Okay, THIS is one way to make science class a whole lot more interesting!

Forget boring old textbooks for a minute — students in the Hudson Valley are getting the chance to literally dig into prehistoric history after the skeletal remains of a mastodon were discovered in an Orange County backyard.

Yep… a mastodon. As in a giant, prehistoric relative of the elephant that once roamed New York thousands of years ago.

Researchers from SUNY Orange and the New York State Museum have been working on the excavation, and they’ve already uncovered some pretty incredible pieces of the animal, including 11 ribs, several vertebrae, and bones from its feet.

And here’s the really cool part: SUNY Orange students aren't just standing around watching the experts do all the work.

They’re getting their hands dirty!

Students have been involved in fieldwork and laboratory analysis, giving them real-world experience in everything from excavation and research to examining and documenting the remains. It's the kind of hands-on experience you just can't get from a PowerPoint presentation.

And apparently, the prehistoric homework isn't finished yet.

SUNY Orange plans to have student volunteers help clean and conserve the mastodon remains, giving them an opportunity to help preserve this incredibly rare discovery for future researchers and generations to come.

Imagine being able to say, "Yeah, I helped uncover a mastodon."

Not exactly your average college résumé bullet point!

The discovery is a pretty amazing reminder that prehistoric history isn't always hiding in some far-off museum. Sometimes, it's literally buried in someone's backyard right here in the Hudson Valley.

So, if you're a student at SUNY Orange, keep an eye out. Your next great learning opportunity might be sitting under a pile of dirt — and it could be several thousand years old!

Move over, textbooks. The mastodon is officially taking over class!