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The mere possibility of finding real treasure should be enough to entice your kids on a gold-panning adventure. And guess what? You may actually come home with some nuggets. According to the Gold Prospectors Association of America, 85 percent of the earth's gold is still out there somewhere, just waiting to be found.
Okay, odds are you won't strike the mother lode. But your trip can lead to other rich finds: a new stream to wade in, a shady brook to picnic beside. And the gold-panning process itself is a blast. You'll need a shovel, a plastic gold pan from a hobby shop (explained below), tweezers or a paintbrush for capturing gold flakes and a vial to safely hold any treasure you find. Panning techniques vary, but here's a simple strategy for separating the heavier gold from the silt and mud it's often buried in:
- HOW TO PAN FOR GOLD
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- Fill two thirds of your pan with gravel, sand and sediment from the riverbank, then top it off with stream water.
- Keeping the pan partially submerged, swirl it in a circular motion until the lighter sediment washes away.
- Push aside the rocks on top and—this is the moment of truth—see what's left at the very bottom of the pan.
- Look for material with a shiny yellow sheen, not stuff that twinkles like a crystal (probably just fool's gold).
Gold is actually quite widespread (it's been found in all 50 states). For tips on the best places to try panning, ask at a local hobby shop, search the Web for the home pages of prospecting clubs (Goldmaps provides lots of links) or contact your state's department of geology or minerals. The Gold Prospectors Association of America (800-551-9707) is another useful resource.
If, after your outing, your minors yearn to be miners, consider joining a local branch of the Gold Prospectors Association. You'll not only meet a friendly bunch willing to help you find gold, but you'll also have access to private land on which the club has mining rights.
- HOT TIPS
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MONEY SAVER: For about $6 at hobby, rock and hardware stores, you can buy a ribbed plastic gold pan with slits for water drainage that make sifting through rocky matter easier.
WEB RESOURCE: To mine prospectors for tips, log on to the Gold Prospectors Association of America.
Other great sites include:
2 Get Gold
California's Gold Rush Country
East Coast Prospector
Go For the Gold Tours
Gold Prospecting Expeditions, Inc.LIBRARY LINK: Gold! Gold! A Beginner's Handbook and Recreational Guide by Joseph Petralia.
INSIDE SCOOP: Look for sandbars on the inside bends of streams as a giveaway that gold may be near.
