Homeschool Field Trip: Dallas Blue Bell Distributing Plant
Yesterday we had a homeschool field trip. One of the local DFW Blue Bell Distributors was hosting a tour and canned food drive/box fan drive for locals in need thanks to Christian Community Action (CCA) . It has always been important for me to show my children how to be part of the giving process.
My friend Kim and I headed to the Lewisville Distribution plant with eight children in tow.
A local Christian radio station, KLTY (@949KLTY on Twitter) , was there broadcasting live. Way cool!
We dropped off our canned goods and off to the tour we went. I was excited to show my children how ice cream gets to the grocery store and all of the people who work hard to make this happen.
The delivery trucks are parked in the back and pull into the dock.
Inside this truck it is 5 degrees below!
They load it up with ice cream and make their local deliveries to grocery stores and even some local school cafeterias.
All of that white stuff is frozen ice and frost!
Where do they hold all the ice cream before it gets put on the truck?
They have a warehouse that is twenty degrees below zero. Do you have any idea how cold that is? My flip flop toes were red in seconds! As a matter of fact, it was so cold in this frozen vault, Nicky cried and refused to go in. Personally, I could only handle it for about a minute and a half.
Immediately I wanted to know how their staff handles these conditions and how often they get sick. I was advised that they wear vault suits similar to ski suits and they only work in the vault in short shifts. I then told them I was with OSHA…. and quickly said I was kidding.
This frozen warehouse stores the ice cream they will put into those delivery trucks.
It was packed with levels and levels of sweetness.
And this only holds three days worth of ice cream deliveries.
How does the ice cream get to the distribution center? It comes to the distribution center straight from Brenham, Texas or Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where the ice cream is made.
I have been wanting to try this flavor- Southern Hospitality.
Our crew was then treated to a delicious Blue Bell ice cream.
Thank you Blue Bell!
We then drove home listening to an hour of useless information from Blake- the boy in the red shirt.
We learned:
- When going hunting the #1 thing you want to pack is toilet paper. There are 101 uses for toilet paper.
- We learned about 10 of the 101 uses for toilet paper- leaving a trail of notes when you’re lost, covering a wound, etc.
- When lost in the woods always carry a CD with you to reflect light to airplanes in the sky if you ever need to be rescued.
- Florida is the state with the most cats. Totally random. (I will sleep better at night knowing that.)
All kidding aside, I read She is Dallas to learn about many of the local events, like this FREE Blue Bell Tour, going on here in the DFW area. If you are a local it is a site worth subscribing to.
Are you a homeschool mom? Have you taken a fun field trip this summer? I would love to hear about it.
Looks like pretty useful info to me!! Definitely going to have my son who loves to hike carry a CD (and tp) from now on! Very fun trip, thanks!
Printabelle- I adore Blake and love giving him a hard time. He is such a riot!
Blake recently took a hunting safety course and he essentially recited the entire class on our trip home. He should write a book. 🙂
Your trip looks like so much fun. I am sure the kids learned a lot.
That’s how my son is, too, the first book he really read cover to cover was the driver’s safety handbook for our state. He really knows the laws, lol! But Blake did have some good tips that I will be sure to pass on to my son, thanks for sharing. The ice cream trip looks awesome! My kids would have loved that.
Yay! I’m so glad you went. It’s for a good cause AND you get free ice cream. You can’t beat that! I just wish we could have bumped into you while we were there and said “hi”.
Kim- I did not see anyone I knew while I was there except my group that I went with. I was looking for you. I would have loved to meet your little ones. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the awesome local events over on She is Dallas!
Blake is a riot! I know why he knows that Florida has the most cats. He Googled it because his Grandpa hates cats. He wanted to let him know to never go to Florida. Lol!
The field trip was a blast! I am so glad we were invited! 🙂
On a side note…..why does my teenager never smile? I guess I shouldn’t complain. At least he is in the picture.
Looks like a fun trip! Loved reading about it!
What a fun field trip! We toured the Mayfield Dairy and plant once, we really enjoyed it. I would love for you to link up this post with my Field Trip Friday Link Up! Here is the link to this week’s link up! http://allboyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2012/08/field-trip-friday-beaver-lake-bird.html