Travel Back in TimeTake your class on an unforgettable gold rush field trip! FIELDGUIDES' Malakoff Diggins program lets students experience California Gold Rush history first-hand. Our program takes place in the beautiful Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park located in the Sierra Nevada foothills. These rolling yellow pine belt forests are the home to California's largest and most profitable hydraulic mining site, the Malakoff mine. Students get to explore the mine and marvel at the socially transformative and environmentally destructive powers of the Gold Rush. While learning about the Gold Rush's lasting impacts on California students try their hands at gold panning along Humbug Creek, search for quartz crystals in the old hydraulic mine, and tour the cemetery and ghost town of North Bloomfield, all guided by our wonderfully creative, knowledgeable, and fun staff.
Gold PanningPerhaps nothing about California's Gold Rush is more exciting to a 4th Grader than the chance of actually finding gold. Like the 49ers before them, they are easily susceptible to the highly contagious gold fever. At FIELDGUIDES we use that natural enthusiasm as a means to not only teach students how to pan for gold, but also to explain what the life of a miner was really like. While gold panning is no easy task, actually finding gold in the bottom of your pan reminds us why miners couldn't help but shout EUREKA!
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"It is a fine thing to see people in dead earnest about anything. Even so dull of business as gold-getting may be interesting. Nature scatters grains of gold in gravel beds, and so the crowds in cities spring to life and are scattered over the farthest wildernesses ...one must admire the energy of those who seek it in the face of cold, hunger, and self-denying toil. But in the search many become insane and strike about blindly in fierce excitement, moved by the mere lust of wealth than appreciation of its right use." John Muir |
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Of the many gold rushes throughout history, the California Gold Rush of 1849 sets itself apart. The promise of striking it rich in the so-called "gold fields" of the Sierra Nevada drew thousands of enthusiastic newcomers to the gold mining industry, setting off a wave of creative new inventions. The 49ers were responsible for the rise of gold mining's greatest and most destructive tool: the hydraulic monitor. With all its success and folly, hydraulic mining quite literally changed the landscape of California as we know it. Malakoff Diggins is California's largest hydraulic mine site. Few experiences are more awe-inspiring than standing at the bottom of a man-made pit over a mile long, half mile wide, and 600 feet deep. The majesty of the Diggins brings home the true impact of the California Gold Rush.
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North Bloomfield Ghost Town TourOur programs are capped off by a tour of the ghost town of North Bloomfield. The old town has a general store, pharmacy, saloon, stable, businessman's home, and a gold rush museum open for the students to explore. The town tour offers a contrasting view to the miners' side of the California Gold Rush, and students get a better picture of who really made money during that era.
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The Hendy Giant hydraulic monitor.
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All of FIELDGUIDES' programs have a strong emphasis on outdoor living, student autonomy, and building community. Our programs have a unique "family-style" camping format that helps students grow socially and emotionally. By sleeping outside and helping with daily chores students gain a deeper connection to themselves, others, and the natural world. Find out more about our camping format.
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