finger lickin’ fun” Kentucky Fried Chicken

Headquarters

The Explorers took a tasty trip to Kentucky Fried Chicken headquarters in Louisville. In addition to learning fun facts about Colonel Sanders, they ate the best KCF nuggets and fries! * Jasmine Liggins tries to crack the code to the safe that contains the secret recipe of the chicken known for its seven herbs and spices. Below: The Explorers sit at the original Colonel Sanders desk where they play on his rotary-dial phone.

By Alayna and Aaliyah Swift and Cianna Hobson

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, our campaign to raise $15,000 to see U.S. National Parks was a success. Our first National Park was Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

The Merze Tate Explorers had ran frantically from the van to make our tour time of 4 p.m. It was the last tour of the day, and we had to make it. Our late start from our visit to Churchill Downs, and a race against an approaching storm, had us worried. But we made it!

As we ran to join the tour, the lead park ranger announced, “Hold on to your tickets! We have to get to the caves. A big storm is heading our way. We will check your tickets once we are inside the cave!” The clouds were rushing in, and the sky was getting darker. We put on the rain ponchos my mom brought for everyone and moved quickly through a wooded area and down stone stairs to safety. We were now in Mammoth Cave with more than 50 other tourists.

The cave once was used to produce and store weapons and gunpowder in 1812. Enslaved individuals worked in the cave and helped provide war materials. We saw things like the Bottomless Pit, an underground waterfall, and many carvings on the walls. In some places, we had to duck our heads and squeeze through places like an area called Fat Man’s Misery. We climbed over 500 stairs and had to walk up steep ramps.

“By the 1830s, Mammoth Cave was on its way to becoming a large tourist attraction,” said the cave tour guide. He said on July 6, 1941, Mammoth Cave was officially a national park.

Stephen Bishop, an enslaved teenager, discovered the front part of the cave. In 1838, he was put on assignment by his slave master to explore the caves as a future tour attraction. When Bishop found the cave, there was a wall in the middle of the cave separating the front and the back of the cave. We bravely made our way through that cave with new knowledge and memories, thanks to Stephen.

Cianna:

My experience at Mammoth Cave was a very ‘up and down one.’ On one hand, I saw and learned new things. I got to go to a new place and see beautiful new sights like the underground waterfall. But, on the other hand, the floor was uneven, and in some parts, the walls were more narrow than others. Water was flowing from the ceiling, and there were lots and lots of stairs to climb. Overall, it was a great experience and nothing like I’ve ever done before.

Alayna:

It was fun, exciting, scary, cool, and inspirational. Mammoth Cave taught me so many things. I learned that Native Americans once lived in the caves. I also learned that Mammoth Cave was made by water erosion. At the start of the cave, it was very wet, and water was flowing down to the bottom. I wondered, how does it flow water when there are no water sources around it? I was thinking about this while we were in the cave, and that’s why I hit my head three times! Then, the ranger turned out his lantern light so we would see just how the cave looked in complete darkness. Girls screamed! Mammoth Cave was shocking. As part of the tour, I learned that there are many water sources under the cave, so water generates to the top and flows to the bottom.

Aaliyah:

I enjoyed my time in the cave. When we started the cave tour, it was raining so hard. We were wet and cold. As the journey went on, I learned lots of new things. We crouched a lot and had to turn in different ways to find different parts of the cave. We also had to climb up hundreds of stairs. But in the end, we took lots of pictures, and it was lots of fun! Mammoth Cave is a beautiful, inspiring place to visit.

By Alayna and Aaliyah Swift and Cianna Hobson

What was the name of the first female horse ever to win the Kentucky Derby? What year did the first African-American jockey ride in a Derby race? What was the fastest time a horse ran in the Kentucky Derby?

The Explorers learned the answers to these questions and more during an adventure to Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby.

Over 10,000 excited fans attended the first official Kentucky Derby race in 1875. Today, it has become the longest, continuously held sporting event in the United States. In 1915, the first female horse won a Derby. Her name was Regret. They named her Regret because she was a girl horse who many felt would not reach her full potential. How wrong they were. Regret became the first superstar of horse racing.

How the race is run

The Derby race consists of 20 horses. Days before the event, an official pulls the names of each horse from a hat to determine which spot on the track the horse will get. Before the race, the crowd sings, “My Old Kentucky Home.” The jockeys get in the starter stall and wait for the lowering of the flag. The stall gates open, and the race is on!

Fun Fact:

Our guide told us that the lane on the track that has had the most winners is lane 5. No one has ever won if they are in lane 17. (Maybe one day.)

The horses run on a moist track made of silt, clay, and sand. The amount of money a horse owner wins is now $1.68 million dollars! The winning horse, the jockey, and the horse’s owner celebrate the win with roses, a golden statue, and the title of Kentucky Derby winner. The jockey who rides the winning horse may receive about $5,000. In the past, jockeys protested for better pay. We learned from exhibits in the Kentucky Derby Museum that they paid African-American jockeys four times less than white jockeys.

The History of African American jockeys

African-American jockeys were great horse racers in the Derby. Oliver Lewis was an African American from Kentucky who raced the horse, Aristide, in the very first Derby, on May 17, 1875. He won the race but never raced again. African-American jockeys won 15 of the first 28 Derby races. Other African-American jockeys who won the Derby include William Walker, James “Soup” Perkins, and many more!

Learn more at https://www.derbymuseum.org/Exhibits/ Detail/12/Black-Heritage-in-Racing

After 1921, racism kept African-American jockeys from racing. It wasn’t until 2000 that Marlon St. Julien represented African Americans as a Derby winner. The Churchill Downs Museum has many plaques dedicated to the African-American jockeys.

Millionaire Row

Our tour guide said that those with the best seats and access during the Kentucky Derby sit in Millionaire’s Row. They also have the VIP privilege of eating in a special restaurant. The news of mysterious horse deaths caused the cancellation of our brunch at the special restaurant. But we could still wear our bright, colorful outfits and fancy hats in honor of the Kentucky Derby tradition.