Teen Science Scholars

2023 will see the Anthropology/Archaeology Teen Science Scholars tackle more dirt – literally. The teens will construct and work with an outdoor archaeobotanical flotation laboratory, complete with troughs, basins, buckets, hoses, screens and (the occasional) water fight. Their efforts will lead toward a better understanding of two archaeological sites: the Jones Miller Bison Kill site (c. 10,000 BP, Eastern Colorado), and the W.S. Ranch Ruin (c. AD 1000 West-Central New Mexico). Excavators in the 1970s collected soil samples containing valuable information about the climate, ecology and activities at these sites – if the data can be extracted! In order to separate dirt from data, the teens will “float” the soil samples – so that organic data in the form of charcoal, seeds, pollen and bone rise to the top and are collected and preserved so that we can analyze the data microscopically. This work will answer important outstanding questions on these sites. For The Jones-Miller site – “what was the seasonality of the bison kills” “was there more than one hunting episode” “does the C14 data we collected support the projectile point dates we found.” For W.S. Ranch – “what was the landscape and ecology nearby?” “had they overexploited nearby resources” “what were their subsistence and farming strategies.” ALL of these questions will be answered from the data collected by the Anthro TSS. A valuable contribution indeed.

The Earth Science Labs at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science hosts a variety of vertebrate fossils, including dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, fish, and even fossil plants, too. Using special tools, equipment, and materials, the Teen Science Scholars will have the opportunity to clean, stabilize, and repair vertebrate fossils collected from North Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, and even Madagascar. Additionally, using a hand-held scanner, the TSS applicants will surface scan fossils from long-neck dinosaurs (sauropods) and upload the images to create 3D models of each dinosaur bone.

The two scholars will work together to learn and use data science tools to manipulate astrophysical datasets to create new visualizations for planetarium software. They will determine exoplanet orbital parameters around binary star systems, create modules for each new system that can be loaded into planetarium software, and create a short planetarium presentation about planets around other stars.

Three staff of the Vertebrate Zoology team are partnering together to give students a well-rounded understanding of mammal work within our Museum. First, students will be trained in specimen skeletal preparation, how to take specimen measurements, and how to collect tissue samples. The students will then process the tissue samples in the Genetics Lab to see how molecular work aids in the identification of hard-to-tell-apart species. Lastly, the students will spend time in collection preservation areas, learning the various techniques we use for the long-term care of our specimens. Disclaimer: interns will work with dead animals that may smell and have blood present. This internship is not for the squeamish.