How would you like to be a real-life Indiana Jones, exploring some of the biggest historic sites and discovering new artifacts?

Rangers at Wilson's Creek think a new property they purchased was a major stagecoach road, and that they could possibly find the remnants of Moody's Blacksmith Shop.

They've brought in an archaeology group to solve that mystery. It's a group of students from MSU using this dig site as an outdoors classroom.

It's another day exploring this outdoors classroom as these MSU students sift and search through dirt in the 90-degree heat

"They get very intensive experience in the field working hands-on with the equipment that field archaeologists use," Dr. Holly Jones of the MSU Center for Archaeological Research says.

As the first group to dig beneath the surface here, the students and professors had to start from scratch.

"There's a lot of initial groundwork that gets done, we get out large grids and a do a lot of testing," Dr. Jones says.

Many of these students are working -- and sweating -- at an archaeological dig for the first time.

And making some of their first discoveries.

"When we find something we put it in a bag," one student says. "A Native American flake."

The stone probably fell off a Native American weapon.

"The best part is finding stuff and being the first person to see that in maybe 150 years," MSU senior Hayley Laird says.

They're also using tools most students don't have access to, like a proton magnetometer to help locate building foundations that were buried over time.

"It measures sub-surface anomalies which is basically underground disturbances," Laird says.

"We have found quite a lot of metal waste, possibly from blacksmithing, slag, coal," Dr. Jones says.

Many of these students are seniors who will graduate in just a few weeks, and they say one of the best parts about this program is getting out of the boring classroom and into the outdoors.

"I've always wanted to do archaeology. It's a completely different experience. I mean, we get to get outside every day. We're not pent up in a classroom. It's nice to work outdoors," MSU senior Ryan Harke says.

Laird says working on a real dig can be intimidating, but says she's learned more out here than in a real classroom.

"I ask about 100 questions a day. If there's a mistake it's not a big deal," she says. "We are still helping out but it's a learning experience at the same time."

The program lasts for six weeks this summer. The students are out there eight hours a day, five days a week, so it's almost like a full-time job for many of them.

Dr. Jones says in order to get hired in archaeology by a state or federal agency, students are required to have a class like this under their belts. And these students say this class is the real deal: a lot of hard work, a lot of swatting at bugs, and a lot of looking forward to that moment of discovery.