Fun Factory Tours for Kids
Find Out How Things Are Made in Factories Throughout the US
Looking for a winter day-trip close to home for your children? Look no further than your local manufacturing plant for fun factory tours.
As winter weather sets in and you search for family outings that will keep you indoors, factory tours are a fun day-trip idea for children of all ages.
If your kids look at museums, theme restaurants and amusement parks and say, “Been there, done that,” try wowing them with an inside look into how things are made. Factory tours are an affordable day trip for your children; many companies offer free or low-cost tours, free samples and discounts at their gift shops.
No matter what your child’s interests are, there’s probably a factory within driving distance that they’ll find fascinating and educational.
Are your kids baseball fans? The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Louisville, Kentucky, offers a tour of the factory that makes the official bat of Major League Baseball.
Is someone in your family a musician? You can watch pianos being made at the Steinway factory in Long Island City, New York, and Martin Guitars being strung in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
If you live in or near Pennsylvania, you’ll find a surprising number of factory tours there, many of them free. The Crayola Factory in Easton isn’t a real, operating factory, but it offers demonstrations on how crayons are made. Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey has a tour as well as a theme park. Herr Foods in Nottingham and Utz Snacks in Hanover both have free tours of their snack food factories. And in Macungie, there’s the Mack Truck factory, open for public tours.
Here are some top fun factory tours for families throughout the United States.
Jelly Belly factories in Chicago and Fairfield, California, offer free tours. Visit the Jelly Belly Web site for more information on hours.
The Basic Brown Bear Factory in San Francisco offers a free tour with no reservations required. At Basic Brown Bear, one of the few manufacturers of stuffed animals in the United States, children can learn the history of the teddy bear and watch how teddy bear patterns are designed, cut and sewn. Call 1-866-522-2327 for more information.
Lionel Trains are still made in Chesterfield, Michigan, in a factory that gives free, hour-long tours several times a day Wednesday through Saturday. The tour includes some hands-on fun for kids. Reservations are recommended.
Mrs. Grossman’s Stickers, the largest and oldest sticker company in the United States, offers a tour of its Petaluma, California, factory, where 700 different kinds of stickers are currently being made. Visitors can watch machines laser-cut stickers, sort them and wrap them. Tours are one hour long, admission is charged, and reservations are recommended.
The American Whistle Corporation in Columbus, Ohio, is the only manufacturer of metal whistles in the United States. Its whistles are the loudest in the world and are the official whistle of the Boy Scouts of America and the National Fraternal Order of Police. Factory tours are geared toward young people.
Car lovers will love the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The one-mile walking tour takes you through the making of America’s favorite sports car.
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream in Waterbury, Vermont, offers a tour of its ice cream factory. For more information call 1-866-BJTours. There is an admission for the 30-minute tour.
Eli’s Cheesecake World in Chicago offers tours every weekday at 1 p.m. There is an admission.
The Herschell Carrousel Factory and Museum in North Tonawanda, New York, offers a glimpse into the history and making of carousels.
