Dinosaur Park

Service Day with College Park Scholars

0 Digs

On Friday, August 28th, the College Park Scholars visited Dinosaur Park for their annual Service Day. This was the fifth visit from the University of Maryland’s distinguished living-learning program, which offers freshmen and sophomores a tight-knit community and an interdisciplinary focus within the larger University campus. Service Day is a long-standing tradition for incoming College Park Scholars freshmen. After moving in to their dorms, one of their first experiences as a group is to complete a day of community service – meeting new people, working hard, and learning about the community around them.

Dinosaur Park was one of 30 sites visited by the Scholars this year. 18 students took on the challenge of weeding and brush clearing, beating back the vegetation that had grown over much of the fossil deposit during this summer’s heavy rains. Although bruised and sore, the students were pleased to hear that their hard work will pay off for the hundreds of families and school groups that will visit Dinosaur Park in the coming year. Dinosaur Park provides citizens of Prince George’s County and the greater central Maryland region an opportunity to take part in the exciting process of scientific discovery, nurturing young minds and instilling enthusiasm for exploring the natural world. Thanks in part to the yearly efforts of the College Park Scholars, this rare resource will continue to be available to the public, free of charge.