The KEY (Knowledge Enriching Youth) PROJECT

August 5, 2006

By Missy Harrington
Shumla School Curriculum Director

What is the Shumla School? The Shumla School, originally named the School of Expressive Culture, was founded in February 1998 and was recognized as a 501(c)(3) publicly supported organization in June of that same year. A seed money grant of $250,000 from noted anthropologist Dr. Lorna Marshall provided the initial funds for the school. Word of the school spread rapidly across the United States and abroad, leading to the formation of a diverse and distinguished Board of Directors and Advisory Board. Also recognizing the importance of the School’s mission, Jack and Katherine Harrington of Comstock, Texas, made their land available to the Shumla School for the creation of a living museum and experiential educational center 50 miles west of Del Rio in Val Verde County, Texas. Since 1998, the Shumla School has been actively engaged in national and international research projects, education, and community outreach programs across the state. Thanks to the generous gifts of The Brown Foundation, Houston Endowment, The West Endowment, and The Ray C. Fish Foundation, the first phase of the Shumla campus was completed in August of 2003. For more information, see the Shumla School Web site, www.shumla.org .

An innovative new partership program entitled the KEY Project was implemented by the Shumla School, Amistad National Recreation Area, and Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site in 2006.    This program represents a unique cooperative effort involving federal, state, and private organizations.

This innovative partnership project provides students with educational field trips to heritage sites in the region over the course of three years, targeting 4th — 6th graders in the San Felipe-Del Rio CISD.  Each of these field trips is designed to connect the students with their land and cultural heritage, as well as meet the identified need of school administrators to improve academic performance in the sciences.

Fourth grade — students begin their 4th grade KEY Project year by attending the Val Verde County Archeology Fair, sponsored by Shumla School, National Park Service and the Whitehead Memorial Museum.  Project partner, Lisa Evans—NPS Education Specialist, then visits participating schools for classroom presentations on the lifeways of the Indians that lived in the children’s backyards thousands of years ago.  This presentation includes safety tips to prepare the students for their up-coming trip to Shumla School. At Shumla, students engage in a full-day of hands-on activities designed to connect them with the land and their cultural heritage.  Shumla utilizes an archeology – and cultural heritage – based curriculum to lead students in a discovery process that focuses on physical, life and earth sciences. These activities provide hands-on opportunities for enhancing classroom lessons and teach Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) objectives.

Fifth grade — students board a houseboat provided by Forever Resorts for KEY 5 Lessons on the Lake, an educational program conducted on Lake Amistad by the National Park Service. KEY Project partner Shumla School sends an instructor to assist with this program. This houseboat field trip focuses upon the geology, wildlife, and archeology of Amistad National Recreation Area.

Sixth-grade — students travel to Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site for a full day of hands-on educational activities provided by Shumla School and NPS staff, as well as a hike into Seminole Canyon to view and learn about Indian paintings produced thousands of years ago.

Archeology Fair – KEY 4 Project (4th Grade)

On October 27th and 28th, 2006 Shumla School will partner with Amistad National Recreation Area and the Whitehead Memorial Museum to host the two day Val Verde County Archeology Fair. On Friday the 27th, the fair will be open only to school groups. One-thousand students and their teachers are expected to attend. There will be four 1 ½ hour rotations of about 200 to 250 students per rotation through various stations. The stations include demonstrations, interpretative programs and hands-on activities. The demonstrations and hands-on activities included atlatl and rabbit stick throwing, cordage bracelet making, adobe brick making, weaving, flintknapping, rock art painting, painted pebbles, corn grinding (using a mano and metate) and a simulated archeology dig. The interpretative programs include Native American lifeways, a chuck wagon, archeology talks, Buffalo Soldiers, Native American dance and music and more. The activities and programs at the Archeology Fair satisfy the TEKS and TAKS requirements at most grade levels, and are especially suited on an over all level for 4th graders.

On Saturday, October 28, 2006, the Archeology Fair will be open to all visitors for a two dollar entrance fee.  The students returning from the first day will be admitted for free.  In addition to a repetition of the previous day’s programs, visiting scholars and archeologists will give presentations featuring the archeology of the area.

KEY 4 Scientists of the Lower Pecos – (4th grade)

Over eight hundred fourth-graders from schools in Val Verde County are expected to enjoy a day camp as part of the KEY Project during the 2006/07 academic year.  The program includes both the in-classroom presentation, done by National Park Service personnel, and participation in a KEY 4 Scientists of the Lower Pecos Day Camp at Shumla School.

At Shumla, the students are divided into five groups: the Bear Clan, the Deer Clan, the Wolf Clan, the Ringtail Clan and the Panther Clan.  Each student is provided a clan button decorated with their clan name and animal track.  Upon arrival at Shumla School, the clans are directed to their first station to begin a rotation of lessons and demonstrations designed to connect them with the land and their cultural heritage.  Each station also provides instruction in science objectives.  At the end of the day, students are presented with a KEY Foragers certificate. Some of the activity stations include:

Paint Making Experiment: Students conduct an experiment replicating prehistoric paint making. Through this experiment, they learn about the scientific method, hypothesis formulation, and reporting conclusions. Students learn about local earth minerals used as pigments; binders, such as bone marrow; and local plant resources used as emulsifiers.

Friction Fire Starting: Primitive fire starting techniques are used to teach about kinetic, potential, and thermal energy and the transfer of energy. The relationship of potential energy and kinetic energy comes to life as students experiment with primitive fire starting tools. Production of enough thermal energy to start a fire insures that the students never forget how energy influences their lives.

The Adaptation Station: Students analyze different structural adaptations of plants and animals with the aid of stereoscopes. Structural and behavioral adaptations are compared and contrasted, both of plants and animals of today as well as those from the past through the use of fossils, plants and plant products, and animal skeletons and tracks.

Music from the Past: Students learn about sound energy and properties of vibration, pitch, frequency, amplitude, wavelength, and their relationships with each other. Deductive reasoning is used to identify ancient artifacts. Students participate in creating rhythms and demonstrate how the native people used musical instruments in communication of ideas and stories.

Stone Tool Production: The rock cycle comes to life when students learn how the different types of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks are used for stone tools. Flintknapping techniques demonstrate the how the properties of rocks can be used.

May the Force be with You: Ancient machines, such as the atlatl, enable students to study mechanical advantage, both in the past and present. Gravity, inertia, laws of motion, force, acceleration, velocity, friction and air resistance are all used in hands-on activities and help students gain knowledge and understanding of these concepts.

KEY 5 Lessons on the Lake – (5th grade)

KEY 5 Lessons on the Lake is a KEY Project program conducted on Amistad Lake. Over one thousand students in groups of fifty will be introduced to the wonders of our lake’s natural surroundings. NPS personnel, along with Shumla School volunteers, conduct lessons with students during the entire five hour trip. Students are divided into two groups after being fitted with life vests. One group is stationed on the upper portion of the houseboat and the other group is in the cabin of the boat to begin their tour. Groups swap locations after lunch. Lessons presented may include:

Boat Safety: Students are instructed in the proper procedure for entering and exiting the houseboat, life vest use, and general boat safety.

Map Reading: Students will participate in map reading exercises to acquaint them with the lake and the surrounding countryside.

Binocular Techniques: Binocular use is taught for students to get close-up views of wildlife and other features. The trip takes students past the rookery where the Great Blue Herons build their nests. Stopping for a closer look is always met with great displays from the herons.

Geology: Lessons introducing land features, weathering, erosion, sedimentation rates, deposition, types of rocks, and rock formations are presented to students during the tour.

Archeology: Native American lifeways are explored with the use of replicated artifacts that students can examine closely. If weather and time permit, students are treated to a view of 4,000 year old Pecos River style rock art at the Curly Tail Panther site.

Desert Adaptations: Unique adaptations of the plants and animals of our area are presented. Students learn about the tricks of survival in desert locations.

KEY 6 Seminole Canyon Explorers – (6th grade)

KEY 6 Seminole Canyon Explorers is a KEY Project program.  We expect over 400 students to participate in this program during the 2006/07 academic year.  As with other KEY programs, it is designed to connect students with the land and their cultural heritage, in addition to teaching TEKS science objectives.

KEY 6 Seminole Canyon Explorers will be conducted at Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site. Shumla School and Amistad National Recreation Area volunteers and staff will direct the activities. Students will be divided into clans and rotated through various stations.  Activity stations may include:

Rock Art Ratio: –Students are guided through Fate Bell Shelter to learn about the Indian paintings.  At this station, students become researchers using their mathematical skills as they seek to determine the ratio of colors being used for the imagery.  The importance of the paintings to the people of the past and why it is important to protect them today is discussed at length.  Students work together to produce a mural illustrating important things in their lives.  At the end of the day, they discover that their mural has been vandalized with graffiti.  This experience leads students to a greater understanding of the importance to preserve and protect our precious cultural resources.

Adaptation Station: – Students are guided on a plant walk along the Windmill Trail and the plants are used as props for teaching about adaptations.

Timeline Station: – A trek back through geological time awaits students as they hike down the trail and through Seminole Canyon to reach Fate Bell Shelter.

Lifeways Station: – Students’ hands and minds are engaged at this station.  Students study replicas of artifacts made by the Lower Pecos people and then participate in a Plant Scavenger Hunt to try and locate the plants that were used to make these artifacts.

Primitive Technology: – Students to explore technology, energy, and machines through hands-on demonstrations and problem-solving.