How to Pan for Gold at a Birthday Party

Children can pan for gold at a cowboy birthday party.

Little boys love to dress up as cowboys and pirates. If you have a son under the age of 10, you can make his next party a cowboy or pirate theme. One activity that can be prepared ahead of time and played at the party is panning for gold. You can even incorporate a small history lesson into the activity as children practice panning for gold--just like the men did in the Wild West.

Things You'll Need

• Small rocks
• Bucket
• Water
• Paper towel
• Newspaper
• Gold spray paint
• Kiddie pool
• Sand
• Cake pans

Instructions

1. Hunt for small rocks around your yard or a nearby park. The rocks should have a rough appearance since gold nuggets aren't naturally smooth. Collect about 10 to 20 rocks per child, and use a bucket as a temporary container for the rocks.

2. Rinse the dirt off of the rocks and dry them with a paper towel. Set them on a few sheets of newspaper.

3. Spray paint each rock with gold paint that is labeled as waterproof. Set the rocks aside for 12 to 24 hours so that they can dry completely.

4. Fill a kiddie pool with sand. Hide the gold nuggets in the sand.

5. Add water to the sand in the kiddie pool. You need enough water so that the children can swish the sand around in their pans to see if any gold nuggets are present.

6. Give each child a cake pan. Tell the kids to pan for gold by scooping up sand and twirling it around in the pan to see if they can find any gold.

Tips & Warnings

• Set-up a table of prizes that the kids can purchase with their gold nuggets.

• Incorporate a treasure-chest craft into the party and have the children place their gold nuggets inside.

References

• Boardman's Birthday Party Ideas: Pirate Party
• One Stop Birthday Ideas: Wild West Birthday Parties Are Lots of Fun