The
International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching
about wolves, their relationship to wild lands and the human role in their
future. The International Wolf Center is the world's premier wolf interpretive
facility. Located in the heart of the Superior National Forest in Ely,
Minnesota, visitors can take a tour of the Center, view the resident wolf pack
and learn from the Center's award-winning current exhibits.
Visit the Wolf
Center's website for more information, hours and directions.
back to top
Established
in 1891,
Itasca is Minnesota's oldest state park. Today, the park totals more than
32,000 acres and includes more than 100 lakes. Here visitors can walk across the
Mississippi as it begins its winding journey to the Gulf of Mexico, stand under
towering pines at Preacher's Grove, visit landmarks of centuries gone by such as
the Itasca Indian Cemetery or Wegmann's Cabin or explore Wilderness Drive past
the 2,000-acre Wilderness Sanctuary, one of Minnesota's seven National Natural
Landmarks.
back to top
The
explosive growth of iron mining attracted thousands to northeastern Minnesota.
Their courage and tenacity transformed a sparsely populated wilderness into a
culturally diverse industrial landscape. Ironworld Discovery Center, the
largest museum complex on the Iron Range, is dedicated to collecting, preserving
and interpreting the history of Minnesota's Iron Ranges. Visitors to the
site discover an interactive visitor experience, spectacular mine views and one
of the finest library and archival facilities in the upper midwest. Whether you
are visiting the Iron Range for recreation or education, Ironworld Discovery
Center provides a unique look at the Iron Range that you are sure to find both
interesting and enjoyable. Ride a trolley with spectacular mine views, explore
the outdoor exhibits, take part in cultural heritage activities and uncover
links to the past at the Iron Range Research Center. There's much to see and do!
Ironworld opens for the season May 27 - September 4, 2006. Summer visitor hours
are 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM daily. The Iron Range Research Center is open throughout
the year. Call 1-800-372-6437 or visit
their website for more information.
back to top
A
century slips by when you visit this park. Under ground visitors wear hard hats
and journey down 2,341 feet to listen to the stories of the mining days. Above
ground visitors can explore the dry house, drill shop, crusher house and engine
house. Visitors also can walk the boardwalk past one of the deepest open mine
pits or hike the trails in the park through a northern hardwood conifer forest,
past the famous Soudan Iron Formation.
The mine tour leads visitors through the world of underground mining. Visitors
don hard hats and enter a "cage" for the descent into the mine. The 1 1/2-hour
mine tour will take you half a mile down into the earth. Once underground you
will be treated to a 3/4 mile train ride to the last and deepest area mined. The
mine is 50°F year-around, so remember to
bring a warm jacket or sweater and sturdy shoes. Public tours run from Memorial
Day through the end of September. There is a charge for the underground mine
tour.
The Soudan Underground Laboratory is the leading deep underground science and
engineering laboratory in the United States today. Scientists from around the
world have been working at Soudan for 25 years trying to answer basic questions
about the Universe in which we live: Is matter completely stable? What is the
nature of the fundamental forces? Can we identify the Dark Matter that seems to
permeate our Universe? Learn about our first neutrino events using the neutrino
beam from Fermilab and see the massive MINOS
detector (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search). Learn about CDMS
(Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) and its continued search for a WIMP (Weakly
Interacting Massive Particles). Soudan Underground Laboratory.
Directions: Located in Soudan. Take US Highway 169
North through Tower to Soudan. Once in Soudan follow the directional signs.
Mine Tour: From Memorial Weekend to Labor Day tours run every
hour from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Sunday. After Labor Day to October 2nd,
tours run at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 4:00 pm (on the hour from 10 to 4
on weekends).
Physics Tour: From Memorial Weekend to Labor Day tours run at
10:00 am and 4:00 pm. After Labor Day to October 2nd, tours run at
12:00 pm only.
Admission: (per person): Adults (13 and older): $9; children
5-12: $6; children 5 and under: no charge. A state vehicle permit is required
at a cost of $7 for a daily permit or $25 for an annual permit. Rates are
subject to change without notice.
Call
218-753-2245 for more information or
visit their website.
back to top
Experience
the life of a miner as you take an exciting tour of a modern day mining company.
Visitors will slip into steel toe boots and put on hard hats adding to the
experience. These 1 ½ hour tours will walk you through the mining process of
turning iron ore into taconite pellets. Visitors have the opportunity to
watch miners and their massive equipment at work up close. Watch 30-yard
capacity shovels, so big that a 4X4 truck could fit inside their buckets, load
overburden into 3-story 240-ton mining trucks. See 80-car trains pulled by three
locomotives filled with taconite pellets cruise near 500-foot deep iron laden
canyons. Discover 100-ton maintenance trucks, large drilling rigs and huge
bulldozers. A knowledgeable guide will narrate your adventure. Children who love
Tonka Toys® will remember the experience all their lives. Group tours and school
groups welcome. Tour guide recommended. Available by reservation.
US Steel / Minntac (Mountain Iron)
Tours are available every Friday at 10 am. and 1 p.m. from June 1st through
August 31. Tours depart from the Mountain Iron Senior Center and last 1-1/2
hours. For more information call 218-749-7299.
Hibbing Taconite Tours (Hibbing)
Tours are available on selected Wednesdays and Thursdays at 12 noon from June
23rd to August 19th. (no tours will be offered on August 4th and 5th). Tours
depart from Ironworld Discovery Center and take approximately 2 hours.
Reservations are encouraged and can be made through Ironworld at 800-372-6437.
Children must be 10 years of age or older and accompanied by an adult.
back to top
Hibbing
is recognized as the birthplace of the bus industry in the United States.
Here visitors can see and hear the story at Hibbing's newest attraction.
To start the tour, visitors pass through a tunnel that comes alive with auto
sounds of 1914 and continues on from the Hupmobile that could not be sold.
The story continues with the men and machines that created Greyhound Bus Lines
told using pictorial displays, hundreds of artifacts and memorabilia,
audio-visual presentation plus a VCR show of "The Greyhound Story" from Hibbing
to everywhere. A diorama of WW II illustrates how Greyhound
contributed to the war effort. Other exhibits help the visitor understand how,
with a Hupmobile car, they could not sell, and a two mile route, Greyhound grew
to be the largest bus company in the world. The museum also houses
eleven historical buses.
Open Mid-May Thru September;
Monday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Open on
request for special groups in the off season. Adults $3.00, Students $2.00,
Children (6-12) $1.00, Tours $2.00 each. (rates subject to change)
Directions: Exit off Highway 169 in Hibbing onto Howard Street. Follow
Howard Street nine blocks to 3rd Avenue East. Take a right and follow .7 mile to
the Greyhound Bus Museum. For more information call 1-218-263-5814
or visit
the Greyhound Bus Museum website.
back to top
The
museum, located off US Highway 53 in Eveleth, is a national shrine of historical
significance dedicated to honoring hockey by showcasing all levels of the sport.
Entertaining displays and memorabilia give visitors an opportunity to experience
the thrilling game action and inspiring achievement of all those involved in the
game of hockey. At the Theatre of Hockey Highlights visitors can re-live the
1980 "Miracle on Ice," the US historic and exhilarating Olympic victory over
Russia, or watch as the US Women's Gold Medal Winning Hockey Team takes center
stage at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan. From the Great Wall of Fame of
Inductees, the Olympic Display, Gallery of Hockey Art, Mighty Duck Scoreboard,
and historic exhibits of famed hockey memorabilia, this is a must visit for
anyone interested in hockey.
Open year round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and juniors 13-17, $6
for children 6-12, and under six free but please note that rates are subject to
change. To learn more, visit the U.S.
Hockey Hall of Fame website or call 1-800-443-7825.
back to top
Founded
in 1995, the Vince Shute Wildlife Center is a non-profit organization
whose mission is to promote the well-being of the black bear and other wildlife
through a better understanding.
Thousands of people visit the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary every year, to view
and learn about black bears, their behavior, habitat needs and life cycles.
Visitors also get the opportunity to view a special group of wild bears - that
come to this location every summer - from an elevated platform.
Nestled in the North Woods of Minnesota, the Sanctuary is located approximately
two hours northwest of Duluth. The nearest town is Orr, which is about thirty
minutes away. Encompassing some 360 acres, the Sanctuary consists of a
combination of habitats: aspen forests, cedar swamps, marshes, beaver ponds, a
primary stream, open areas and numerous other resources. In addition to
being a seasonal home to a special group of bears, this habitat is also used by
such wildlife as whitetail deer, bald eagles, beavers, minks, pine martens,
fishers, timber wolves, red squirrels, bobcats, lynx, blue jays, owls, ducks,
songbirds, ravens, and a variety of other species. While black bears are the
primary focus, the various habitats of the Sanctuary are managed in a manner
beneficial to the entire ecosystem. The permanent establishment of the
refuge has preserved a unique opportunity to view and to photograph the intimate
world of the normally reclusive black bear. The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary
also provides a most extraordinary setting for a variety of non-obtrusive
scientific studies and educational programs relating to the diverse natural
resources found within its boundaries.
For more information visit the
Vince Shute Wildlife
Center website or call 1-800-357-9255.
back to top
