A reason to watch

OK, so my 12-inch, knobbed, rabbit-eared television (which I inherited from my grandmother) is kaput after "the conversion," and I am experimenting with being a TV-free household. (The Knobbed Wonder is still here, but the only channel it produces is a very fuzzy view of what I gather through the static must be Telemundo.)

I am also house-sitting for my parents, who have an embarrassingly impressive flatscreen TV (my mom is embarrassed--not my dad, but then I'm not sure embarrassment is in his emotional repertoire). Theirs is far from kaput and, post-conversion, now produces a whole new array of non-cable TV channels (including PBS's 8.2). Sunday night, I was over there watching "History Detectives." Just as I was about to head home to squeeze in my 5 miles before darkness, I happened upon a completely new PBS "reality" gem: "Time Team America."

I know, I know: "But Ms. S., you're always telling us to turn off the TV and get out there and see the world." Yes, my little (and big!) adventurers, that is true, but oh my goodness, this show is fun! All the excitement of field work from the comfort of your home. Even Ms. Frizzle, our sometimes-substitute, might approve! (Though, I'm pretty sure she'd also tell you, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" which, let's be honest, you really can't do from the couch!)

History was not my favorite subject in high school. I just didn't enjoy memorizing the dates and details of battles. After high school, though, I was lured in by the PBS living-history "House" shows. I've also discovered that in practice, history is really about mysteries--and that's where it gets exciting! The adventure of investigation! Archaeologists, paleontologists, and historians are all about digging up clues and putting together the pieces of the evidence puzzle to construct a picture of the past. Amazingly, these scientist-historians find a tiny little scrap of something (be it a two-centimeter potsherd or a tiny hunk of bone) and in their minds, they can visualize the whole thing! They are explorers, detectives, puzzlers, and scholars all in one.

That's what this show is about: A team of archaeologists, scientists, historians, artists, and diggers has 72 hours to dig up some buried secrets of the past! The first episode featured "The Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island and a search for evidence of the homes of America's first English colonists. The second episode of "Time Team America" airs Wednesday, July 15 at 7pm (Central). Meanwhile, you can check out some of their field techniques online!

It also turns out there's a "House" show I haven't seen!


Dig into the Past:
Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke
Eyewitness: Archaeology by Jane McIntosh
Dig magazine
In My Own Backyard by Judi Kurjian
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China by Joanna Cole
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt by Joanna Cole
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle by Joanna Cole
Felix Travels Back in Time by Annette Langen
The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole
Finding the First T. Rex by Kathleen Zoehfeld
Did Dinosaurs Have Feathers? by Kathleen Zoehfeld