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 Hiddenite Gems,
Inc.
Since 1987:
Proudly Presenting One of North Carolina's Finest
Educational Field Trip Programs
The
EMERALD HOLLOW MINE
Educational
Field Trip
Our popular field
trip program is designed to offer a "hands on" Earth
Science learning experience that is both educational and
fun. The program is geared to the educational level of
each individual group. Be it first, third, fifth,
seventh grade students, gifted or challenged students,
scouts, college geology majors, senior citizens or other
adults, young or old, everybody enjoys this educational
adventure! Each student will find gems!
Program
Details Helpful
Hints Pricing
Reservations | | |
Program Details
Arrival: Upon your arrival, we will greet your
group and assist you in parking your buses or cars. They will also
need to bring large cool whip or butter containers to put their
finds in. They should wear old tennis shoes or flip flops and bring
towels for the creeking segment of the program. Change of clothes,
lunches, etc. may stay with the vehicle until ready to
return.
In most cases, if your
group is larger than 30-35 participants, the group will be divided
into separate individual groups of 25 to 30 participants per group.
(Example: If you have 100 participants in your group, the group will
be divided into three individual sub groups of 33... If your group
has 125 participants, they would be divided into four groups)
Pre-assigning individual groups prior to your arrival will help
expedite this division. (Allow approximately fifteen minutes for
this process.)
Program
Introduction: Your group(s) will then be assigned to a guide who
will welcome them and lead them to their first activity. The program
consists of four planned activities. Each activity, including move
time, will last approximately thirty minutes. (Allow two hours for
this segment of the program.) We will adjust this time as needed, up
or down as your schedule permits. The more time, the more fun they
will have.
The planned program activities are:
1. Earth Science
Lesson: Participants will learn about natural earth movements
such as volcanoes, mud slides, earthquakes, plate tectonics and how
gemstones formed in hydrothermal vein formations. This information
will be presented in such a fashion that students will be able to
relate to it in their textbooks. They will have the opportunity to
see and touch a wide assortment of gems and rocks. They will learn
how rocks and minerals play a very important role in our everyday
lives. Industrial and household uses of rocks and minerals, how they
are part of our diets and how they create job opportunities will
also be discussed. |
 Creekin' in Emerald
Creek |
2. Creeking: The creekin' activity is
everyone's favorite. Here, participants will learn about
density, weight and gravity, and how each of these play a role
in why gold and gemstones are so often found in the creek. A
demonstration will be given on how to pan for gold and how to
find the gemstones in the creek bed. Emerald Creek is only
ankle to knee deep, so the student can go creekin' to find
more gems. After the presentation, participants are allowed
some time to look for gemstones in the creek. Emerald Creek is
breathtakingly beautiful. Be sure to watch for the many
varieties of wild flowers along the trails!
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3. Sluicing: This is also a favorite!
At the Sluiceway, your group will learn how to "sluice" a
bucket of "ore" so that they may find the gems hidden in it.
Each participant will receive one bucket of ore to sluice.
These buckets are filled with unprocessed ore taken directly
from the mine. Most all of these buckets will produce some
colorful gems which are sure to bring plenty of excited ooohhs
and ahhhhs! We also have gemstone identification charts in the
sluicing area that will show the names of the gems, as well as
what they look like after they have been cut into finished
gemstones. |
 Sluicing! | |
 Surface Collecting! |
4. Surface Collecting: Participants are escorted
to a safe mining area on the "East Ridge." Here, they will
learn about erosion and what it has to do with finding gems on
the surface of the ground, North Carolina mining laws and the
E.P.A. After the presentation, time is allotted for
participants to do some surface collecting (look for gemstones
on the surface in the mining area) on their own. With more
than sixty-three different naturally occurring gems and
minerals to be found here, there are always plenty of good
rocks found on this activity.
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Lunch Time: By the time they
have completed the four scheduled activities, your group will
have probably worked up quite an appetite. We have a beautiful
wooded picnic area with picnic tables near Emerald Creek where
your group can enjoy lunch. Please remind your group to help
keep Emerald Hollow beautiful. There are designated trash
containers in the picnic areas, but we appreciate your
bringing along large trash bags to help keep your groups'
trash contained. No "Don't Feed the Animals" signs
here! (You will probably want to allow approximately
thirty minutes for lunch.) |
 Lunch
Time! | |
 Bucket Fever!
|
Free Time: After lunch, there are
numerous activities your group may enjoy doing until your
scheduled departure time. If you allow, they are welcome to
return to the creek or the surface collecting area to look for
more gemstones at no charge. They are also welcome to return
to the sluiceway to wash additional buckets of ore, although
they will be required to purchase the additional buckets of
ore. Additional buckets of ore may be purchased for $2.00. For
the more serious, we also have $5.00 ruby & sapphire
buckets and our ever popular $10.00, 5 gallon "Super Bucket",
which is loaded with a wide variety of
gemstones.
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 Showin' Off Finds! |
They may also visit the gift shop
where we offer very affordable gemstone jewelry, gifts and
mineral specimens for sale.
There are gemstone
identi-fication charts that will help your group learn more
about their finds of the day and plenty of helpful staff to
answer any questions. |
 Easiest
Prospecting! |
|
Free time is also a great time for
picture taking or enjoying all the nature the mine has to
offer. There is abundant wildlife - ducks, chickens,
turkeys, rabbits and friendly resident dogs and cats for
everybody to enjoy!
Schedule: The educational
program and field trip lasts about 2 ˝ to 3 ˝ hours. Please
plan to spend as much of the day, from 8:30 to 4:30 as
possible.
Helpful Hints: Preparations so that your
visit will be more fun:
- Allow
all the time that you can.
- Bring
a large margarine or cool whip container, or the like with
the child's name on it for the gems that they will
find.
- Wear
old play clothes and shoes. Plan on getting soil on you!
Bring a change of clothes and shoes, an old towel to dry
your feet after creeking, and sunscreen and bug
spray.
- Please collect money in advance (parents same
price as child). We need all the time available for field
trip activities.
- Dress
appropriately for the weather! Remember, we will be outdoors
and it can get chilly in early spring and late fall. Also,
advise your group to bring rain gear if the possibility of
rain is in the forecast. For your convenience, we have
provided a link
to our local weather forecast here.
(Note: Rain,
sleet or snow - if at all possible we will accommodate
your group.)
Pricing: The cost of our
educational field trip is $10.00 per participant. (College
Students - $15.00) Two adults as chaperones per 30 school age
children will be allowed to participate for free. All other
participants will be charged. We also have primitive campsites
available for scout troops who would like to make the trip a
weekend camping outing as well. They will not be charged
camping fees if participating in our educational field trip
program to earn the geology badge.
NOTE: Pricing for
our field trip program is greatly discounted from our regular
fees. Please do not ask for additional discounts, more free
adults than already allotted, etc...
Reservations: To make reservations,
call 828-635-1126. Dottie or Carolyn will assist you with
setting a date and time, and can answer any questions that you
might have. When making your reservations, it will be helpful
to have the following information available.
- Name
of School, Group or Organization
- Name
of Contact Person
- Contact Person's Phone Number and Fax
Number
- Mailing Address
- Approximate number of field trip participants
and grade level or age
- Teacher passes given by number of
students
- Arrival Time (If you are late, we will adjust
to meet your schedule.)
Note:
Drive time can be estimated by clicking
here.
Click
here for detailed map and driving
directions.
- Departure Time (Stay as late as you can, it
will not cost more. It's just more fun.)
- We
have new large restroom facilities.
We hope that you will come to
recognize this "hands on" field trip as an important Earth
Science teaching tool and like many other public schools,
scout troops and other organizations, this will become a
regular part of your annual
curriculum.
Hiddenite
Gems, Inc.
P.O. Box 276 / 484 Emerald
Hollow Mine Drive
Hiddenite, NC 28636
Toll
Free:1-866-600-GEMS or 1-866-600-4367
Local: (828)
632-3394
Field Trip Reservations and Information: (828)
635-1126
Fax: (828) 635-7986
E-mail:mailto:info@hiddenitegems.com
Owned
and operated by Dottie
Watkins
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