SALT - Egyptian mummies were preserved with it, Roman soldiers were paid with it, battles have been fought for it, humans can't live without it.

We proudly support the new Kansas Underground Salt Museum, located in Hutchinson, Kansas. Operated by the Reno County Historical Society, it is unlike any other museum in the United States. Click here to visit their web site at www.undergroundmuseum.org.

Visitors to the salt museum enjoy a trip 650 feet below ground where they board a tram that takes them to over 100,000 square feet of galleries. The galleries tell the story of salt, salt mining, and storage within the mine. Patterned after salt museums in Wieliczka, Poland and Hallstatt, Austria, the Kansas Underground Salt Museum is the only museum that exists in a working salt mine anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.

For those who are concerned about claustrophobia, the mine is among the largest in the world, with ceilings ranging from 10 to 17 feet in height. The rooms within the mine are very large, ranging in size from 2,500 to 15,000 square feet. In fact, if you lined up each room end to end, the mine would stretch for more than 67 miles!

What will you see? The astounding and fascinating story of salt from the geological formation of this precious mineral to the 14,000 different uses of salt in contemporary society. Through a series of interactive, hands-on galleries that address such topics as health science, geology, mining techniques, history, culture, and the multiple ways salt mines are being used today, you will come to understand and appreciate how important salt is to humanity. Did you know that wars have been fought for salt? Did you know that governments have been funded by the tax on salt? Did you know the construction of the Erie Canal was financed by taxes on salt? Indeed, the story is far more complex than most realize.

Other amenities at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum include classroom spaces for school tours, an adult education center for Elderhostel and other events, a conference room, food court, and a traveling exhibit gallery designed to host major traveling exhibits. The mine averages a comfortable 68 degrees F and 40% relative humidity year-round, making it a very comfortable experience.