Join us for a full-day tour of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) with lead archaeologist Dr. Jim Gibb. Pack a lunch and come explore the intersection of history and modern science across the property. Our tour begins at the Woodlawn House to learn of its history and the exhibits highlighting important finds on the property. From there, we’ll hop in the van for a stop at the Java Mansion Ruins, originally the waterfront plantation home of U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant John Contee. He named the estate “Java” after a famous naval battle he fought in during the War of 1812.
Next is the Mathias Lab, a state-of-the-art facility organized around four guilds: Marine and Estuarine Ecology, Terrestrial Ecology, Environmental Chemistry, and Cell, Photo, and Molecular Ecology. These guilds were established to bring together groups of scientists working on similar problems so they can flexibly expand, contract, and exchange ideas within a modular lab environment.
Our last stop is the Archaeology Lab, where we’ll view specimens excavated on site and around the state. We’ll learn how archaeologists study these items by the questions they present, rather than by their age, as we view a peculiar, but not old, assemblage of hotel wares from a dense woods in Charles County, a previously undocumented type of site alongside items excavated in an early 20th-century tenant house on campus.
Our trip leader, Dr. Jim Gibb, directs SERC’s Environmental Archaeology Laboratory and has researched and published on numerous topics in archaeology, from a Paleoindian site in Southern Maryland, to patterns of wealth among 17th-century planters, to production strategies among late 19th-century cheese manufacturers. With a team of citizen scientists, Jim investigates the ecosystem stresses created by socially differentiated households in the Rhode River watershed, analyzing biological materials and artifacts from tightly dated archaeological deposits from the mid-17th through the 20th centuries. He is part of a collaboration developing a palynology laboratory at SERC.
- We’ll include our meeting location in your registration confirmation email once payment is complete.
- Watch for additional details in a welcome email sent a few days before the date.
- All participants must be pre-registered. If you are on the waitlist and show up without an invitation, you will not be allowed to participate.
- High school-aged children are welcome to attend and must be registered as a guest of their adult.
- No more than two children per adult.
- Dress according to the weather. Layers of clothing work best. Include a hat for sun protection or warmth, depending on the season.
- Wear sturdy closed-toe hiking or athletic shoes with non-slip soles that can safely handle slippery surfaces.
- Bring water and lunch.
- Bring a first aid kit for your personal use.
- No pets, please.
All events are held rain or shine. If severe weather cancels an event, you will receive an email or text. If you do not receive a weather-related email, the trip will proceed as planned.
Payment and Cancellation Policy: Payment is due online at registration. Cancellations made 14 or more days before the event will receive a refund minus a 5% processing fee. Cancellations made within 14 days of the event will not receive a refund. Events and field trips with fees of $25 or less are non-refundable at any time unless NHSM cancels them. NHSM retains the right to update or change these requirements at any time.
NHSM Membership has its perks. Starting now, members on any program waitlist will move to the front of the line if an opening occurs. Get a membership, get priority. Click here: https://www.marylandnature.org/get-involved/membership/.
For questions, please email Jayne at JAsh@marylandnature.org.
Registration
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MMNS Member: $20
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Non Members: $25
Register Now!
Location
Edgewater, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
