Project Based Learning Electives provided by the Berrien Springs Virtual Academy
Archaeology Digs Spring 2026
All students must complete a project for these classes.
*Find these classes listed under the Humanities or Vocational category during registration.
Instructors: Jan Sigvartsen PhD, Leanne Sigvartsen
Email: lsigvart@gmail.com
Phone: 269-363-3968
Website: See tarragindi.org for more details
Archaeology Dig – TarragindiAges: 5 and up
Location: Orientation and first class at Berrien Springs History Center, 313 N Cass Street, Berrien Springs, then weekly classes held at Dig Site - 6161 Pheasant Court, Berrien Springs.
Required Orientation: January 6th or 8th, 6pm-8pm
Day & Time: Your desired time slot (one only) will be selected at orientation - everyone will get their desired time slot.
- Tuesdays 4pm-6:30pm or
- Wednesday 10am-12:30pm or
- Thursdays 4pm-6:30pm or
- Fridays 10am-12:30pm
Course Overview: In this program, you will participate in a real archaeological dig. You will learn how archaeologists conduct a dig, identify, clean, and date artifacts, and catalog and record their findings. You are going to dig like the pros, and you may uncover some amazing history from our own local area.
We will be digging on a piece of land in Berrien Springs that began as a farm nearly 200 years ago. Over this time, the owners created what is called a “Farmer’s Dump” - an archaeologist’s treasure trove of local artifacts from Berrien County’s past. Our most significant find to date is a coin from1780 – an Austrian “Maria Theresa” Thaler coin – and was used in the USA before the Federal monetary system was established.
A parent, grandparent, or guardian is welcome to accompany you. Friends or siblings must be registered for this class with the parent partnership to participate.
Archaeology Dig – Old Jailhouse
Ages: 10 and up
Location: Berrien Springs History Center, 313 N Cass Street, Berrien Springs
Required Orientation: January 6th or 8th, 6pm-8pm
Day & Time: Your desired time slot (one only) will be selected at orientation - everyone will get their desired time slot.
- Tuesdays 10am-12:30pm or
- Wednesday 4pm-6:30pm or
- Thursdays 10am-12:30pm
Course Overview: In this program, you will participate in a real archaeological dig to find the lost 1830’s Old Jailhouse in the historic Berrien Springs Courthouse Square. This is one of Berrien County’s earliest municipal buildings, and predates the 1839 Courthouse. We want to discover if the foundations are still there, how big this Jailhouse was, if it was escapable, and what did prisoners, guards, and users of this building leave behind in the ground up to 200 years ago? In this class, you will learn how archaeologists conduct a dig, identify, clean, and date artifacts, and catalog and record their findings.
You are going to gently dig and sift like the pros, and you may uncover some amazing history from our own local area. Because of the gentle nature of this dig, only students aged 10-19 will be permitted to participate. Younger students are welcome to join the Tarragindi Archaeology Dig program, also operated by Dr Jan Sigvartsen PhD (we call him Dr Jan), who is the site director for both digs. Dr Jan exceeds the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation and Professional Qualifications Standards as stipulated in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61, and is qualified to conduct a dig on government-owned property.
A parent, grandparent, or guardian is welcome to accompany you. School-aged friends or siblings must be registered for this class with the parent partnership to participate.
*Please note: it is important to make as informed a decision as possible when choosing your student's Community Resource classes. Most locations will allow a student to drop a class after one meeting, at no charge if it wasn't a good fit for the student, but not all. Some classes plan ahead based on the number that have signed up and have purchased materials, hired teachers, etc. and there might be a fee for class time or materials given to the student if the student drops after one or two meetings. The school cannot pay for classes that students do not complete, so choose wisely; if you do not take the class off of your student's schedule by the deadline, you may be asked to pay for the class time incurred prior to dropping the class.
Teacher of Record: Michael Gathright
