Application Deadline for Dino Dig Approaches

Juston Weidman shows proper technique in extracting dinosaur bones at the Wyoming site.

Southwestern is now accepting applications for the annual “Dino Dig.”  It’s a field experience class that takes place near Newcastle, Wyoming each summer.

The trip is from May 31 to June 29.  It’s designed to engage students in a real science research project and it counts as a four-hour lab science credit for general education.  The class is called GEOL 240: The Dinosaurs.

“The Dino Dig is an ongoing science project,” says Dr. Art Chadwick, professor of biology at Southwestern.  “Students that go have the chance to work with real science. There is also a rich spiritual environment, which is just as important as the science.

“Spirituality is a fundamental part of the trip because it’s integrated into everything.  The trip gives students the opportunity to be out in nature, connect with the Creator and dig up dinosaurs, which is very fascinating.  People that go not only learn new things about dinosaurs, but also about themselves.”

The program includes instruction in technique, practical experience in excavating dinosaur fossil remains, an overview of dinosaur life and general science concepts and principles.  It covers the taxonomic relationships, environment and fossil record of the dinosaurs.  People also learn field methods of vertebrate paleontology.

Tuition for the course costs $928.  The field fee, which includes all food, lodging, transportation, admission expenses and site fees for the summer module is $855.  Aside from this cost, students will have to bring money for wash and for meals in transit to and from Wyoming.

The 2011 group at the Dino Dig in Wyoming.

In an article from Southwestern’s Spirit magazine, Rose Weeks, a student who has attended the trip, said “The Dino Dig had a huge impact on my life.  You’re around people who study both science and the Bible and it has a profound influence on your thinking.  It was an exciting experience.”

“Students that go should expect to rub shoulders with a lot of beautiful people,” says Chadwick.  “They should expect to be excited about discovery and critical thinking.   Everything is so different from regular school that it’s like a vacation, a vacation from the regular routine of life.  People will have both hard times and good times, but I’ve never had a student go that didn’t want to come back.

The application deadline for the Dino Dig is May 1, 2012. For more information about the trip and on how to apply, visit dinosaurproject.swau.edu.

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