Field Trips: Jeffers Petroglyphs

Jeffers Petroglyphs is home to roughly 5,000 sacred rock carvings made by the ancestors of today’s Native Americans. Programs incorporate history, anthropology, archaeology, and biology, connecting students with those who traveled our continent in ancient times.

Core experience

All field trips are outdoors and include a tour of the rock carvings, atlatl program, prairie walk, bison rub, and three sisters garden. Please dress for the weather.

Tour of the rock carvings (petroglyphs)

Students are introduced to ancient rock carvings (petroglyphs) on site and explore the symbols, their possible meanings, and information about the people that made them.

Atlatl Station

Learn about the importance of the atlatl (spear thrower) as an important hunting tool used before the bow and arrow. Students can test their skill and use an atlatl to throw a spear at a bison target. 

Prairie Walk

On the way to the rock carvings a discussion of the prairie is held, important blooming plants are identified, and students learn how prairie plants adapt and survive through drought and fire. Build in extra time for your students to explore an additional ¾ mile grass trail that begins at the rock face and allows more opportunities to enjoy the prairie. 

Bison Rub

Students marvel at the outcrop of quartzite polished by bison over thousands of years. In this activity students will explore the cultural, ecological and historic connections between people, bison and the prairie.

Three Sisters Garden

Students will learn about the Three Sisters Garden – a Native American traditional method of planting. The Three Sisters include corn, beans and squash that are grown together in a way that nourish each other.