(Programme Sample 1)

This day explores the difficulties faced and overcome by miners, gives practical experience of three mining methods and the impact on both environment and the social structure of the gold rush period.

• Visit to the Gold Panning area. Students are taught how to pan and get their own gold sample. Sluice gun demonstration.
• Power Point presentation about the West Coast Gold Rushes and mining for Gold.
• Team decision making game. Students decide what a miner would need from an informative shopping list.
• Gold Rush Game: A short scramble to find "gold" from a seeded field, to discover why there were strict rules on the goldfields.
• Get into costume and head for the gold claim where they learn how to pan for gold and collect their own gold sample..
• Team activity.  Collect a selection of mining equipment from the Miner's Store then make it into a secure pack. Teams then have to carry their pack on a walk through the bush to the gold mining site.
• Set up camp. Teams have to construct a shelter for their belongings, peg out their gold mining claim and then they can pan for gold.
• Making Damper Bread. Each team takes a turn at mixing and cooking damper bread over an open fire. (If additional supervision is available and fire regulations allow).
• Review and evaluate. What was life like for miners in the 1860's? How did their conditions compare with those of today? What did the students learn about themselves and how they interact with others?

A day best suited to Y5 and older. It is a day of physical activity that provides good insight into life for early miners on the West Coast. There is an emphasis on team work and decision making.

One teacher's comments:

"It was a great opportunity to observe my class at work. To see who were the leaders and who were the followers. An opportunity for some unexpected children to shine."