English students intern at the Tate
MARIA LEOTTA Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Saturday, August 7, 2004 12:00 am
England has a rich history, but for two English teens with a penchant for the ancient, the Wyoming plains are where it's at.
Rebecca Brewster of Marske, England, and Katherine Ryder of Loftus, England, have spent the last week in Casper learning and working with the staff at the Tate Geological Museum.
With digs in the field, fossil preparation, molding and casting, these two 18-year-old English natives have spent a week of hands-on learning in Wyoming.
Brewster said that during a previous family trip to Wyoming, she stopped at the Tate Museum and got hooked.
"Most people from England never get out here past Florida or New York," Brewster said. "We came up to see the wildlife … we always seem to come back."
After her first encounter with the beautiful scenery of Wyoming, Brewster said, she recruited her friend and fellow world traveler, Katherine Ryder, to work at the Tate.
"We got on the Web site and saw they wanted volunteers," said Ryder.
After e-mail correspondence with the staff and Museum Director Dave Brown throughout the last year, the two girls set out for their week-long experience.
"Field days start early at 7 a.m.; it gets quite hot in the field," said Brewster. "We've done little bits of work in lots of different areas."
Ryder added, "We've been cleaning fossils, teeth and fish in the lab and took two trips to the field where we got turtles and bones of an unknown specimen."
The girls hope to use the knowledge they've gained during the week to get a head start on their studies next year.
"We'll study ecology in university," said Ryder. "We're interested in paleontology too."
Despite their long hours of hard work, the girls said they've enjoyed the experience and hope to come back soon.
"Yeah, we're definitely coming back," said Ryder. "Hopefully next year if we can afford it."
Though the girls haven't been here long, Brown said he would miss their help and presence.
"I've worked here for four years, and this is the first time we've had someone from out of the country come here," said Brown. "It's been great, they've been really good workers and dove right into doing whatever they could."
Brown said the Tate is looking to encourage more volunteer work and involvement with the kids of Casper. He said they are working toward developing summer programs to take people like the girls to digs in the fields.
"I hope they come back but even if they don't they can take what they learned here back with them," said Brown. "I hope the experience expanded their views on what geology and paleontology is."