Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park!  Last Friday, the Crater held its first day camp for kids entering 4^th-6^th grades.  Six kids attended the camp, including three from Murfreesboro and one each from Texas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.
  Our first day camp included activities focusing on rock and mineral collecting, diamond mining, and lapidary (the art of shaping rocks and minerals into decorations or jewelry).  Friday morning, Park Interpreter Margi helped the campers collect and learn about rocks and minerals in the search area.

  Afterwards, I demonstrated searching techniques for the campers before we paired up to go diamond mining.  It didn’t take long for the kids to become proficient diamond miners in their own right!  After a short break to cool off, Margi taught the kids more about their collections, and just before lunch they painted colorful, hand-sized pieces of jasper to make into rock pets!

  Following lunch at Kimberlite Café, Margi and I took the campers to our historic guard house to show them the park’s rock saws, grinding & polishing wheels, and rock tumbler.  We discussed how each is used, and I gave each camper a piece of genuine polished Crater jasper to take home.  We then returned to the Diamond Discovery Center classroom, where the kids decorated their pet rocks with eyes, legs, mouths, and antennae before changing into swimsuits for an afternoon at Diamond Springs Water Park!

  At the end of the day camp, most of the campers left for home while at least one remained to continue searching for diamonds.  Jack, a sixth-grader from Pennsylvania who came to Arkansas with his mom, was searching for diamonds Friday afternoon when he discovered a very flat, very shiny crystal.  Thinking it was a diamond, he brought it to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center Saturday morning to have it identified.  Sure enough, Jack’s diamond mining experience during the day camp paid off, and he found a nine point white diamond!

  As I registered his gem, Jack excitedly talked about returning to the Crater of Diamonds when he is “old enough to drive,” to spend two months searching for diamonds and polishing jasper.  His excitement clearly beamed through his smile as I snapped a photo of him holding his first diamond find.  And Jack wasn’t the only one excited; I was thrilled that he had made this once-in-a-lifetime memory.

  I hope that all of our day campers continue to make unforgettable memories this summer and that Jack will indeed eventually make it back to Arkansas and Crater of Diamonds State Park!

 

  If you have a child entering fourth, fifth, or sixth grade, there's still time to sign him or her up for our final exciting day camp, on Friday, July 29!  Call the park at 870-285-3116 and speak with a park interpreter to reserve a spot.  Cost is only $30 per child and includes all activities, snacks, lunch, and admission to Diamond Springs Water Park!  Space is limited; call for more information, or to sign your child up by Monday, July 25!

Search area last plowed:  June 9, 2011

 

Most recent significant precipitation:  July 5, 2011

 

Diamond finds for July 3 - 9, 2011 (100 points = one carat):

 

July 3 - David Anderson, Murfreesboro, AR, 7 pt. yellow, 82 pt. brown

 

July 4 - Jinny Greer, Holmesville, NE, 1 pt. yellow

 

July 6 - Debra & Mark Hall, Garland, TX, 3 pt. yellow