There are many tourist places where you can pan for gold (such as Raccoon Mountain Caverns near us) and there are places where you can really pan for gold in streams across the U.S. When we were learning about the California Gold Rush we just bought a panning kit online (for about $13) and did some gold panning at our own kitchen table. First we used the bag of sand with fool’s gold (pyrite) in it that was provided for practice. Then we worked on another bag that contained tiny bits of gold, silver, copper, and hematite. The kids were actually more successful just digging their fingers through the wet stuff than using the panning method. We did find one 2 mm piece of gold, and it was neat to see it in this nugget form (with a magnifying glass!). It was fun and gave us a small taste of what panning for gold was like. Having grown up in California, I was familiar with the history of the 1849 California Gold Rush. However, in studying this with my kids, I learned that Alabama also had a gold rush! Gold was first discovered in Alabama about 1830. By 1836 there was a lot of excitement and many gold fields. In 1842 the news of one particular strike spread furiously and brought many people to the area (Goldville). However, when the news of the 1849 California strike arrived, most of the gold miners left Alabama for California.
Engimama
What a fun project! My kids would love this. Check this site out on Gold mines.
http://www.nchistoricsites.org/reed/reed.htm
There are several gem mines near us.My daughter has been to this one on a class trip ( when she attended public school) and loved it.
http://www.hiddenitegems.com/
Vicki aka homeschooling kat
Thanks for the links; those are exactly the kinds of places we love to visit. If we are ever in North Carolina we will check them out! Susan