undefined

[-]

Seconded enthusiastically. That dam tour is amazing. Did it in 2007 or so.

Expect potential weirdness though. My wife was wearing a (not particularly short) skirt, and the lady at the office selling tour tickets made her step back and spin around, then said she couldn't go in like that. There is a gift shop that sells dam branded pants, so she bought a pair and we were cleared to go in. After all that, one dude in the control room was watching soft-core porn on one of the control room computers.

The turbine shaft room is especially crazy, since they let you (at least back then) walk right up to a few inches away from the shaft mechanically transmitting 700 MW of power! You could reach out and touch it, but we didn't and I wouldn't recommend it.

by sephamorr6 hours ago|

[-]

Seconding this! Make sure you get the "special tour". It was an absolute highlight of my trip. If you are interested in power infrasture it's a must see. If you're afraid of heights, perhaps not so much.

[-]

Sounds incredible. I am going to bookmark this to do if I take a trip to Brazil.

by doctoboggan16 hours ago|

[-]

Yes, field trips were always my favorite part of school. The "How its Made" show scratches a similar itch.

I've noodled with the idea of starting a "fieldtrips for grownups" group but I feel like a wastewater treatment plant is more likely to open their doors for a group of third graders than a group of thirty somethings.

by kgermino16 hours ago|

[-]

That’s probably true but I wouldn’t count it out. I think you’re more likely to get answers like “we do 10:00 on tuesdays” (timed for schools) than “no”

[-]

That is a great idea. Too often, we just grow up getting used to the idea that things are just made somewhere in a "black box" and never take the time to investigate. We could probably get into more places than we realize.

by bell-cot14 hours ago|

[-]

> ... more likely to open their doors for a group of ...

Probably true. Usually. Just keep your eyes on local news, and wait 'till the Sewer Dept. is facing budget cuts, or needs a rate increase to pay for long-delayed repairs, or is trying to get a millage passed.

by plasticsoprano17 hours ago|

[-]

Remember, most fire stations will give you a tour, let you sit in the truck, etc, if you just pop in. They love to show off.

Source: My father was a 35 year veteran of the fire department in a large city.

[-]

Great tip. I would never think to ask. Now I want to go to one!

by dylan60413 hours ago|

[-]

I worked a VR tour shoot of the UPS sorting hub in Louisville. There's a bit of idle time, but once the planes start arriving, it is non-stop action. Each plane is unloaded, packages are sorted/routed to the proper plane, they are then reloaded, and take back off ending in a bit of wow at everything that happened in that short time.

It answered a lot of the "what can Brown do for you" question in a way that no commercial could ever do. Their drop shipping and picking/packing facilities are impressive too including their cold storage areas that are massive warehouse sized freezers.

Also learned that the Louisville airport is listed as an international airport solely because of UPS.

by KatiMichel18 hours ago|

[-]

I love that. I want to take more tours like this. One thing I found very interesting about it was to be immersed in a company culture. It's kind of like being a fish in water. You might not notice your own culture around you, but going into one that is very distinctive, you can observe it.

by spike02118 hours ago|

[-]

On a visit to Hiroshima, Japan, I went to the Mazda HQ for a factory tour. They took the group on a shuttle bus through their massive city-like complex and then we got to walk through one of the assembly-line buildings. Real fascinating experience.

by httpz15 hours ago|

[-]

I highly recommend a free Amazon warehouse tour. You really get to see how the items you order gets picked and packaged.

[-]

I've heard about that. I plan to do that sometime.

by 11 hours ago|

[-]

deleted

by chihuahua12 hours ago|