Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (One-Day Tour)
This tour can be combined with Washington County travel packages

Pittsburgh is the second largest city in Pennsylvania.  It is the county seat of Allegheny County and the economic, cultural, academic, transportational and service hub of the Pittsburgh Metro Area and the Pittsburgh Tri-State.  Built on the land between the confluence of the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela Rivers and the surrounding hills, Pittsburgh features a skyline of skyscrapers and dozens of bridges.  Today, Pittsburgh remains the chief city of the eastern Ohio River Valley.  Because of its setting, economic opportunities, low cost of living and growing educational, cultural and medical infrastructures, Pittsburgh is often ranked as one of the nation's most livable cities.

ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM

Through a lifetime of creative work encompassing paintings, films, drawings, music production, sculpture and commercial work, Andy Warhol maintained a relevant and vital link to the emerging present.  The Education Department of the Andy Warhol Museum takes this relevancy and vitality as its touchstone, embracing the creative play, experimentation, collaboration and documentation that characterized Warhol's art and life.  Create a one-of-a-kind experience for your group at the Andy Warhol Museum.  One hour general tours of the Museum are available with focused discussions on specific works and/or themes customized to your group's interest.  Tours are led by Artist/Educators docents – diverse working artists who bring their own practice, innovative ideas and experience to the interpretation of Warhol's art.

CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART

The Carnegie Museum of Art offers a distinguished collection of contemporary art that includes film and video works.  Other collections of note include works of American art from the late 19th century, French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, and European and American decorative arts from the late 17th century to the present.  The Heinz Architectural Center, opened as part of the Museum in 1993, is dedicated to the collection, study and exhibition of architectural drawings and models.  The Hall of Architecture contains the largest collection of plaster casts of architectural masterpieces in America and one of the three largest in the world.  The marble Hall of Sculpture replicates the interior of the Parthenon.  To create the museum experience that best matches the interests of your students and your curriculum needs, choose a guided gallery tour or a gallery studio program.

CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Founded in 1895 by Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History conducts scientific inquiry that creates knowledge and promotes stewardship of Earth and its life; builds strategic collections to preserve evidence of that knowledge; and engages students in the excitement of scientific discovery about the evolutionary, environmental and cultural processes that shape the diversity of our world and its inhabitants.  Give your students the opportunity to handle museum artifacts, meet live animals and explore world-class exhibits.  View the museum through the Carnegie’s talented museum docent staff.  Docent-led tours can focus on a topic or an exhibit hall.  Docents facilitate the learning process through an interactive discussion with students.  For more enjoyment - bring your sleeping bags for a ‘camping’ experience inside Carnegie Museum of Natural History! Sleep tight in the company of a rhinoceros or roll out your sleeping bag in the high meadow next to a grizzly.  Overnights include hands-on activities, an evening snack, a continental breakfast, an embroidered patch, and visits to the Natural History Store and Discovery Room in the morning.  Some adventures may include a Science on Stage performance, an Earth Theater show, or special guest appearances.  Don’t forget to explore the other exhibit areas with your free admission the next day.

CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER & IMAX THEATRE

Carnegie Science Center is dedicated to inspiring learning and curiosity by connecting science and technology with everyday life.  There is no better way to engage young minds in scientific learning than to provide stimulating, hands-on opportunities for exploration.  That’s why the Carnegie Science Center is committed to making it as easy as possible for students to use the facility as their very own larger-than-life learning lab.  Four floors of hands-on exhibits are designed to teach specific concepts that relate to your school’s curriculum, offering open-ended experiences that allow students to discover the science hidden behind the fun.  Educational programs available include History, Biology, Space and Risk.  When you’re done, kick back and enjoy a movie on the IMAX Theatre giant screen.

CATHEDRAL OF LEARNING

The Cathedral of Learning, a National Historic Landmark, is the second tallest education building in the world – 42 stories and 535 feet tall.  It is also the geographic and traditional heart of the University of Pittsburgh campus.  In addition to the magnificent three story ‘Commons Room’ at ground level, the Cathedral of Learning also contains the internationally renowned Nationality Classrooms.  The Nationality Rooms are expressions of timeless human values.  In these rooms themes are rendered in wood and glass, iron and stone, fabric, color and words.  Inspiration flows from such varied sources as Athens in the time of Pericles, a palace hall in Beijing's Forbidden City, an ancient monastic Indian university, flowers that grow in Czech and Slovak valleys, a 6th century oratory from Ireland's Golden Age, an Asante temple courtyard in Ghana, London's House of Commons and the intimate hearth-centered life of America's early New Englanders.  Enduring concepts spanning time and space are clearly expressed for students to interpret: honesty, courage, love of nature, order, faith, freedom, respect for learning and the urge to create beauty.

FRANK LLOYD’S WRIGHT FALLINGWATER

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmann Family in 1935, the house is dramatically cantilevered over a waterfall.  Named one of ‘50 places of a lifetime’ by National Geographic Traveler, it is the only major Wright work to come into the public domain with its site, furnishings and art collection intact.  Student groups explore the theme of living in harmony with nature by helping them understand basic architectural concepts about Fallingwater.  Students are introduced to Frank Lloyd Wright, his design ideas and the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh, the patrons for the house.  Fallingwater is discussed in context with the western Pennsylvania region’s ecology and historical culture of the 1930s.  The tour gives students some basic tools for understanding a building visually and how architects make design choices.

FRICK ART & HISTORICAL CENTER

The Frick Art & Historical Center is a fascinating complex of museums and historical buildings located on over 5-acres of lawns and gardens in Pittsburgh's residential East End.  The Center is devoted to the interpretation of the life and times of industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick.  Exhibitions of fine and decorative art are also presented at the Center.  Clayton, the restored Frick family home, is the cornerstone of the Center.  In addition to Clayton, students enjoy the Frick Art Museum, the Car and Carriage Museum, the Greenhouse, the Frick children's playhouse, a Visitors' Center and a gift shop.  Entertaining educational programs are available for all ages, all year-round.

GATEWAY CLIPPER

The Gateway Clipper Fleet is America's premier riverboat excursion operation and is the number one attraction in the city of Pittsburgh.  Cruises sail 365 days a year from their dock at Historic Station Square on the southern bank of the Monongahela River in downtown Pittsburgh.  Their five riverboats are fully equipped, staffed and climate-controlled for your comfort all year long.  During the last 50 years, over 20 million passengers have sailed the three rivers on one of the Fleet's riverboats.  Students can enjoy either a scenic lunch or dinner cruise.

PHIPPS CONSERVATORY & BOTANICAL GARDENS

Encounter the wonders of the natural world.  Tour through the jewel-like Conservatory and visit exotic lands and ancient worlds with vivid colors, natural oddities and surprises around every corner.  Built in 1883, the Conservatory is a prime example of Victorian glasshouses.  The Conservatory is home to annual flower shows, engaging exhibits, special lectures and fun activities/events for students, including the Tropical Forest Conservatory and new greenhouses that have replaced the Depression-era growing rooms ensuring another century of premier horticultural exhibits and collections.  Students can enjoy an intricate and fascinating world of plants through a guided tour of the Conservatory or self-exploration.

POINT STATE PARK

Point State Park is at the tip of Pittsburgh’s ‘Golden Triangle.’  It commemorates and preserves the strategic and historic heritage of the area during the French and Indian War (1754-1763).  Students walk along paved promenades on the riverfront and to overlooks for dramatic views of Pittsburgh, its busy waterways, scenic hillsides and many bridges.  Natural landscaping and a 150 foot tall fountain enhance the beauty of this unique park at the ‘Forks of the Ohio.’  The Fort Pitt Museum, the Fort Pitt Blockhouse and many plaques interpret the history and significance of the area.

SPORTSWORKS

Few subjects excite students more than the wide world of sports and that world provides infinite connections to physics, technology and biology.  From our view, the world of sports is a fantastic portal to scientific excitement.  That excitement has been transformed into the world’s largest science-of-sport exhibition.  At 35,000 square feet, SportsWorks offers over 40 exhibits and more than 60 interactive experiences designed to challenge your mind and body.  Bring your sneakers, your camera and your competitive spirit – you're going to have a great time.

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Cleveland, OH 44143

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