I cannot think of a better way to advertise and self-promote than to create a unique hands-on museum which teaches about the production of ice cream, milk and other dairy products while skillfully and craftily promoting ones owns self. The Turkey Hill Experience successfully merges the two into one excellent one-hour getaway for the family. The prices were kind of steep for the firs time, but if you bring back your ticket you can get in again for only $5, The kids had a wonderful time AND there was live music. We all sat in rocking chairs about 10 feet away for a half hour or so and listened to some nice music.
I have been passing by this old, dilapidated silk mill for years. It had no roof, the bricks were crumbling and the windows were gone. During the construction, the contractors managed to keep the brick, the stone front and other aspects of the original building. I found a site located HERE which focuses on the renovation of the old factory. The building is easily accessible from the Route 30 bypass (NOT the Lincoln Highway but the bypass constructed from 1953 to 1962 as a bypass for the Lincoln Highway four blocks to the south.) There are exits for both the east and west pass. The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge is within shouting distance.
The mill was originally built in 1899 and was known as the Ashley & Bailey Silk Mill. The Ashley & Bailey company, which also built a silk mill in nearby Marietta in 1897 and owned several other mills around the country, used the mill to support the growing demand for silk products in the 19th and 20th century. The mill used raw silk imported from China and Japan and weaved it into thread and cloth to create all sorts of silk-based goods. At its peak, the mill employed several hundred members of the local community.
Over the years, the mill would change hands several times (silk giant Schwarzenbach-Huber purchased the plant in 1913), before being abandoned not long after the Tidy Products company stopped using it as a sewing factory in the late 1970s. (From above source)
There are a few aspects to this place. The first component is the museum which consists of dozens of interpretives and displays which outlines the history of dairy products and the history of Turkey Hill and their interaction with dairy products. The second feature is the science component which details, interactively at times, how ice cream, milk, etc. are manufactured, kept safe, packaged and consumed. Finally, there is the entertainment factor. How often can you go to a museum that is colorful, creative, informatively interesting and made for kids? Not too often I'd wager.
We of course love the free ice cream samples. We shamelessly went back for seconds and thirds. We milked a virtual cow with "real" utters and "milk" came out. The kids loved that! We climbed aboard an old milk truck and watched a nice video while reclining on bean bags. The place just opened last summer in 2011 so everything still had that new smell. The water tower just outside the rear window has been redone and dressed up t promote this museum.
We also learned about bacteria by killing various strains. We homogenized milk, cleaned out various machine parts, investigate ice cream making and so much more. The architects of this place sure have taken advantage of the latest innovations in computers and electronics. Every corner we turned, something colorful, interesting and educationally provocative greeted us. All in all we had a fabulous time.
On the way out we visited the gift shop and also pressed a few souvenirs from the penny smasher.
Address
301 Linden Street
Columbia, PA 17512
(888) 986-8784
Come learn how our ice cream is made, sit in our milk truck, brainstorm your own ice cream flavor, milk a mechanical cow and learn about the people and culture of Turkey Hill. Discovery and delight abound for the whole family. And of course, there are free samples of Turkey Hill ice cream and iced tea! SOURCE