Yesterday, we took a field trip to Louisville, KY, and toured the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.

It’s a fantastic place. We went on the factory tour first thing, and while no photography is allowed on the factory floor, there is one window into the factory for public viewing. It was fascinating seeing how the bats are made, and how quickly!

The Bat Vault, the “Fort Knox of Louisville Slugger,” was especially popular with the children.

The museum was also fascinating. It’s quite interactive. There’s even a place where you can stand and see a 90 mph fastball coming at you, which is unsettling…you barely see, and it’s on the ground!

Of course I loved the tribute to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League!

There’s a section dedicated to the Louisville awards, including the Silver Slugger and the Silver Bat.

There’s also a small theater that shows a short film narrated by none other than James Earl Jones. The exit from the theater leads you through a clubhouse-like hallway to a dugout.

Baseball is everywhere you look in the building!

Of course, we had to look for Stan Musial on the two Walls of Fame!

There’s even a batting cage, which was very popular with the big kids (including Daddy and Grandpa!), and a “Small Ball” area with a tee and plastic bats for the under-five crowd.

 

The outside of the museum boasts the World’s Biggest Bat, an exact-scale replica of Babe Ruth’s Louisville Slugger.

And a large brickwork ball to go with it!

There’s also a super-sized Kentucky limestone glove inside.

This was a great day trip for our family…we got to learn more about baseball, and there was plenty of activity to keep us busy after we spent a few hours in the car!