Strataca Field Trip

Last month we went to the Strataca Kansas Underground Salt Museum. Bug has been studying Geology this year in science and it seemed like a perfect field trip to enhance her learning of geology.

This is still an active salt mine today. Salt was found in 1887 in Hutchinson, KS. The Carey Salt Mine was opened in 1923. It's hard to believe that they remove over 500,000 pounds of salt each year. Most of it is used to de-ice roads today.

We went down an elevator 650' below the earth into the mines. Going down the shaft it was pitch black, you couldn't even see your hands in front of you. We also had to wear hard hats.

 Salt, Bug couldn't believe that salt was this large.

We explored the cavern learning about the mining process. We watched several videos on what day to day life was like down in the mines. They had several videos of the extraction process of the mines. We learned about and seen the machinery.

 Little Man was reading the information to his sister. He takes good care of his big sister. Geology is Bugs next favorite obsession with Entomology at the top of the list!

 The kids enjoyed touching all the exhibits.

 We took a ride into the mines that was active in the 1940's and 1950's. We learned that what goes into the mines stays in the mine. Nothing comes back up.

 We also learned about the air flow,mine hazards, and nuclear waste.

A collapsed portion of the mine shaft. Which we were told is very uncommon in a salt mine.

 Another reminder of what comes down in the stays down in the mine. I don't want to even think of what happens to the waste. There are trash piles that showed items made in the the 1920'- up till the 1960's.

 This was Little Man's favorite part seeing all the movie costumes.

 Companies store important documents down in the mines also. My husbands company also stores paperwork that they send yearly to the mines.

 Another interesting item down in the mine.

This was an intriguing field trip. Bug walked away with a lot of salt rocks to add to her collection!