Start the first day with an early outdoors walk around Cleveland's Metroparks Zoo. The 165-acre zoo is home to 3,000 animals representing 600 species. It also has the largest collection of primates in North America.
Among the zoo's seven biothematic areas are "The Rainforest," "Austrailian Adventures," "Waterfowl Lake," and "African Savannah," giving children a broad introduction to animals and their habitats from all over the world.
The NASA Glenn Research Center at 21000 Brookpark Road near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is part of the NASA space research system. The visitor's center features an auditorium that shows films about NASA programs and live broadcasts of space shuttle launches and flights. There are six galleries featuring interactive exhibits that teach children about NASA, space exploration, satellites and the solar system.
The Natural History Museum, located at 1 Wade Oval Drive in the University Circle area, has a collection of more than 5 million specimens from 11 natural science disciplines. The collection includes dinosaur bones, monkey and human skeletons, and a gem and mineralogy collection. The museum also houses a planetarium that offers children and adults the opportunity to learn about astronomy. The planetarium's theater projector can show the position of stars, planets and galaxies.
The Children's Museum, 10730 Euclid Avenue in the University Circle area, fosters the physical, emotional and social development of children through age 8. Hands on exhibits, such as the "Splish! Splash!" water exhibit, encourage parent-child play.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located in downtown Cleveland on the shore of Lake Erie. Cleveland's most famous attraction is suitable for visitors of all ages. Children and adults can appreciate exhibits on favorite artists while learning about the history of rock and roll. Children will particularly enjoy seeing the memorabilia collections, which include colorful stage costumes and signed guitars.
Be warned that because an artist must have been active for at least 25 years to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and contemporary artists may not be represented. This outing works best for children with an interest in the history of music.
