MBE third grade visits Sloss

Mountain Brook Elementary third graders recently took a field trip to visit historic Sloss Furnaces, a National Historic Landmark, just minutes away from the school in the industrial area of Birmingham.

Sloss Furnaces produced iron for nearly 90 years, which gave rise to the city of Birmingham. With its web of pipes and tall smokestacks, students were offered a glimpse into the great industrial past of the South and the nation.

While at Sloss, students watched a video on the history of Birmingham and the role the furnaces played, then went on to tour the furnace, underground railroad tunnel and the blowing engine building.

Their favorite activity was the iron pour. First, students prepared a grooved design by “scratching” with a nail on a solid, sand block. Then, a group labeled blocks, and furnace workers poured molten iron into the blocks, which cooled and became a keepsake iron trivet for each student.