The California gold rush is one of my favorite historical periods to learn about. I grew up in an old gold mining town in the Sierra Nevada foothills in northern California. The rich history of the area instilled in me a deep interest of this period. In this post I share some fun activities and resources for learning about the California gold rush with your children.
A Little Gold Rush History:
On January 24th, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in the Sacramento Valley in northern California. This event would inspire hundreds of thousands of people to move west in hopes of making their fortune. It was one of the largest mass migrations of people in modern history.
People came to California from all over the world. Many came across the country in covered wagons. Others sailed on ships. Gold was pulled from rivers with gold pans, and sluice boxes. It was also mined from the mountains with explosives and hand tools.
Most people who came to California seeking riches didn't end up rich, but a few lucky miners did find their fortune. On April 12th, 1859 a workman at the Willard Claim on the Feather River in northern California, found a 54 pound gold nugget. The nugget was worth about $10,000. It was the largest true gold nugget ever found in California.
Gold Rush Activities:
Backyard Gold Mine- Paint a few pebbles with metallic gold paint ahead of time. Hide them in a sandbox or a tub filled with sand, pebbles, or dirt. Have your child mine for the gold pebbles using plastic sand tools or some old kitchen utensils.
Go Gold Panning- Get your hands on a couple gold pans and give it a try! You can order them pretty cheap on Amazon. And check out this video for some quick tips:
-Gold Panning from Wilderness Survival
Gold Rush Craft- Pretend you're a prospector and have to make a map of an area of uncharted gold country. Use whatever art supplies you prefer; crayons, markers, paper, maybe even watercolors! If you want to make a map that looks old, try using a section cut from a brown paper bag instead of regular white paper. After your done drawing your map, crumble the paper up a bit and then flatten it back out to make it look worn.
Gold Rush Math- Food and other basic commodities were expensive in California during the gold rush. This is because demand was high and supply was low. A single egg would sometimes sell for as much as $3! That would be about $80 today, for just one egg! Using the following gold rush prices, have your child calculate the total for various items. You can also have your child calculate the difference between gold rush prices and today's prices.
-Beef: $10 per lb.
-Butter: $20 per lb.
-Rice: $8 per lb.
-Cheese: $25 per lb.
-Boots: $6 per pair
-Shovel: $35 each
Gold Rush Writing Activity- Make a journal with some construction paper, lined paper, and yarn. Then have your child write in it pretending they are a miner far from home, hoping to strike it rich.
To make the journal, fold a piece of brown construction paper in half. This will be your journal's cover. Cut several pages of lined paper to fit inside the construction paper. Using a hold punch, punch two holes near the spine of your journal and then bind together with the yarn.
Resources For Learning About The Gold Rush
-California Gold Rush from Ducksters has lots of kid friendly information about the California Gold Rush.
-California Gold Rush Facts from Kiddle has general information about the gold rush, written for kids. It also has lots of great pictures to look at.
-The California Gold Rush cartoon from Simple History is a short fun video about the California Gold Rush.
-The California Gold Rush Of 1849 is another short video full of facts about the California Gold Rush.
-And don't forget to check your local public library for books about the gold rush. The public library is an awesome resource, use it!
If you enjoyed this post, check out:
-8 Activities Inspired By Farmer Boy
-Learning About The Human Body Part 1: The Skeletal And Muscular Systems
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A Little Gold Rush History:
On January 24th, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in the Sacramento Valley in northern California. This event would inspire hundreds of thousands of people to move west in hopes of making their fortune. It was one of the largest mass migrations of people in modern history.
People came to California from all over the world. Many came across the country in covered wagons. Others sailed on ships. Gold was pulled from rivers with gold pans, and sluice boxes. It was also mined from the mountains with explosives and hand tools.
Most people who came to California seeking riches didn't end up rich, but a few lucky miners did find their fortune. On April 12th, 1859 a workman at the Willard Claim on the Feather River in northern California, found a 54 pound gold nugget. The nugget was worth about $10,000. It was the largest true gold nugget ever found in California.
Gold Rush Activities:
Backyard Gold Mine- Paint a few pebbles with metallic gold paint ahead of time. Hide them in a sandbox or a tub filled with sand, pebbles, or dirt. Have your child mine for the gold pebbles using plastic sand tools or some old kitchen utensils.
Go Gold Panning- Get your hands on a couple gold pans and give it a try! You can order them pretty cheap on Amazon. And check out this video for some quick tips:
-Gold Panning from Wilderness Survival
Gold Rush Craft- Pretend you're a prospector and have to make a map of an area of uncharted gold country. Use whatever art supplies you prefer; crayons, markers, paper, maybe even watercolors! If you want to make a map that looks old, try using a section cut from a brown paper bag instead of regular white paper. After your done drawing your map, crumble the paper up a bit and then flatten it back out to make it look worn.
Gold Rush Math- Food and other basic commodities were expensive in California during the gold rush. This is because demand was high and supply was low. A single egg would sometimes sell for as much as $3! That would be about $80 today, for just one egg! Using the following gold rush prices, have your child calculate the total for various items. You can also have your child calculate the difference between gold rush prices and today's prices.
-Beef: $10 per lb.
-Butter: $20 per lb.
-Rice: $8 per lb.
-Cheese: $25 per lb.
-Boots: $6 per pair
-Shovel: $35 each
Gold Rush Writing Activity- Make a journal with some construction paper, lined paper, and yarn. Then have your child write in it pretending they are a miner far from home, hoping to strike it rich.
To make the journal, fold a piece of brown construction paper in half. This will be your journal's cover. Cut several pages of lined paper to fit inside the construction paper. Using a hold punch, punch two holes near the spine of your journal and then bind together with the yarn.
Resources For Learning About The Gold Rush
-California Gold Rush from Ducksters has lots of kid friendly information about the California Gold Rush.
-California Gold Rush Facts from Kiddle has general information about the gold rush, written for kids. It also has lots of great pictures to look at.
-The California Gold Rush cartoon from Simple History is a short fun video about the California Gold Rush.
-The California Gold Rush Of 1849 is another short video full of facts about the California Gold Rush.
-And don't forget to check your local public library for books about the gold rush. The public library is an awesome resource, use it!
If you enjoyed this post, check out:
-8 Activities Inspired By Farmer Boy
-Learning About The Human Body Part 1: The Skeletal And Muscular Systems
Follow me on:
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