Leadership Reno County Joins KUSM Track Team

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, nine members of Leadership Reno County 2010 went 650 feet under Hutchinson to join the track team of the Kansas Underground Salt Museum.

The Museum is adding a train ride underground that should be ready to roll by Spring 2011. An electric engine and cars were purchased from the Carey Park Zoo, and old rails and ties, left in the salt mine from early mining days, are being used for the track. The laying of the track will take an abundance of hours to complete since the rails first have to be found, then retrieved and re-laid. Old wood ties are being retrieved and cut to fit the new smaller gauge (width) of the Museum’s rail system.

Outfitted with hard hats, rescuers, and helmet lights (it is dark out there!), the team arrived underground before visitors. At times they were called a “living exhibit” by docents driving by with tram loads of visitors. LRC members found that 68 degrees is a great temperature to work in IF there is some air movement. Since there is not much out in the train route, a few members discovered they were dripping wet in the first hour.

A four person crew cut 260 ties to the new length and predrilled holes for the “spikes” (screws) used to hold the rails. It is estimated that over 1200 ties need to be retrieved and cut. The second crew laid the ties on the railbed, set the rails, bolted rail joint plates to hold the rails together, gauged (spaced) the rails, and screwed them down.

A new record was set by this track team that will be a challenge for others to break. The team laid 205 feet of track in six hours. They also left behind enough cut ties for another 200 feet to be laid by the next crew.

KUSM Supervisors were Dave Unruh and Joel Busch.

Organism older than dinosaurs alive and now living in Salt Museum

New Fluid Inclusion Exhibit at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum

Scientists applaud new exhibit The world’s oldest living organism, estimated to be about 250 million years old, is now living at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum as part of its newest exhibit featuring the unprecedented discovery of living bacteria found trapped inside a salt crystal. The scientists credited with reawakening bacteria from spores inside an ancient salt crystal -- Dr. Russell Vreeland, Dr. William Rosenzweig, and Dr. Dennis Powers -- were at the Museum for the exhibit opening.  Their research has indicated the cells from which those spores presumably formed were alive and active before the time of dinosaurs.

"We were thrilled with the exhibit and even more excited by the enthusiasm and interest the public showed," said Dr. Vreeland. "The Salt Museum has created a showcase that gives visitors the opportunity to learn about our discovery within an environment that mirrors the very place we conducted our research." While in Hutchinson, Drs. Powers, Rosenzweig, and Vreeland provided local Boy Scouts the chance to collect their own salt samples from within the mine. "One of the highlights of our weekend was seeing the enthusiasm on the faces of the Boy Scouts as they intertwined geology and microbiology to perform their own scientific research," said Linda Schmitt, executive director of the Reno County Historical Society. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to work with highly acclaimed scientists and they enjoyed every minute, as did the scientists." The three scientists are continuing their research on the subject of living organisms in non-living components like salt crystals. In fact, the men collected salt samples from the Hutchinson mine for further research. If more bacteria are found in these samples, it’s likely older than the bacteria previously found, as the salt deposits in Hutchinson are estimated to have formed 275 million years ago. Drs. Powers, Rosenzweig, and Vreeland on opening day of the exhibit

For more information about the fluid inclusion exhibit or to schedule a tour, visit http://www.undergroundmuseum.org/ or call 620-662-1425. The Salt Museum is open to the public for tours Tuesday – Saturday all day and Sunday afternoons.

"When man goes to the stars our microbes will be waiting for us"