Budding Archaeologists In 2006, an Illinois Start Up grant to Lorenzo R. Smith School enabled the team to conduct the first archaeological excavations of a historical site in Hopkins Park. A total of twenty-two students from the school were involved. The project was extremely successful and received honorary mention from the American School Board Journal's MAGNA awards in 2007. In Summer 2007, the project returned to Hopkins Park to commence excavations of a cabin site believed to belong to Mr. Tetter, one of the first African American residents of the area. Involvement with students has consisted of teaching junior high students at Lorenzo R. Smith School the role and importance of science, and the scientific method in shaping the human mind and national development. We have done so through classroom instruction, fieldwork, and field trips to museums, universities, and nature conservation centers. Besides teaching and inculcating appreciation of science and history to these students, the summer program provides a positive place for these children who might otherwise be recruited into gangs, at home and watching television, or engaging in other destructive activities. The program provides a chance to learn and experience something new, including their area's history and for some, their own family’s histories.