Cleveland, Ohio (One-Day Tour)
This tour can be combined with Akron / Canton travel packages
Tour package includes educational Step-On-Guides

Cleveland has a proud history more than 200 years in the making.  General Moses Cleaveland founded the City of Cleveland in 1796.  The name changed to its current spelling in 1831 when the ‘a’ was dropped in order to fit the city's name on a newspaper masthead.  Originally a frontier village, Cleveland grew into a manufacturing and business center for Northern Ohio.  Today, the city is headquarters for manufacturing and service industries.  It is the 16th largest metro area and 15th largest consumer market in the United States with 2.9 million residents in Greater Cleveland metro and nearly 500,000 in the City of Cleveland, making it the 30th largest city in the country.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF CLEVELAND

The Children’s Museum is the only institution in Cleveland completely dedicated to the overall development of young children through multicultural programming.  In over 20 years of operation, the Museum continues in its mission to provide exhibits and programs that enhance child development – a place where thousands of young children annually ‘Discover the World and Learn through Play.’

CLEVELAND METROPARKS ZOO & RAINFOREST

Animals connect people to life.  Zoo animals help students appreciate the broader issues of how animals and people can survive together.  The Zoo began as Wade Park in 1882 after Jeptha H. Wade donated 73-acres of land and 14 American deer to the City of Cleveland.  By 1907, however, Cleveland City Council had laid plans to build the Cleveland Museum of Art and decided to move the Zoo to its current location.  Today, the Zoo is home to 84 endangered species and participates in cooperative breeding programs for 64 species.  See thousands of animals as you roam the Zoo's 168 rolling wooded acres and the Rainforest's two indoor acres.  Walk the African Savanna.  Journey through Northern Trek.  Experience the Australian Adventure.  Each exhibit is an adventure.

CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

In the 1830s, Cleveland’s first natural history collections were housed in a small wooden building on Public Square.  Its two rooms were crowded with animal specimens, earning it the nickname ‘the Ark.’  The gentlemen who frequented the Ark had a passion for the natural sciences.  The Cleveland Museum of Natural History was founded in 1920 in the spirit of this group.  Today the Museum is considered one of the finest institutions of its kind in North America and offers an extraordinary visitor experience.  Permanent exhibits of special interest include the 3 million-year-old human ancestor Australopithecus afarensis, known as ‘Lucy,’ and the 150 million year-old Haplocanthosaurus delfsi, one of the most complete mounted sauropods on display anywhere in the world.  The Museum also features a planetarium, observatory, discovery center, live animal shows and a wildlife center and woods garden highlighting native Ohio flora and fauna including bobcats, river otters and birds of prey.

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

A trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) offers a diverse array of activities.  The CVNP and the National Park Service provide several programs for students.  These programs are educational experiences for preschool, elementary and secondary classes offered throughout CVNP and explore a variety of topics from ecology, natural history and Ohio history.  The CVNP works hard to make their 33,000-acre classroom come alive for all ages.  Whether you prefer attending ranger-guided programs or exploring the park on your own, you can find something to your liking.  Take a hike, ride the scenic railroad, explore the visitor centers or view the Ohio & Erie Canal.  Whatever your preferences, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a wonderful educational resource.

GOODTIME CRUISE

For just plain fun you cannot match the experience of a lunch or dinner cruise on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie aboard Cleveland's largest sight-seeing vessel.  The Goodtime is the largest quadruple-deck 1,000 passenger luxury ship on the Great Lakes.  You'll enjoy the fast-changing panorama of Cleveland's skyline as you listen to your guide point out the many sights and little known historical facts about this All-American City.

GREAT LAKES SCIENCE CENTER & IMAX THEATRE

A day at the Great Lakes Science Center is a fun-filled, brain-building experience.  Kick back and enjoy a movie on the IMAX Theatre giant screen.  Get hands-on with over 400 exhibits.  Grab a bite to eat and shop at the Science Store.  You’ll want to return again and again.

LAKE FARMPARK

Lake Farmpark invites students to watch daily demonstrations of machine and hand milking, cheese-making, ice cream making and other farm skills.  The park is also home to 50 breeds of livestock, from pigs to alpacas, and students will delight in seeing the different animals being fed and cared for.  Lake Farmpark's ‘Plan Science Center’ features exhibits about hydroponics and organic gardening, cultivating honey and creating a viable greenhouse.  The Woodland Center offers displays on forest conservation, maple syrup harvesting and other outdoor activities of local interest.  Regular events include horse and wagon-drawn hayrides and sheepherding demonstrations.

LAKE VIEW CEMETERY

Founded in 1869, Lake View Cemetery sits on 285-acres of land.  It was modeled after the great garden cemeteries of Victorian England and France.  Offering the beauty, serenity, selection, history, horticulture and architecture rarely found in other cemeteries, Lake View is a treasure of outstanding architectural gems.  Some of its more famous residents include President James A. Garfield, John D. Rockefeller, law enforcement agent Eliot Ness and department store mogul Edwin Higbee.  Your exploration includes a guided tour of this historic cemetery.

LAWNFIELD (HOME OF PRESIDENT JAMES A. GARFIELD)

Located in Mentor, this home was acquired by James A. Garfield in 1876.  Named Lawnfield by reporters, it was the site of the first successful front porch campaign which saw Garfield elected as 20th President of the United States in 1880.  Following Garfield's assassination, the Memorial Library wing was added by Mrs. Garfield and her family – setting the precedent for presidential libraries.  Today, Garfield's home has been restored to the period of 1880-1904.  Your visit includes a guided tour of the home and self-exploration of the grounds.

MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage joins an elite group of world-class institutions as a living testament to the courage, conviction, aspiration and achievements of Cleveland's Jewish community.  The stories of individuals and families – past and present – come to life through state-of-the-art exhibitions, interactives and films, oral histories, photographs and artifacts.  The Museum includes The Temple, an internationally-recognized collection of Judaica and a special exhibition gallery featuring significant exhibitions of national and international acclaim.

NASA GLENN VISITOR CENTER

Looking for a unique way to teach your students about the science of flight or space exploration?  Spend an afternoon at the 6,000 square foot NASA Glenn Visitor Center and enjoy an out-of-this-world inspirational experience.  Students can countdown to a space shuttle launch, perform a microgravity experiment or pilot a high-performance jet.  The NASA Glenn Visitor Center is home to an auditorium, gift shop and six galleries.

PLAYHOUSE SQUARE CENTER

Playhouse Square is a state-of-the-art performing arts center that consists of five theatres – Ohio, State, Palace, Allen and Hanna Theatre – and is the second-largest theater complex in the United States (second only to New York City's Lincoln Center).  Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, the theaters were subsequently closed down but were revived through a grass-roots effort.  Their renovation and reopening helped usher in a new era of downtown revitalization in Cleveland.  Students can enjoy a guided tour of the complex or see a show.

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM

The 150,000 square foot Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum is the centerpiece of Cleveland's North Coast Harbor and is the world's first museum dedicated to the living heritage of rock and roll.  Through a dynamic experience encompassing interactive exhibits, performance spaces, special programs and displays of rock's greatest treasures from the museum's permanent collection, students are able to explore rock's ongoing evolution and its influences on many aspects of society, including politics, fashion, the economy, technology and the arts.

WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Western Reserve Historical Society is the largest privately supported regional historical society in the nation.  Today the Western Reserve is the primary center for the study and presentation of northeastern Ohio's human history and serves as a major educational resource for students of all ages.  Collections and exhibitions focus on the Western Reserve.  Both permanent and changing exhibitions place the region in its larger historical context.  The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum collections illustrate the history of the automotive industry in the Western Reserve as well as nationally and internationally.

WILLIAM G. MATHER STEAMSHIP MUSEUM

The William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter.  Built in Detroit by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in 1925 as the flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, the Mather remained the Cliff's flagship until the end of the 1980 navigation season.  In 1987 the Steamship William G. Mather was donated to the Great Lakes Historical Society and now sits on Lake Erie at Dock 32.  Your visit includes a guided tour of the ship Museum.

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24719 Dundee Drive
Cleveland, OH 44143

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