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| Underground Vaults & Storage and Kansas Underground Salt Museum in the news |
| July 06, 2006 |
SALT MINE MUSEUM
by Anita Cochran
KSN News
Watch video here:
"By spring of 2007, the Hutchinson Salt Mine Museum is expected to have its grand opening, held 650 feet below ground.
Getting there is half the fun. To check out a salt mine, youve got to experience it like a miner, complete with hard hat and emergency breathing equipment.
Then, of course, theres that 650 foot descent.
"Itll shake, itll rumble -- but again thats part of the mining experience," said Lee Spence, Underground Vaults and Storage.
A little over one minute later you will be right in the middle of a salt bed millions of years old.
The exhibits are still in the making, but the excitement, much like the floor heaves youll learn about, is already bubbling over.
One of the most common questions people first ask when they get down to the mine? "Is this the salt?" and, "If I lick that wall will it taste like salt?" It sure will.
Workers at the Underground Vault and Storage company are the ones who can answer the question fraidy cats are sure to ask -- is this underground museum really a good idea?
"Its very safe for children -- safe for anybody that comes underground because salt is a very hard rock. It preserves things. Im actually 160 years old, by the way," joked Spence. "We have no insects. We have no rodents, no mice, no rats, no snakes, no spiders."
Just miles and miles of salt -- and soon, a museum that will tell the story of how it got there.
With 67 miles of mined caverns underground, there is a lot of room for the museum to grow. There are plans, eventually, for a movie theatre, an event room that would host events like weddings and receptions. Then upstairs, there will be a welcome center and a gift shop. For more information about the museum, visit undergroundmuseum.org.
The museum is looking for businesses to donate money and get naming rights for displays and rooms that will soon be under construction."
Last update: Jul 05, 2006, 10:02am |
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