Factory-Bound: 15 Great Family Vacations

The author of this blog submission, Debbie Glade of Smart Poodle Publishing, is the Geography Awareness Editor for Wandering Educators. The original version of this blog can be found by following this link.

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to plan a vacation around touring some of American finest factories and manufacturing museums.

Visit a Detroit auto factory every time you visit the Detroit Institute of Arts. You won’t regret it.
Fresco by Diego Rivera, Copyright © 2018 Detroit Institute

What a fantastic family adventure it would be! Discovering where the products we use every day come from, and observing how they are made is one of the best ways to learn about real-world geography.

I found this great website called Factory Tours USA. It lists the factories (or former factories) that are open for tours in each of the 50 states. After browsing around the site, I found some fascinating places I would love to see. What about you?

Emancipation Hall, named to recognize the contributions of the enslaved laborers who helped build the U.S. Capitol, is the central gathering place for visitors coming to see the Capitol.
Photograph by U.S. Capitol

Why not do some research and plan a vacation around your favorite American products?

But before setting out on a factory tour, remember to check directly with the manufacturing company for tour hours and restrictions. Some factories are open only on a seasonal basis, some offer tours at specific times, some have age limits for children, and some require advanced reservations. It would be a shame to get there and find out the factory is not open that day!

Leave a Reply