State parks to celebrate Archaeology Day

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's St. Joseph Peninsula State Park and the Constitution Convention Museum State Park will be hosting the annual Archaeology Day event next Friday and Saturday.

Archaeologist Della Scott-Ireton of the Florida Public Archaeology Network, University of West Florida, will provide a lecture on "Shipwrecks of Northwest Florida," which will focus on the three state underwater Archaeologist Preserves along the Florida panhandle. The "Massachusetts" in Pensacola, the "Tarpon" in Panama City and the "Vamar" in Port St. Joe will be the main topics. The lecture will be held at the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on Friday, March 26 at 6 p.m. ET at the park's visitor center. Guests are asked to bring their own lawn chairs, stools, etc.

On Saturday, March 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET at the Constitution Convention Museum State Park, Della and fellow archaeologists from the university will have displays set up for viewing. The public are invited to ask questions about the archaeological history of the area, and can bring items of antiquities for identification.

Entrance fees to the park and museum will be waved for these events.

For more information on the archaeology day events, contact Joe Mitchell at the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, 850-227-1327 or visit www.floridastateparks.org.

The St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is located at 8899 Cape San Blas Road in Port St. Joe.

The Constitution Convention Museum State Park is located at 200 Allen Memorial Way in Port St. Joe.