Make Your Own Panning for Gold Adventure Trip

I have been researching all types of fun summer trips to try. They all have one thing in common. They are expensive! One of the trips I was really excited about was the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. Kids can actually dig for real diamonds and keep what they find.

 

However, it was Sunday night, and I wanted somewhere I could go Monday while I was off. I was looking for a day trip. I decided to make my own summer adventure trip for only a few dollars.

I went out in our backyard and found three broken tree limbs. Then I hunted down three bandanas from our house for our lunches. I tied them up in Tom Sawyer style. The boys were very entertained by their lunch sacks.

 

 

Next, I found a free river at The Big Rocks Park in Glen Rose, Texas. I am pretty sure most of you can find a creek or something nearby that would suffice for your own gold mining or panning adventure.

 

Supplies:

Tin foil pans with holes poked in the bottom

Plastic gems

Gold Painted rocks (gold nuggets)

Treasure bags

 

Upon arrival at our "gold panning site," we let the boys use skewer sticks to poke holes in the their tin foil sleuce. I had prepared ziplock bags with dirt and treasures hidden inside.

 

I poured a bag in each child's handmade sleuce, and they got to work! Hopefully you can see the gold rocks in the pan above. They knew it was fake and they were still excited by their discoveries.

 

My youngest thought he hit the jack pot!

 

I also created small bags to hook on to their belts, for additional treasures they found. I got the idea from this months Family Fun Magazine. Click here for directions on their Explorer Bag. It is made out of a produce sack and duck tape. I made ours smaller, and then put clips on them, so the boys could wear them in the water without losing them. It made the perfect treasure pouch.

 

Even the little princess enjoyed the morning activities.

 

 

Sweet brothers! (No they don't always get along that well!) I think they truly enjoyed our day trip adventure!! Good luck planning your own.