The Caterpillar Visitor Center in Peoria

Yesterday we went to the Caterpillar visitor center in Peoria and got to see some very interesting equipment. My favorite thing that they had there was a simulator for an excavator. It had seats and controls from the real equipment. On the excavator simulator you had to move a pile of dirt on to a pipe and cover it completely in a certain amount of time. It was very hard to master the controls. It had two joysticks. The left joystick controls the stick, the house and forward and reverse controls. The right joystick controls the bucket, boom and steering. I know I did better than dad because I didn’t flip the excavator. Dad broke the sim when he flipped it. My problem was that I over reacted and swung the bucket to far.  In my panic I spilled most of the dirt out of the bucket and had to start all over again.

They also had a Cat 797F mining truck that could hold a load up to 400 tons. They had to put a plastic bed and plastic wheels and rims to make it lighter so they can store it inside. The bed of the truck was so big that they used it for a theater. The movie was about the history of Caterpillar and how grateful they are for customers. Visiting the Caterpillar visitor center gave me an idea of how much work goes into making a vehicle, engine and transmissions.