Every now and then, I get to talk to school groups about collecting. Depending on the grade of the students, the reaction can range from curiosity to being completely uninterested, at least at the beginning. After showing actual coins, stamps or pieces of currency that feature cool subjects or may have been held by colonial statesmen, the interest level rises appreciably.

Then, I start to talk about value. "So why do you think this penny is worth over $1,000 and these aren't?" Bam! Every kid is locked in. Who wouldn't be? Might they own one? Or could they find one? After all, isn't that what "Antiques Roadshow," "American Pickers" and "Storage Wars" is all about?

It got me wondering. What do people actually collect anymore? I checked around online and up popped an article from the publication Bottom Line Personal citing an interview with collectible authority Terry Kovel. She listed the 10 things not worth collecting these days. I suppose they are in no particular order, but here they are: Hummel figurines; anything from the Franklin Mint; limited-edition Barbie dolls; Thomas Kinkade paintings and prints; autographed sports memorabilia; vintage metal lunchboxes; cookie jars; china sets; collectible plates.

Understand, I don't think they're saying don't collect them. The message was simply the present and predicted future value is a fraction of what it once was or projected to be. Most of the value drop is attributed to the number of older collectors downsizing and getting rid of their "goodies." As for sports memorabilia, counterfeiters ruined that area a long time ago. Most are fakes worth nothing.

Children, who were once the bastion of and feeder class to so much collecting — including comic books, baseball cards and model planes/rockets — seem to now live only in the virtual world.

Last year, while on vacation in Michigan, I saw an impressive variation on that. It came from a park-service ranger with a large group of kids. The ranger asked the group of several-dozen kids if any were collectors. None raised their hands. Then, she showed the kids a 2008 pictorial stamp sheet of the Great Lakes dunes in the Nature of America stamp series. Roughly 8-by-10 inches in size, it was a detailed color illustration of a variety of plants and animals that find a haven near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. Strategically placed within the image are 10 42-cent stamps featuring one or more of the plants and animals.

The several-dozen kids seemed fascinated with all the nature tucked away in the image. And to see the whole thing was a sheet of stamps made it even more intriguing.

The ranger told them it was a scavenger hunt. The ones that could find the most things from the stamp sheet in or around the dunes and shoreline would win one of the sheets of stamps. They had to write down all they saw and found. If they could safely bring samples, great. Most had smartphones, though, so they could take photographs. The hunt was on.

For the next hour, every kid was on an intractable mission looking for plants with names like Pitcher's thistle, sand reedgrass and evening primrose. Several boys were determined to bring back a red fox, hognose snake, tiger beetle or white-footed mouse, all on the list. Others scoured for mayflies, vesper sparrows and a cool flower called an American sea-rocket.

When all was said and done, the children had exhausted themselves in search of the bounty on the stamp sheet. All found something. Some found one or two; others had multiple pictures. A young brother and sister pair won the hunt and were thrilled to get the stamp sheet. The ranger even came up with an extra one for the winning pair.

The great part was that just for a little while, cellphones and the Internet weren't running lives. Kids were doing what kids have done forever with what's around them. Without one exception, the kids agreed they had a blast.

When all was said and done, and the kids were gathered around ogling the winners' stamp sheets, one said, "What do you think they're worth?" Another quickly grabbed his smartphone to go online to check.

Doesn't matter. Thanks to a sheet of stamps, they were kids again having fun — for a while.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the 2008 Nature Of America "Great Lakes Dunes" stamp sheet has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.