Students walk to Egypt, dig up artifacts " sort of

As a way to encourage students to exercise, a pair of Fremont Elementary School teachers started the "Walk Across America" program four years ago.

As part of the program, students log the amount of exercise they do each day, as well as the exercise their parents perform.

For each half hour, the class progresses one mile across the map. But third-grade teachers Debbie Mariskanish and Kathy Rothchild soon found the country to be too small.

"We found the students were so excited about the program that they logged up too many minutes," Mariskanish said. "We had to extend the program to 'Walk Around the World.'"

After each quarter, students determine where their mileage has placed them on the globe.

One year, as part of a study of Ireland, the students planted shamrock seeds. They used the scientific method to determine the best growing conditions for the seeds.

This year, the students made it to Egypt for an archaeological dig.

Rothchild's son, Ryan, an Army lieutenant, brought back from Egypt some pieces of statuary and papyrus for his mother's students.

On Friday, the students were given a map of the Fremont playground with a place marked for the dig.

After they found the artifact, they researched what the entire statue might have looked like and drew it on the papyrus.

"We read a nonfiction story called 'Sunken Treasure' about marine archaeologists and are extending what we learned in the book to searching for artifacts on land," Rothchild said. "We are teaching the archaeologists and paleontologists of tomorrow. It's exciting."