If you’re in north Florida or environs and you’re an archaeology junkie with zero experience, you can volunteer to help sort archaeological artifacts in the laboratory of the Florida Public Archaeology Network in Pensacola.

The lab is open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and you don’t have to volunteer for more than a day at a time, so you could make a long weekend out of it and pile into the car to party with the oldies. There is no age limit. Repeat: kids can do this!

Volunteers will help rough sort artifacts recovered from local archaeological sites. No experience is needed, but all volunteers are given a brief orientation.

The volunteer program is perfect for students needing volunteer hours for scholarships, individuals and groups interested in history and archaeology, as well as those wanting to get their hands dirty! All ages are encouraged to participate; however, anyone under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Individuals, families, and groups as large as 12 can be accommodated.

FPAN is involved in the excavation of many archaeological sites on land and underwater, including the 200-year-old Mardi Gras Shipwreck and the Emanuel Pt. Shipwreck, Florida’s earliest shipwreck site believed to date to the 1559 expedition of Tristán de Luna.

This program opened on Wednesday the 12th and will end April 29th. Perfect for the family looking to do something awesomely nerdy for Spring Break. The lab is open to volunteers the rest of the year too.

Contact Irina Sorset via email (isorset at uwf dot edu) or by phone (850) 595-0050 Ext 103, to make arrangements.