3rd & 4th Grade Fieldtrip to the Salt Mines
by Audra Downey
May 19, 2009
On May 12th the Argonia 3rd and 4th graders traveled to Hutchinson to tour the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. When we arrived we had to watch a short safety video so that we would be prepared for an emergency if one should occur and then we had to put on our safety equipment. Everyone had to wear a hard hat and a breathing pack. When we were all ready we loaded up onto the elevators and rode down in the dark. I think I had about three students wrapped around me on our dark descent. I don’t think they were too fond of the dark! When we arrived 650 feet below the Earth’s surface, many of the students were surprised by how spacious it was down there and how cool it felt. Our tour guide took us though the museum showing us how the miners mine salt and some of the old equipment they have used throughout the years. She also taught us some interesting facts about the salt. Once we finished with the museum we got to do something very fun that not everyone gets to do when they go to the museum. We got to do a dark walk throughout more of the mines. Everyone was given a flashlight and our tour guide took us through more of the mines. We all thought this was the best part of the trip. We got to see more interesting things and learn more about what goes on in the mines. During our dark walk we all got to choose a piece of salt to take home as a souvenir. When we were finished with the dark walk we then toured the Underground Vault and Storage Museum. It was very interesting to see some of the costumes that were used in the movies. They also had a newspaper on display that was written the day after Abraham Lincoln had been shot by John Wilkes Booth. After that we did some experiments with salt and learned about the properties of salt. Once we finished up with that we got on the elevators and rode up back to the top. We finished up our field trip by eating our lunch at Carey Park. Everyone ate as fast as they could because it was very cold and it was misting on us! We all had a really good time and I think almost all of the students recommend that you should go visit the Underground Salt Museum if you haven’t already! It is an awesome experience! The 3rd and 4th graders, Ms. Short, and I would like to thank the PTO for helping us being able to go on this field trip!
