What happened to plant tours? Where you can still see things being made in Indiana.

• Author: Johnson, J. Douglas

I'll always remember running across a gravel parking lot, following the arrows on signs that said "Tour," waiting forever for my folks to catch up and walking miles to watch mounds of grain processed into breakfast cereal. We were at Kellogg in Battle Creek, Mich. My dad promised, "I'll show you where your Corn Flakes come from." By golly, he did. And it was a thrill.

I've heard they quit taking people around in 1986. I guess it was the insurance, the lawyers, the liability, the trouble it takes, the extra cost for guides. That's a darn shame, not to let kids see what goes on inside a manufacturing plant. Kids, and everybody else for that matter, ought to learn things don't just sprout on grocery-store shelves, grow in discount-store aisles or blossom on showroom floors.

There are places in Indiana where people can still witness the mysterious alchemy of changing raw material into stuff people want and need. To find some examples, we checked a guide published by the Tourism Development Division of the Indiana Department of Commerce. Thirty-eight manufacturing and agricultural firms are listed. We picked three and looked into what they offer.

LTV STEEL

Climb into a flame-retardant green coat, put on a white hard hat and safety glasses with side shields and take a four-hour trip around LTV Steel's Indiana Harbor Works. It's the only steel-mill tour in the region. Oh, and wear comfortable, flat, closed-toe shoes. For reservations call 219/391-2226 or fax 219/391-2911. No cameras. No children under 12. From March through November, tours are arranged for the third Friday of the month starting at 8 a.m. or 1 p.m.

"For tour guides we have four retirees," says spokeswoman Jolice Pojeta. "Most groups average 15 visitors, however, school buses that seat 44 people are used for larger groups. Close to 2,000 people visited us in 1993, and we have hosted about 10,000 people since tours were first offered in 1987."

The tour begins at the Visitor's Center with a 10-minute videotape and a chance to see, touch and sniff samples of ingredients combined to make various types of steel. The big blast furnace that produces iron is not included in the tour but is shown in the taped introduction. A van whisks people to a "BOF," basic oxygen furnace, to see molten metal heated to 3,000 degrees. It is dramatic to watch it being poured and "charging." The furnace "cooks" a 285-ton batch every 30 minutes, averaging 12,000 tons a day. Oxygen is blown into the furnace...