Lac la Hache Elementary School principal Steve Carpenter says the June 2-3 field trip to Barkerville was "wonderful."
The class left the school at 5:30 a.m. and travelled to Barkerville, making a stopping in Williams Lake for breakfast.
When they arrived in Barkerville, they participated in a mining demonstration where they got to see how the old Cornish wheel used to help pump water out of the mine shafts and raise and lower the workers into the mine.
They also witnessed the sluice box in action and all the children were hired for $1 a day to work on the Sheep Skin Mining claim.
Then they made their way to the old school house for an 1876 school lesson with Mrs. Thompson, the local head mistress.
Following that they split up with the intermediate students heading to the grave yard to find graves of the characters mentioned in Your Time, My Time, a book they read aloud in class.
The primary students stayed in their groups and explored China Town.
That evening they stayed overnight at the Wells Elementary School and lights out was by 8:15 p.m. Carpenter says he didn't have to ask anyone to be quiet once as they were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
Day 2 saw them make their way back to Barkerville where they got to pan for gold and everyone scored big with 5-11 flakes of gold.
Next up was an old fashioned picture with the whole school dressed up as cow pokes, gamblers, outlaws, Hurdy Gurdy girls and ladies of the 1800s.
Everywhere they went the students were complimented on how polite and well-behaved they were.
A big thank-you goes out to the school 's Parents Advisory Council members for helping fund the trip and the parents who came along to chaperone for making the students' experience so great.