Step Into the Ice Age

Learn all about the Ice Age through archaeology!

This program is recommended for children grades 2-6, and all children must be accompanied by a caregiver.

The Archaeological Society of Central Oregon invites you to learn about an amazing archaeological site that has thousands of fossilized footprints of Ice Age animals and humans. From the trackway evidence, archaeologists can "see" stories of hunters stalking a giant sloth, mammoths crossing the path of a woman and a child, and teenagers slipping and sliding in the mud along the ancient lake. You can even count how many of your steps are equal to the step of a mammoth!

Eileen Tannich Gose has a bachelor's degree in anthropology and a master's degree in education. She is a member of the Archaeological Society of Central Oregon and the Deschutes County Historical Society. In the past, she was involved in the Colorado Archaeological Society and was selected for several education grants from the Colorado State Historic Fund, the Colorado Historical Society, and the American Rock Art Research Association. In the areas of scholarship, she developed a teacher's guide for classes in archaeology and historic preservation, co-authored a guide to historic preservation of architecture and archaeology, and created educational hands-on trunks to educate the public about archaeology. Additionally, she created children's activity books that teach about archaeological sites.

Eileen has participated in many archaeological excavations including precontact and post-contact sites in Colorado and New Mexico. However, her most exciting excavations were at a Neanderthal cave in Belgium and a Roman site in France. Supporting her education and classroom experience, Eileen has traveled extensively in Europe, seeing many of the most important archaeological sites, including Paleolithic painted caves in France, Stonehenge, Pompeii and other Roman sites, passage tombs in Ireland, and even the Classical sites in Greece and Egypt. Her passion in life is to use her education and experiences to inspire others to appreciate and protect our past.

The Archaeological Society of Central Oregon (ASCO) is a group of amateur, avocational, and professional archaeologists who share common interests in the history and prehistory of Central Oregon. Their primary goal is to stimulate public interest in preservation of and research into our past life ways. Society members believe that through their participation they can help conserve and bring to life many of the vanishing pages of history for future generations.

Questions? Contact elsah@deschuteslibrary.org, 541-312-1062