Walking beside thousand-year-old burial mounds, flaking raw stone into tools, learning how potsherds tell us about human behavior, and understanding how humans adapt to complex, ever-changing environments­our 2010 Summer Institute features all this and more.

The Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse will offer a three-week NEH Summer Institute on July 12–30, 2010.  This dynamic learning experience for K-12 teachers will explore how Native Americans and Euro-Americans have adapted to the Upper Mississippi River Valley over the past 13,500 years, and how archaeology leads to an understanding of how human cultures change and adapt through time.

The Institute will feature a one-day excavation experience, field trips to archaeological sites, hands-on laboratory and workshop activities, demonstrations, and classroom activities. Individual projects will help participants tailor the content to their own teaching areas. Participants receive a $2,700 stipend to help offset their expenses.

Application and other information on the Institute is available online at http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/neh.htm. The deadline for applications is March 2, 2010.

The Education department at Woodland Park Zoo is excited to present the following opportunities for educators, including pre-service teachers, from October to December 2009.  Professional development topics include Backyard Habitat (creating wildlife habitat in backyards and schoolyards), Washington Wildlife of Land and Sea (with Seattle Aquarium) and Exploring Life Cycles. These workshops are provided at minimal cost to educators thanks to generous education grants. For more information, please see the zoo’s Web site: http://www.zoo.org/educate/tchr_school/workshops.html