A visit to Inner Space (Part 2)

For Part 1 see here.

When we left off, my friend Kathy and I had just entered the display area that explained the UV and S, or Underground Vault and Storage facility, including all the records and data that are stored in another part of this mine.  This part of the facility was functional years before the idea of a museum was conceived.

Of course, we didn't realize that for awhile because we were working our way backward through the display.

Be sure to read how the museum got its start.

How the real Monuments Men found the Nazi treasures in salt mines located in Germany and Austria.  A movie by the same name was released earlier this year showing the bravery of these civilian men and women who were museum directors, curators, art scholars, educators, artists, architects, historians, and archivists who identified and saved thousands of priceless pieces of art during Hitler's reign on Germany.

Thankfully, here and two photos above is a diagram of the Underground Vault and Storage (UV & S) and how deep underground it is.

Although a poor photo, this one shows artifacts saved from MIB 2.


We were now entering a display of the area I was most interested in.

Back in the 1980s, I had a friend whose father worked in the Underground Vault restoring film.  I got to see this first hand and felt SO fortunate.

A poster (above)

and a uniform used in the making of the Monuments Men movie I described earlier.  Note how they wore gloves that kept any sweat or contamination off the priceless paintings and other artifacts.

I was really impressed with the way the museum put this exhibit together.  There was great attention to detail, even if the "mannequins" looked a bit fake.

Moving on, we were once again

treated to rusty parts.

If you enlarge this, you can read these are all locomotive parts originally used in the mine.

And here we are at the end of the journey.

In the gift shop, Kathy bought two sweat shirts and Sally bought two globes/lamps that light up.

And of course you wanted to know what I purchased.  The top two magnets came from Strataca and cost $4.99 each plus tax.  The bottom one came from the Cosmosphere and cost $2.75 plus tax.  Only a math major could appreciate this, since neither Kathy nor Sally understood it.  It was part of a plaque that traveled in space to the stars and beyond.

I hope you enjoyed these two museums as much as I did.  I am grateful each year that I can visit museums free of charge thanks to the efforts of the Smithsonian, which is free every day.  BTW, Strataca costs $14.00 (USD), with the dark ride or the train ride costing an additional $3.50 (USD) each.  The cost is less for Seniors and those who live in Reno County, where the mine is located.

After reviewing these photos, one thing I failed to mention is this is NOT table salt.  It is used to melt and remove ice and snow on highways in winter.  Another salt company in Hutchinson, KS mines and makes table salt.  It is Morton Salt Company.   That may be why you might not have heard of Carey Salt Company or the Carey Salt Mine.

Thanks also for visiting and leaving such lovely comments.  It shows the time I spent putting this together did not go in vain.