and make clay models of di...

For over 1,000 years, people called the Inuit lived in the Arctic. Long ago, they relied on fishing and hunting for s...

Find out what causes volcanoes to erupt and how scientists study them.

Most mass in the universe is not normal matter we can see, like stars, planets, and puppies. In fact, 80% of the mass...

In 1964, two astronomers at Bell Labs in New Jersey started testing a horn-shaped radio antenna.

Size up the planets with a model scavenger hunt.

As an Eagle Scout, David Hurst Thomas was always on the lookout for ancient Indian camps. He never found one as a kid...

How many constellations and planets can you find in the night sky? Record your sightings in a "stellar" journal.

What does it mean to be human?

How is the ocean like a layer cake? What creatures live there? And how important is the ocean? Take a dive and find out!

Many scientists have joined forces on the Human Genome Project. Their goal is to figure out the order of all "DN...

In college, Laurel Kendall had so many interests she couldn't decide on a major. Then she took a class in anthropolog...

The Sun is speckled with markings called sunspots that look darker than the rest of its surface.

About 2,000 years ago, people in China invented paper. Over time, the technique for making paper moved west along the...

Discover the intriguing facts and artifacts that Chuck has unearthed.

Meet a scientist who studies Korean culture.

Game

Test your knowledge in this quiz about what it takes to dig up the past!

What animal bones did early humans used to build huts? Take a guess!

See if you can find north by making your own compass.

Take a look inside your trash can. What clues can you find?

Game

How do your fossil-sorting skills stack up? Put them to the test with this kid-friendly online puzzle.

Follow these easy steps to create a floor plan of your room.

Reading + Game

Find out what we know about Mars in this online tour of Earth's closest neighbor.

Bury chicken bones in plaster of Paris to see the challenges paleontologists face when excavating fossils.

Anyone can find fossils. This handy guide tells you where to look and what to do.

Make a carbon mobile with scissors, wire, pipe cleaners, and clay.

OLogy learning: Find resources for K-5 grade levels.

What is it like to hunt for dinosaur fossils? And what discoveries are made back in the lab?