Children’s birthdays

GOLD RUSH IN FELL – CHILDREN’S BIRTHDAYS AT THE SLATE MINE (GROUPS OF AT LEAST 10 PAYING PERSONS)

Child-friendly tour

We take your group on a child-friendly tour, teaching the children how the miners became dwarfs through factors such as child labour, an unbalanced diet, and back-breaking mining work. We’ll tell you why bats hibernate here in winter, and what the “fool’s gold” is all about. The birthday child will receive a large rubber bat as a souvenir, and the other children will receive a smaller one.

Gold washing at the mine well

The birthday child can then try their hand at washing “gold” (fool’s gold) at the mine well with a gold miner’s pan. Miners use the term wash to mean separating a mineral from the dead rock. The differing weights of the minerals create differing levels of buoyancy in the water, enabling the sand to be washed out. The fool’s gold (pyrite) is a sulphur-iron compound which looks like gold. The birthday child will receive a test tube full of pyrite (with successful gold washing also guaranteed).

Treasure hunt in the mine

The children will look for semiprecious stones in the mine, which have been hidden by the mine guide beforehand.

Light snack/refreshment

Participants will then receive a hot dog and cold drink of lemonade, coke or juice (adults also have the option of a cup of coffee). A birthday cake can also be ordered.

You determine the duration of the visit!

By incorporating other game options or a hike along the mine trail (1-3 hours depending on route), you can set the duration of your stay from approx. 2 hours to “open ended”, based on your requirements.

There are lots of tunnels to discover along the trail running just near the mine. These will be of great interest to the children, so please bring along any torches you may have to allow the children to see into the dark, grilled tunnels.  You can also explore the Walli tunnel between the car park and info centre/mine.

Please bring weatherproof clothing and torch!