By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Thanks to a fundraising campaign currently underway, Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History is setting up camp to provide youngsters with hands-on learning experiences this summer.

David Levering, the museum’s director of education and outreach,  said  the camps will offer much more than a “natural resources show-and-tell.”

“The camps are more than just going out and collecting fossils with the kids,” he said. “Its getting an introduction into how scientists use those outdoor natural resources — fossils, wildlife, geology, rocks and minerals — to learn about the world and the natural history of the region.”

Levering said youngsters will have the opportunity to use the actual tools scientists use to gather data including GPS tracking devices, nets, field coverage supplies and excavation equipment.

Camping equipment also will be purchased for youth attending the Paleontology Field Crew Camp (grades 9 through 12) who will spend two weeks at various locations in central and western Kansas examining ecosystems and excavating fossils.

Grades 6 through 8 will attend the Paleontology Expedition Camp,. For grades K through 5, there is the Fun with Fossils camp.

Levering said all the camps will “offer conceptual ideas that link back to lessons the students will be going over in their classroom.”

A fundraising campaign going on now has made it possible to provide  scholarships and financial aide for students in need.

Dr. Howard J. Reynolds recently provided a “generous donation,” Levering said, to fund new equipment and 10 full-ride scholarships for the Fun With Fossils camp for elementary students.

Levering said he is hoping for more donations to fund more scholarships.

For more information on the camps or to donate, visit the museum’s website or contact Levering at [email protected] or (785) 628-4286.

Related story: Sternberg fundraiser collects money for summer camps.