3 ms·

We have "mined" crystals in Arkansas before. Which really consisted of my kids and I digging around in the dirt until we found something. It was fun though. An

• salmo 7y ago
  We just did this over Memorial Day weekend and it was a blast. My 7 year old daughter starting coming home with "cool" rocks in her pocket last year and we just encouraged the interest, went to a local geology show, and got hooked. Now I'm in the back yard cleaning 50 lbs of quartz, clay, and rock in various sizes. I don't know how ethically we mined (dug in dirt), however, since I heavily relied on my daughters as underage and super-distracted workers. Oh and I had to raise my voice at my wife (not normally super-nerdy) to tell her to stop, that we had to take the truck back . But she was hooked, and the story has entered family lore.
• blunte 7y ago
  Outside the mouths of mines (old gold mines, such as in the Colorado mountains) are great places to find crystals and rocks with formations. If you're willing to smash bigger rocks, sometimes you're rewarded with an internal structure.