Emery County Education Council
The Emery County Education Council is a community development sub-committee of the
Emery County Economic Development Council. The Economic Development Council is
a non-profit 501-c(3) organization dedicated to support community-based programs
designed to promote economic growth.
The idea for these camps came from a desire to offer fun, educational opportunities for
students. We began in 2005 with three camps and have been thrilled with the way in
which the programs have grown and expanded.
One of our premier camps is the Paleontology Dinosaur Quarry Dig Camp, geared toward
high school age students. The camp is organized in partnership with the College of
Eastern Utah (CEU). This camp came from a fusion of ideas concerning what we have to
offer that is unique to our area. Emery County has a world-class paleontology resource
right in its own backyard. This camp offers the student a unique hands-on opportunity to
get involved with the science of paleontology. The students are able to discover and
excavate dinosaur bones from one of the active quarries in Emery County. The bones are
then cast in plaster and transported back to the bone lab at CEU. There the students clean
the bones, identify which dinosaur they came from and prepare them for storage. Dr.
Reese Barrick, Curator of Paleontology for the CEU Prehistoric Museum, instructs the
students along with John Bird, Quarry Boss who directs the students in the quarry
excavations. Dr. Barrick and his team have been in the national news in 2006 for several
new and exciting discoveries in Emery County.
A new and very exciting camp introduced last year in conjunction with the University of
Utah is our Archaeology Field Camp in Range Creek. Dr. Duncan Metcalf leads the
team of researchers in this one of a kind canyon featured recently in the National
Geographic.
We are excited to be able to offer this kind of program to the students of Emery County
and are happy to extend an invitation to students from around the State and around the
Nation to join us in these adventures in education!
We would like to especially thank all of the camp directors, volunteers and partner
organizations for helping us put together these terrific camps!
Thanks Again and Enjoy the Camps
Marc Stilson, ECEC Chairman
(435) 749-0577
mkstilson@hotmail.com
