Weekend trip: Diamonds in the mud Kids Activities Blog

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and they should be; they're bright, glamorous, sparkling, and expensive…everything I would like to be.   Everything whatsoever mom would like to be.

And everything our recent diamond earthworks trip was not.

Two weeks ago, nosotros decided to pay a long-delayed visit to Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park, one of the few public diamond mines left and the only 1 in the earth with a finders-keepers policy.   Armed with shovels, pails, and snarky comments nearly the "accurateness" of the Weather Channel'due south seventy-and-sunny forecast, nosotros braced ourselves against the cold drizzle and headed out to start excavation.   Visions of sacks of diamonds and a triumphant return home danced before united states of america.

Any romantic thoughts of diamond mining were quickly dispelled when we saw the diamond field.

Originally formed when a diamond-begetting deposit was forced to the surface by some sort of volcanic activity (volcanoes? here? yikes!), the field here is still home to thousands of sparkly trivial stones.   People find diamonds– as many every bit several a day– and best of all, they become to go on them.

The problem is, they're and then hard to see. Nosotros're not talking behemothic, polished rocks conveniently set in gilt rings.   We're talking i-sixteenth-inch-diameter specks littered throughout a muddy morass.   And they are impossible to find.

Did you lot see any?   Neither did we.

We'd tried to time our visit with optimal weather.   During heavy rains, diamonds are driven to the surface and are easier to spot; the preceding day's drenching storms should accept churned upwards plenty, we assumed.

In our excitement about the scientific possibilities of a diamond-begetting eolith, we'd forgotten another simple scientific truth:

Dirt + h2o = mud.   A lot of information technology.

Like and then much mud, your kid gets stuck.

And and then when you try to extricate her, you kind of get stuck, besides.

And then when y'all get home, the mud clogs your washer.   It destroys your shoes.   It stays in stale chunks on the coats and breaks the dryer.   (True story.   Too true is the fact that we'd dropped dryer coverage from our homeowner'southward warranty the month before).

Like I said, a lot of mud.

But too, a lot of smiles.

To visit: Crater of Diamonds State Park is open twelvemonth-round; in addition to the diamond field, they have educational displays, campsites, and, seasonally, a mini-waterpark.

Location: Murfreesboro, Arkansas, almost 4 hours northeast of DFW, and only lx miles from Hot Springs, AR.   (Note: Hot Springs = nice baths = no more mud, and someone else cleans the tub.)

Don't forget: Safe boots.   Photographic camera.   A skillful sense of humor.

For more information: Crater of Diamonds State Park

______________________________________________

Contributor: Christina from The Twisting Kaleidoscope

Christina is the overworked and underpaid servant (read: female parent) of the Maiden, age three.   She blogs, writes, and changes her Facebook status ten times a 24-hour interval in a drastic try to ignore the stack of dishes on the counter.   When said dishes smash on the floor, she has new fodder for blogging.   And the cycle continues.

Kids Activities Blog is Holly's blogging home.

She is the co-author of 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! and The 101 Coolest Uncomplicated Science Experiments.

She is the mom of 3 boys ages 13, 15 & 17 who partially homeschools. She believes that you shouldn't have to buy stuff to accept fun when there is a kitchen junk drawer full of possibilities.

scheffeledweess.blogspot.com

Source: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/7984/weekend-trip-diamonds-in-the-mud/

Share this post