Cincinnati / Dayton, Ohio (Multi-Day Tour)
This tour can be combined with Lexington / Louisville and Nashville travel packages

Cincinnati lies in southwestern Ohio on the banks of the Ohio River.  It is considered to have been the first major American ‘boomtown,’ rapidly expanding in the heart of the country in the early 19th century to rival the coastal metropolis in size and wealth.  As the first major inland city in the country, it is sometimes thought of as the first purely American city, lacking the heavy European influence that was present on the east coast.  However, by the end of the century, its growth unexpectedly stopped and it was surpassed in population by many other inland cities.  Today, greater Cincinnati is the 25th largest metropolitan area in the nation.  Dayton is situated within the Miami Valley region, just north of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.  Dayton plays host to significant industrial, aerospace and technological/engineering research activity and is known for the many technical innovations and inventions developed there.  The city was the home of the Wright brothers, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and entrepreneur John H. Patterson.

CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM

Located in scenic Eden Park, the Cincinnati Art Museum features an unparalleled art collection of more than 60,000 works spanning 6,000 years of world art.  Ranked 'Top Art Museum for Families' by Parenting magazine, the Museum offers self-guided tours and educational activities for students all ages.  In addition to the art of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, there are extensive galleries of Near and Far Eastern art, Native American and African art and extensive galleries of furniture, glass, ceramics, silver, costumes and folk art.  The painting collection includes works by European old masters such as Titian, Van Dyck, Hals, Rubens and Gainsborough as well as 19th and 20th century works by Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Braque, Modigliani, Miró and Chagall.  The American collection holds works by Copley, Cole, Harnett, Wyeth, Wood, Hopper, Diebenkorn and Rothko, as well as major artists from the 1970s and 1980s.

CINCINNATI HISTORY MUSEUM

The Cincinnati History Museum opened in 1990 and is one of the largest and most significant urban history museums in the country.  The Cincinnati History Museum displays materials and related aspects of the history of Cincinnati and the surrounding region.  Students can see the nation’s largest full-motion, S-scale urban layout model of the city of Cincinnati from the 1900s to the 1940s with working trains and inclines as well as interactive computer stations.  Costumed interpreters throughout the Museum allow students the unique opportunity to make a personal connection with the past.  Speak with a settler new to the river valley in 1792 or help a flatboat man unload his boat.  Students can book passage on the recreated Queen of the West steamboat or help the printer set type in their Public Landing area.  Students can then travel through time and speak with a housewife during World War II making do with rationing or step on board their World War II era streetcar to find out about Cincinnati during the 1940s from the conductor.  Guided or self-guided tours are available.

CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER IMAX THEATRE

The Robert D. Lindner Family IMAX Theater is one of the most successful of its kind in the United States.  Cincinnati Museum Center's IMAX Theater surrounds viewers with super-sized images and exceptional visual and audio quality, making them feel as if they are ‘in the picture.’  It features a five-story, 72 foot diameter, tilted, domed screen and one of the most sophisticated digital sound systems.  The IMAX Theatre is located in the historic Union Terminal train station.  Originally built in 1933, the building is a National Historic Landmark and was renovated and reopened as the Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990.

CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN

The world famous Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden was rated the No. 1 attraction in Cincinnati and one of the top five zoos in the nation by Zagat Survey.  It has also been recognized by Child Magazine as one of ‘The 10 Best Zoos for Kids.’  Opened in 1875, it is the nation’s second oldest zoo and a National Historic Landmark.  Over one million people visit the Zoo's award winning exhibits and more than 500 animal and 3,000 plant species annually.  The Zoo is an accredited member of the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA), is internationally known for its success in the protection and propagation of endangered animals and plants, and engages in research and conservation projects worldwide. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is dedicated to creating experiences that foster a sense of wonder, share knowledge and advocate active involvement with wildlife and wild places.  Guided or self-guided tours are available.

CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER

The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is a museum that showcases ‘art of the last five minutes’ in a building that has gained international acclaim for its extraordinary architecture.  Nestled in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, the CAC has served as a beacon for progressive thought in the community for more than 65 years.  Founded in Cincinnati in 1939 as the Modern Art Society by three visionary local women, the center was one of the first institutions in the United States dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art.  Today the Contemporary Arts Center has a reputation for provoking thought and introducing new ideas.  The CAC focuses on new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media.

DUKE ENERGY’S CHILDREN MUSEUM

Duke Energy Children’s Museum opened in 1998 and has since consistently ranked in the top 25 children’s museums in the world.  The Museum’s exhibits allow students to climb, crawl, explore and learn about themselves and the world around them.  Discover hands-on fun for students in their eight educational and dramatic exhibit areas including two especially designed for preschool age children and younger – Little Sprouts Farm and Kids’ Town.  Each year the Children’s Museum presents over 1,800 hours of programming for students covering topics such as arts, culture, reading, science and more.  At the Children’s Museum, fun and learning go hand in hand.

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE HOUSE

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is operated as an historical and cultural site, focusing on Harriet Beecher Stowe.  The site includes a look into the family, friends and colleagues of the Beecher-Stowe family, Lane Seminary and the abolitionist women’s rights and Underground Railroad movements in which these historical figures participated in the 1830s to 1860s, as well as African-American history related to these movements.  The Beechers lived in Cincinnati for nearly 20 years, from 1832 to the early 1850s, before returning east.  Shortly after leaving Cincinnati and basing her writing on her experiences in Cincinnati in 1851-1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe authored the best-selling book of its time, ‘Uncle Tom's Cabin.’  Today, ‘Uncle Tom's Cabin’ has been published in over 75 languages and is a remarkable example of how one person can make a huge impact to improve the lives of millions of people.  Your visit will include a guided tour of this historic home.

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY & SCIENCE

Walk through a glacier and step back 19,000 years into the Ice Age of the Ohio Valley.  Explore a recreated Kentucky limestone cave, complete with underground waterfalls, streams, fossils and a live bat colony.  Interactive exhibits of the human body, a natural trading post, and migration and extinction complement live demonstrations from gardening to collecting and cleaning fossils to teach how all facets of the natural world interact.  Special exhibits include a simulated limestone cave modeled on caves found in the tri-state region of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.  The cave covers two levels, 500 feet of passageways and includes a waterfall, underground stream, formation chamber and the bat chamber, home to the Museum's own Big Brown Bat colony.  Step back in time to the Ohio Valley 19,000 years ago when the last glacier in this area started its retreat north.  Become a detective and learn about what animals lived in the Greater Cincinnati area at that time and how we learned about them.  Walk through a recreated glacier and experiment with water run-off in the stream table or learn about the force of a glacier by trying to move a rock over another rock as a glacier would.  Then explore an ice cave that brings you to a trail that compresses the view of about 30 miles from the cold, dry end of the glacier in Ohio to the pine forest and bogs of Northern Kentucky.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE & IMAX THEATRE

The National Museum of the United States Air Force located near Dayton is the largest and oldest military aviation museum in the world.  The Museum uses both chronological and subjective layouts to tell the exciting story of aviation development from the days of the Wright brothers to the Space Age.  Exhibits include more than 300 aircraft and aerospace vehicles – many rare and one-of-a-kind, thousands of historical items and powerful sensory exhibits.  The Museum stands as a memorial to the legacy and sacrifices of Air Force servicemen and women past, present and future.  When you’re done, kick back and enjoy a movie on the IMAX Theatre giant screen.

NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center stands as the nation's newest monument to freedom.  It brings to life the importance – and relevance – of struggles for freedom around the world and throughout history, including today.  Made up of three buildings that symbolize the cornerstones of freedom – courage, cooperation and perseverance – the Freedom Center's curving architecture reflects the winding river and the often-changing path to freedom.  Now as in the past, Cincinnati's location on the Ohio River puts it at the crossroads of freedom's journey.  In the 1800s the city served as a major hub of activity on the Underground Railroad and its banks offered refuge to thousands seeking hope and a new way of life.  Today, it acts as a beacon of light once more.

NEWPORT AQUARIUM

Located in nearby Newport, Kentucky, the Newport Aquarium showcases over 7,000 aquatic creatures from around the world in a million gallons of water.  A state-of-the art facility, the Newport Aquarium brings to the banks of the Ohio River some of the world's most advanced, creative technology – not to mention amazing animals – all designed to take students around the globe, visiting each continent, every ocean and hundreds of waterways in between.  What a way to travel – underwater tunnels, see-through floors, walk-around exhibits and a touch pool.  No one before has combined, with such mesmerizing flare, the magic of entertainment and the power of education.  The Aquarium’s underwater tunnels, totaling 200 feet, are among the very few in the world that are completely seamless.  Designed and manufactured in Colorado, each is one solid piece of acrylic, resulting in a 100 percent unobstructed view of the watery world that surrounds you.  You'll walk on the wet side in a kelp forest, a moray eel hideaway, a flooded Amazon rainforest, a colorful coral reef and a shark feeding ground, surrounded by sharks.

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