Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area

The Silos & Smokestacks area is a group of sites scattered around and throughout Iowa. When I first planned out the Summer, 2021 trip I was going to spend a day or two doing the loop around the state to visit them all. After all the re-planning that was scrapped for a future trek. I was able to include two of the stops - the Dairy Center and Fossil & Prairie Park.

The Dairy Center

I cannot say there was much here in terms of exciting activities, but they do have, on display, the robots they use to automate the milking of cows. I did not know such a thing existed, although it seems perfectly logical in the 21st century once one thinks about it.

The Fossil & Prairie Park

This is one of the places I'll be returning to with William in tow. There's a bit open sand bed where one can dig for fossils (and I think keep them). I doubt we will find an T-Rex or Raptor fossils as most of the those show inside the visitor center are corral, plants, and insects. It will still be a cool opportunity to do some real archaeology activities with the kids.