Known for landmarks such as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland offers many adventures for students to explore science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). Students can discover the science of theater and music, get an up-close look at underwater life and journey to space with NASA.
Science, technology, engineering and math come together in interactive exhibits and demonstrations at the Great Lakes Science Center. Students can travel through space at the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, get hands-on with design and engineering in the Cleveland Creates Zone or engage with an augmented reality sandbox. The NASA Glenn Visitor Center includes interactive exhibits where students can see an Apollo Command Module and space rock retrieved by the Apollo 15 crew. From May through September, groups can learn about life on a Great Lakes freighter aboard the William G. Mather Steamship.
Budding musicians have the chance to listen to and learn from the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra. After attending a concert, students can learn about how the intricate design of the historic Severance Hall affects concert acoustics during a behind the scenes tour. Students also have the option to experience the ultimate musical adventure with the Cleveland Orchestra and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Through the “Classical Music Rocks” package, students will explore the Hall’s exhibits, perform at the Rock Hall and enjoy a concert by one of the best ensembles in the world.
Students can experience the history of rock ‘n’ roll from artists like the Beatles and Johnny Cash to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. At the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, students will be able to explore the world’s largest collection of rock ‘n’ roll artifacts in the famous I.M. Pei-designed structure. Students also have the opportunity to perform at the Hall of Fame and participate in the “Rockin’ the Schools” K-12 program that utilizes rock history to teach music, science and social studies.
Groups can explore Cleveland from another angle aboard the Goodtime III (which boards next door to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) or the Nautica Queen for an afternoon or evening cruise on Lake Erie and/or the Cuyahoga River.
Located inside the FirstEnergy Powerhouse (a late 19th century landmark that generated electric power for Cleveland’s streetcar lines), the Greater Cleveland Aquarium offers a unique setting to learn about life under the sea. Students can get a hands-on learning experience with two interactive touch pools (one with stingrays and one with invertebrates), ask questions of deep-sea divers as they swim alongside sharks, stingrays and moray eels in a 230,000-gallon SeaTube and learn about water quality with experiments in one of the lab classes.
At Playhouse Square, the largest performing arts center outside of New York City, student groups can experience a variety of performances. The popular KeyBank Broadway Series also includes a pre-show “Broadway Buzz” session to learn about the production that groups will see. Backstage tours help students understand how art and history combine to create a memorable performance. And sure to dazzle students as they step off the bus is the world’s largest outdoor chandelier.
Groups can spend the day touring University Circle, the nation’s most concentrated square-mile of arts and culture institutions. Arts aficionados can interact with masterpieces at the Cleveland Museum of Art; history buffs can journey through the region’s past at the Cleveland History Center; or they can go back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the earth at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
