During the Gold Rush Program students from Placer County proved that there is nothing like real gold to trigger gold fever. One of our docents, a gold miner, brought large shiny pieces of gold to share. At the end of the day, students answered numerous questions about the gold rush. As a final question our Program Manager, Ralph Gibson asked students to identify the types of Gold in his hand.It was as though the sky had fallen. Children were shouting, leaning forward, and asking questions at the same time. Raised arms were waving about. Finally when the room quieted down a voice squeaked, “Is it real?” Mr. Gibson and Mr. Albrecht explained it was indeed real and the value of the two samples totaled about $8,000.00. More shock and commotion followed. Then the questions came. How much was their gold worth? Mr. Gibson explained that each student had found about $1.50 worth of gold. One student excitedly explained that at her school students sell nachos for that price! Another proclaimed “He’s rich! No wonder people look for gold.”
I noticed many pairs of eyes dart from the big specimens in Mr. Gibson’s hand back to the tiny flakes in their own vial. Students left still chatting about finding more gold. The entire fourth grade had come down with a bad case of gold fever!
