DIY Workshops at Aven Forestière Cave
Without a reservation, during the site's opening hours, workshops are also open to people who are not visiting the cave.
Aven Forestière Cave in Ardèche offers reasonably priced fun activities such as: Fossil, Mineral, Geode and Bracelet Workshops. An exciting new 2025 activity joining the spirit of crystal hunters: The Fossil Hunter's Stream...
A victim of its own massive success, Dora the Explorer and Indiana Jones's cousinIndiana Jones came to test the family activity. They left with bags full of crystals and fossils in their backpacks.
In our shop, we prefer quality over quantity, we created different fun ways to get yourself an object of both moral and material value, while actively participating. For example, rather than buying an already-opened quartz geode you can open it yourself, which is much more thrilling and amazing.
One last thing: despite rising product and international shipping costs, we've decided to freeze our prices for our activities and cave tours, as well as shop products. Some invoices from our suppliers since 2019 have increased by a factor of 5 or more. For example, a shipping container from Brazil cost 1,500 euros in 2019, whereas today in 2026 it ranges between 7,500 and 12,000 euros, which is seriously worrying for the future of small business owners.
The Crystal Hunter's Stream. Created in 2022
After pouring a bit of sand from the bucket purchased at the shop (9 euros for around fifteen minerals and sometimes even more) into the pan, children follow the instructions and slowly watch the crystals appear. It's easy to do, and yet we notice that parents often take over the pan to have fun themselves.
Raw crystals and polished crystals of all sizes and good quality. Children will take home their discoveries.
It's a fun way to grow your collection or start one.
The photo above represents some of the crystals used for the activity that could potentially form a good foundation to start or complete a collection.
The child isn't an actor but a real kid with flesh and bones; their ear-to-ear grin is invisible, even though they're absolutely thrilled.
The water color isn't because they're peeing themselves with joy—no, it's just sand dissolved in the water...
Bracelet Workshop
You determine your wrist size using a sample bracelet, then choose beads, spacers, and charms from the treasure wall.
Various qualities: wooden, resin, glass, acrylic, or mineral beads. This makes prices vary threefold.
Using a template we provide, you can position the different elements (beads and charms) before threading them
The elastic cord is 0.8 mm in diameter and very durable.
All that's left is to tie the knot—it's the hardest part, but we can help you out.
And there you have it: a one-of-a-kind bracelet, uniquely yours.
A round table for friendly gatherings where you can focus on making your bracelet using a board that helps you organize your beads before threading them.
Simple happiness
For Everyone
Fossil, Mineral & Geode Workshops
Discovering the passage of time...
In just a few minutes we set up the workshop of your choice and explain it to you (the workshops are not supervised).
If the children are too young to do it alone, parents guide them through it. Children generally show independence from around age 5 onwards.
Wikipedia: A fossil (derived from the Latin verb fodere: fossile, literally "that which is dug up") is the remains of an animal or plant (shell, carapace, bone, tooth, seed, leaves, spore, pollen, plankton, microorganisms), generally mineralized, or simply its mold, preserved in sedimentary rock.
Fossils and fossilization processes are studied mainly within the framework of paleontology, but also in geology, human prehistory, and archaeology.
Depending on the species and periods, fossils can be of different qualities and more or less abundant. Compared to the number of deceased living beings, the fossilization process remains rare, since fossilization conditions are not often met.
Happy children and satisfied parents leave with their finds to take home
We have crystals of all kinds for collectors, therapists, or simply stone enthusiasts. Nothing comes from the cave or any other natural site—that's absolutely forbidden and severely punished. Rather, these are minerals recovered from quarries where they would have ended up crushed into construction materials.
Honey Quartz, Calcite Crystal Geode, Blue Azurite, Crazy Agate, Lapis Lazuli, Pink Amethyst, Smoky Quartz, Aura, Mochite, Blue Calcite, Celestine, Vanadinite, Red Aragonite, Fluorite, Amazonite, Malachite, Turquoise, Blue Agate, Tourmaline, Amethyst, Chromodiopside, Onyx, Aventurine, Serpentine, Selenite, Tourmaline Mica, Moonstone or Sunstone, Chrysoprase, Chrysocolla, Thulite...
