Primary schools throughout Central Otago have been learning how to pan for gold recently in the build-up to the Gold 150 celebrations - when schools will go pan to pan in the New Zealand Gold Panning Competitions.
Arrowtown 150 co-ordinator Julie Hughes said the free lessons, funded by the Otago Gold Heritage Trust, taught children about gold-panning techniques with a view to picking some "enthusiastic gold panners" to compete against other schools in the October competitions, when children would pan for real gold and keep whatever they found.
This would be the competition's 21st year and it would be held in Arrowtown.
Mrs Hughes said the trust wanted to expand the competition and had therefore added more categories - including the schools section.
Following the gold-panning lessons at Queenstown Primary, 20 children had registered to be part of its team.
Children would be selected to form the team and compete against other schools across the district, from Roxburgh to Makarora and Glenorchy.
"There are 26 schools in the region but at the moment I've had about five confirm dates [for the gold-panning lessons]. The rest are looking at when they can work it into their school programme."
Mrs Hughes said all schools in the district were studying the Gold 150 celebrations as part of the 2012 curriculum, also provided through the Otago Gold Heritage Trust.
"One of the elements [of the curriculum] was getting into the schools and teaching children about the historical sites we have. It's making sure they realise the importance and significance of historical sites."
Another element was teaching children about the importance of gold mining to the region - and teaching them traditional techniques used by early settlers.
"Queenstown Primary School had a blast.
"They absolutely loved it.
"They want to go off now and gold pan wherever.
"Gold panning can be done by anyone - it doesn't matter if you're 8 or 80."
Mrs Hughes said Dudley's Cottage owner Scott Stevens had provided every child who went through the gold-panning lessons with a two-for-one voucher to go gold panning.
Two thousand vouchers had been provided so far, with more available when those ran out.
