Archaeologist Answers Student Questions at Hillcrest High School

On Thursday, September 12th, Mrs. Theresa Kelsey and her World History Class eagerly connected with Archaeologist, Micca Metz through face-time at Hillcrest High School. Students had been learning about archaeology in their recent lesson plans. So, when Kelsey was on Facebook one night connecting with peers in a Western Illinois University alumni group and met an archaeologist, she thought, “Perfect!”

Soon after Metz and Kelsey connected on Facebook, the two set up a date and time for Metz to call in from Seattle, Washington. Students drafted questions for Metz about her career, work activities, and how archaeology relates and is important to understanding history.

Because Metz primarily works with human remains, students were particularly interested to learn about what kinds of people she had excavated as well as what their remains taught her. Metz told students about how she had once recovered a solider still in his uniform as well as how she respectfully works to exam remains and determine what happened into individuals.

When students asked Metz how she decided she wanted to be an Archaeologist, Metz responded, “I saw that history was always being written by the winners. I wanted to know the entire story of what really happened and archaeology helps me to do that."

This is the first speaker of the year that Kelsey has had in her classroom. She hopes to have more speakers as the school year progresses. Speakers will offer insights from professionals and help students connect to curriculum in a fun and engaging way.