Butte, MT: World Mining Museum

While in Butte, we also visited The World Museum of Mining.  It was AWESOME! It's has tons of things to see with indoor and outdoor displays. Perfect for letting kids run around and get out some energy!
Some of our favorites were Hell Roarin' Gulch- the old, live-size replica of a Miner Town, the glow-in-the-dark Mineral Room, and Glory loved walking down the railroad tracks.

Doll house exhibit

Mineral Room

Glow in the Dark Minerals & Seamons Fam

It was also a blast because we participated in the Junior Miner Program for kids 5 to 13. It has 2 levels- the Nipper Level (Grades K-4) and the Junior Miner Level (Grades 5 and up).
To complete the Program, they have to:
1. Answer certain questions on the Scavenger Hunt worksheets. (Nippers only have to answer half)
2. Find Miney [this little guy in the yellow]. He's hiding somewhere in Hell Roarin' Gulch. 
3. Complete the Word Search.
4. Complete the Mineral Identification questions. (the Rock room is helpful)
5. Tell the gift shop attendant where Miney is hiding and turn in your completed form for a reward!

It was TONS of work! You had to search hard to find the answers to the 32 questions! But we had a great time!
We answered questions like:
How many rocks are displayed on the window sill of the Rayworth Mining Co? 17 rocks
What mineral from Butte is 80% copper? Chalcocite
What is a "honey pot? (underground exhibit) a Toilet
What is the third row of letters on the optician's eye chart? OFLCTG
How fast does a cage full of men go up and down? 450 ft per min
What is the main component of the inside of the mine adit? wood beams
When was the multigraph machine used? (Hell Roarin' Print Shop) 1905-1930
Whose office is upstairs in City Hall? the Mayor
What mineral is bright green under short wave fluorescent light? Opal

The kids were way excited because when they finished the Gift Shop lady gave them a bag of rocks and a candy! It made their day! What a fun museum!

Butte, MT: Berkeley Pit

Today was our lucky day because on days in the Winter season when the weather is nice, they open the tunnel to the Berkeley Pit for free. The weather today was gorgeous and so it was one of those days! Yeah for us!

 The story behind the Berekely Pit is pretty amazing and long! They have a whole website dedicated to it- you can find it at The Pitwatch.

Here's a little blurb as well:
"The Berkely Pit, started in 1955, was a large truck-operated open-pit copper mine until mining ceased in 1982. By 1980 nearly 1.5 billion tons of material had been removed from the Pit, including more than 290 million tons of copper ore. The pit enabled Butte to claim the title The Richest Hill on Earth. 
Two communities and much of Butte's previously crowded East Side were consumed by land purchases to create the pit. The Anaconda Mining Company bought the homes, businesses and school of the working-class communities of Meaderville and McQueen, east of the pit site. 
The pit is 7,000 feet long, 5,600 feet wide and 1,600 feet deep from the high wall on the north side just below the Kelley mine. Present day visitors can view the mine from a platform located above it. The viewing stand offers a look at the Berkeley Pit, which is filling with water. The Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand, open from March until November has an admission fee of $2."

The kids were bummed that the Gift shop wasn't open but we did break into the Trolley display outside so it made up for it! LOL

Spending time in BUTTe, MT

On our way back home, we spent the day in BUTTe, MT. No disrespect for the people of Butte but we have called it BUTT, MT for as long as we've made trips through Montana. LOL 

We made a stop at their Visitors Center first. It was a pretty neat building right next to a Nature Park. They had a few neat Fishing Lure Exhibits, some stories and pictures of Butte history and these telescope thingies that pointed to all the different mine shafts on the hill. We also got to learn about the big white ugly dog memorialized in a bronze statue. They called him the Auditor. He lived in Berkeley Pit among the miners for 17 years. And since my youngest two LOVE dogs, they loved the story! [girls on sitting on the statue in the middle left]

We drove around the middle streets of town. They are a lot like Anaconda in the fact that you can High-5 the neighbors through your window. LOL But here in Butte the homes are huge in comparison. Next time, we'll have to take the Walking tour and " See BUTTE from the inside out!" {Gotta love the signs)

P.S. We really wanted to take the bus tour up to the Lady of the Rockies statue but they closed it down for the season. Bummer! Next year, I guess. Here's what she looks like from the freeway: