Natural Treasures

Summer isn't over just yet, so we're trying to squeeze a few projects and outings into our days. One outing we recently took was to a working gold mine.

The mine has a small history museum offering a self-guided tour to visitors.

After the tour, we had the opportunity to learn how to pan for gold and then to give it a try. After about 20 minutes of panning, it was clear to my why people were so excted to add some industry and efficiency to the process--panning is tedious and tiring!

When the panning was completed, we moved to gem mining--that process was much easier! The children marveled over the rocks that showed up as their sand washed away and enjoyed learning what each color they saw represented. We got a variety of gems, which just added to the excitement. It was actually just as fun to match the rocks to their name as it was to secure them.

When all of the work was done, we took the time to check out the mine store where they offered to turn our raw gems into cut (and even set) gems. They had jewelry already created to buy as well. Other treasures in the store were colorful geodes cut for display, gem trees (quite pretty), and many other trinkets. Exploring the store was a great way to close out our trip. The drive was long, but everyone agreed that it was well worth the time. :-)