Anthropology 



The Hu man Experience 



by Donald McVicker and Nancy Evans 



Robert Pickering (left), of the Museum's Department of Education, explains skeletal features to Science in 

 Action students Amy Bender and Edward Zubek. Photo by Nancy Evans. 



s 



ince the opening of Field Museum's doors 

 almost a century ago, schoolchildren have wan- 

 dered through the acres of exhibits marveling at 

 objects made by people from other places and 

 other times. Since 1966, high school students have 

 spent part of their summers at Field Museum dis- 

 covering more about these people and the times 

 in which they lived. Field Museum's Science in 

 Action program, "Anthropology: The Human 

 Experience," has provided Chicago-area high 

 school students with an opportunity to learn the 



Dr. Donald McVicker is associate professor, Department of Sociology- 

 Anthropology, at North Central College, Chicago. Nancy Evans is 

 program developer. Exhibit Related Programs, of Field Museum's 

 Department of Education. 



stories behind the artifacts on display and find out 

 more about the science that studies humankind 

 culturally and biologically. 



Under the instruction of anthropologists at 

 Field Museum and local universities, the students 

 are introduced to the science of anthropology and 

 its subfields. The program seeks to provide stu- 

 dents with an understanding of the various ways 

 in which anthropologists study humans and how 

 information about them is integrated to achieve a 

 holistic view of human cultures. The program's 

 primary goal, however, is to help students gain a 



Field Museum 's Science in Action program is partially supported by 

 grants from the University of Illinois — Chicago and the Spensley 

 Fund of Field Museum. 



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