I've been reading the Arthur Ransome Swallows and Amazons series again for the first time in 35 years. In this book, they discover an ore in the hills that they think is gold. What I really like about this is that they are prepared to have a go at anything - an nearly get killed twice along the way - so don't try it at home! But they make pigeon post work, devising an automatic bell to alert them. Then they work out how to make charcoal and build their own blast furnace. They try to test their ore using a mix of acids called aqua regia. I had to look this up! Try Wiki.
But it's their attitude, that if they hear about something they will try it. That's education.
