![]() ![]() Purchasing food is only one of the many additional-cost experiences that the Keystone Safari offers.Īnother thing I appreciate at Keystone Safari is the way information is presented: after a quick glance at an exhibit sign, I can easily call up science and geography lessons this sometimes slows my eager explorers just enough to learn or discuss more. We had extra food at the end of our visit and we weren’t alone-some families dump the remaining food in one exhibit near the door and others pass the food on to families that have just arrived. My children really enjoy this element of the trip however, my suggestion is to have siblings share the food you purchase. Our children were delighted to have wild animals poking their heads into the car to visit and seek out food!Ī fascinating and exciting opportunity in both sections of Keystone Safari is the ability to feed the animals and pet them. The drive-through safari lasts approximately 45 minutes and features several animals many of whom are not shy at all. Keystone Safari is a drive-through safari with a traditional zoo next door (but there are separate entrance fees for each section). When you’re done watching the sky, cross over the interstate to visit the Keystone Safari, which is only five minutes away. One weekend, my boys were excited to watch both planes and skydivers coming down at the airport, so every trek to Grove City now includes a preemptive rest in this little spot. If you see any air traffic as you drive to the safari, consider a stop at a gravel turnaround on Butler Pike/Route 258 to watch up close as the planes land. Besides the college and an assortment of stores and restaurants nearby, we also discovered the relatively new Keystone Safari. Now if you make the trip to the forge from any distance, you may be looking for more to do in the Grove City vicinity. The experience of being an artificer for a few minutes, though, was priceless there were lots of smiles from our group and an imploring request from my boys to come back again soon. The guided tour is free and relatively short (no more than 30 minutes), but sometimes it was hard to hear the tour guide over the ambient noise of the forge. The Wendell August Forge tour is great because you can see a one-of-a-kind working forge in action, providing students with an introduction to the manufacturing process and the art of metalworking. It’s the perfect hands-on experience to remember the visit. We enjoy learning about its history, but the real highlight of the trip is the creation of the children’s own hammered metal masterpieces using real Wendell August Forge dies. The tour of the forge floor has ended there is a one-room “history center” with exhibits and displays to learn more about its many remarkable creations and the ways the forge has changed since its founding 1923. Without those dies, the forge would have permanently closed its doors and been lost to us. We also see the library of dies, thousands of which were rescued from that fateful 2010 fire which razed the original forge. It is passed on to more craftsmen who will cut and mold it into its final shape-be it a dish, ornament, cross, or something else. Then the art is marked with the forge stamp, a personal mark of the maker, and the signature of the die engraver. Cognizant of their audience, the artificers walk their masterpieces over to show their young admirers, who “ooh” and “aah” most adorably. The children are awed and watch for quite a while (some sneak back later to watch again). We next see the men hammering metal onto the dies to create those beautiful wares. Our tour guide gestures to the gentleman who is engraving new dies for the forge, a process that can take up to eight weeks! He creates the beautiful images that we have just been admiring in the gift shop-but like the metalcrafting version of Albrect Dürer, he has to engrave them backwards! In minutes, the sound of hammering metal has awoken our baby, who just looks around curiously at all the excitement. When it’s time for our tour to begin, our group gathers in the forge. After a rousing game of toss on the front porch, our group heads into the jaw-droppingly beautiful Wendell August Forge flagship store. ![]() Just off the Grove City exit of I-79, we find the new home of the Wendell August Forge. This seemingly reckless and self-sacrificing bravado saved a historic business allowing us to take a field trip today to a little piece of Pennsylvania history in beautiful Mercer County. In the quintessential anti-fire safety lesson, employees and firefighters rushed into a burning building-many, many times-to rescue possessions, risking their lives repeatedly while others prayed nearby. A vent fan malfunctioned and a fire engulfed a factory, taking 21 fire departments hours to get under control and still smoldering with pockets of fire two days later.
1 Comment
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |