When we arrived we were running late. We had no idea where we were going to get to the suburban community college campus and once we got there we had no idea where we were going within the shockingly large campus. When we finally found the grassy hill where the egg "hunt" was taking place it was utter chaos. Long story short, we missed the hunt for Gabriella's age group. Fortunately, there was a lady handing out rocks to children who didn't get any. Gabriella was quite satisfied with her shiny piece of petrified wood and chunk of polished quartz and we decided to check out the rest of the rock show.
At one of the very first tables we stopped at the vendor asked if Gabriella and Juliana had gotten any (plastic) eggs. I told him that we had missed the hunt, but that Gabriella had gotten a couple rocks at the end. He promptly pulled out two pink eggs that contained "gold" necklaces. Many of the tables we stopped at had a basket of free rocks or shells for Gabriella to choose from. Overall, the vendors were pretty terrific. Most of them allowed the girls to touch some of the stones and were willing to explain how the rocks were geolocically created, where they were found, what they were made of etc... Gabriella was even able to pet some prehistoric fish...
For a show full of small shiny items, some fragile and many valuable I was really impressed with the patience that most of the exhibitors had for children. We also watched demonstrations on wire wrapping, soap stone carving and faceting. And of course, we saw enough beads to make any little girls day.
One of the neatest things that they offered was a rock "treasure hunt." For $.50 you could get a tub full of smooth wood pellets and small polished rocks. We got a tub for both girls and enjoyed being able to sit and sift through them as a family. In the end, this was WAY preferable to a steep hillside full of scrambling children competing over plastic eggs. We got a tub for both girls. Gabriella intently picked out her treasures while (a carefully supervised) Juliana was content to transfer wood pellets and rocks alike into her baggie and then back to the tub again. Every once in awhile a rock would catch her attention and she would examine it carefully. She could've played that way for hours. (I think Jonathan could've played that way for hours too.)
We could've easily left with plenty of stones to add to Gabriella's collection and only out the $1 for the two treasure hunt tubs, but Daddy found a small package of purple and white semi-precious stone beads and he agreed to help Gabriella make a special necklace for Easter . All in all, a lot of fun (and dare I say... learning) was had for $4. I'd say the rock show was a hidden gem.
1 comment:
You are such good parents! In the almost 3 years you've lived in Portland, you have found the most fantastic places to go to sight-see and have fun. We are thrilled that our little granddaughters are being exposed to so many varied, cultural experiences.
Kathryn
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