Youth Pan for Gold at the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (NHTIC) continues its series of free Summer Youth Interpretive Programs with an August 6 program titled “Gold Panning.”
 
The program will run from 10-11 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the NHTIC. However, children will be able to pan for “gold” outside of the center from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
 
Participants will learn about the systems of trading and price gouging that prospectors encountered during the California Gold Rush. They will also construct their own scales and test them for balance.
 
“We often talk about finding the gold,” says Education Technician Stacey Moore, “but gold is worthless until traded. The miners couldn’t eat the gold.”
 
The Saturday Youth Interpretive Program series, geared for hands-on youth learning, runs from June 11 to August 27. Most of the programs are held from 10-11 a.m. All programs are free and open to the public. Young children require parental accompaniment.
 
For more information, please contact Stacey Moore at the NHTIC (307) 261-7780.
 
Other events at the NHTIC this weekend include:
Gold Prospectors Association Patio Talk                               August 6, 1-2 p.m.
Live Pioneer Music: Ana, Rachel and Friends                       August 7, 1-2 p.m.
 

Gold rush permanent exhibit at the NHTIC (BLM Photo: Emmet Pruss)

The NHTIC is a public-private partnership between the BLM and the National Historic Trails Center Foundation. The facility is located at 1501 N. Poplar Street, Casper, Wyoming.

The NHTIC is a part of the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS.) The areas of the NLCS are specifically designed to conserve, protect and restore the exceptional scientific, natural, cultural, ecological, historical, and recreation values of these treasured landscapes.
 
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.