April 19, 2005. Timely through June 15, 2005.
For more information, call 1-800-422-8975, ext. 130. Media photo provided below.

Cortez, Colorado
Is a family learning vacation in your future? Do you want to spend your vacation doing something different with your family this year? Then make your next family vacation an archaeology adventure and join us at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, located near Cortez, Colorado, for the family learning adventure of a lifetime in our special one-week camp for the whole family—Family Excavation Week.

Offered from Sunday, August 7, through Saturday, August 13, 2005, the Family Excavation Week is an opportunity for families to explore the culture of the ancestral Pueblo peoples who inhabited the Mesa Verde region 800 years ago. This year the Center begins an exciting six-year project in partnership with the National Park Service—Goodman Point Archaeological Project: Community Center and Cultural Landscape Study.

No experience is necessary to participate in this hands-on research week. Crow Canyon's archaeological educators and researchers will guide families through the archaeological research process. You'll begin by learning to identify pottery, stone, and bone artifacts in the lab and participating in a simulated dig. Working alongside our professional archaeologists at Goodman Point Pueblo, you will make a real and lasting contribution to Crow Canyon's ongoing research. Our educators bring the area's rich prehistoric and historic past to life as you and your family uncover stone artifacts, pottery, architecture, and wood samples that are vital to dating sites.

The archaeologists at Crow Canyon have been studying the ancestral Pueblo Indians of the area for more than 20 years. Their enthusiasm is contagious and will provide an unforgettable learning experience. Crow Canyon's researchers are knowledgeable and personable teachers, dedicated to sharing their ideas and experiences with participants.

Kids, parents, and grandparents are all welcome to join in the fun of this exciting, fun-filled week, which also includes a variety of other family-oriented activities. A nature hike, evening programs such as rock art and storytelling, and a tour of Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage site, are all included.

Crow Canyon is located in the archaeological heartland of the American Southwest, near Mesa Verde National Park. Families are housed together in Navajo-style hogans on the Center's 170-acre campus and enjoy excellent, healthful cuisine. The cost of the program is $975 for adults and $775 for youth ages 12–17. Youth that wish to attend must be 12 years of age by September 1, 2005. The price includes Crow Canyon tuition, all meals, lodging, and local transportation.

Crow Canyon is a not-for-profit organization offering excavation, workshop, and travel programs in the greater Southwest and throughout the world.

The photo below may be used by the media to accompany this press release. No other use is authorized. Photographer credit and copyright notice is required.

Excavating together during a family archaeology adventure. Photo by Manuel Rivas. Copyright © Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.