Armand Bayou Nature Center's next Second Saturday event will include a discussion of plants used by American Indians and artifacts similar to these. Photo by Texas Archeological Research Lab.Ever wonder what happened eons ago before European settlers arrived on the shores of Galveston Bay?

Find out March 13 at Armand Bayou Nature Center’s Second Saturday event, which will explore the archeology and history of the area through speakers and exhibitors.

The nature center, 8500 Bay Area Boulevard, hosts its monthly event to help local residents connect with nature close to home.

Alecya Gallaway, an award-winning environmental historian with the University of Houston Clear Lake, will discuss the ethnobotany of the Armand Bayou watershed, or how people of an earlier culture used area plants.

“For nearly a century, archeologists have been locating Native American campsites by the vegetation on them," Gallaway said. "This change is generally attributed to the change in soil, but after traveling throughout the Galveston Bay Region, I recognized that these plants were more than soil indicators; they are a living record of plants used by the tribes living there.”

Plants were used for food, medicine, shelter, clothing and ceremonies.

Tom Nuckols, a member and past president of the Houston Archaeological Society, will talk about Upper Texas Coast archeology.

Elizabeth Aucoin, a local anthropologist, will provide a hands-on exhibit of pottery pieces, bones and projectile points. A member of the Texas Archeological Stewardship Network, she has participated in several major excavation sites in Texas and will share knowledge of a Coastal Shell Midden Site.

At the event, children can participate in an archaeological dig of their own.

Admission to Second Saturdays is free to members, $3 for other adults and $1 for children ages 4-12 and senior adults age 60 and older. For more information, phone 281-474-2551.