top ten factory tours

25 Best Factory Tours in America for Families Who Love to Go Behind the Scenes

Find out what it takes to construct a jellybean, giant plane and everything in between.

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After a prolonged period of being stuck at home, some families are looking to travel again. And while the COVID-19 pandemic means that precautions still have to be taken, and not every destination is up and running at 100% capacity, there's still plenty of unique experiences out there that are once again open to the public.

The following factory tours and appropriate for kids, are well-reviewed by families and are currently open to visitors (or will be opening soon). But you might want to book ahead — some require timed tickets or reservations before you visit. But when you're done, you'll all know a little bit more about how the world around you is made.

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (Louisville, Kentucky)

Swing by to see how baseball bats are made — this company has been churning them out since 1884. Your family can walk through the factory production line and watch the wood chips fly! Everyone can try out bats from iconic players, like Babe Ruth and Derek Jeter. With plenty of photo ops (including your crew inside a giant baseball mitt) and a free mini bat souvenir for every guest, this tour will be a home run. Open daily; $ 18 for adults, $11 for ages 6 – 12, free for ages 5 and under

Jelly Belly Visitor Center & Factory (Fairfield, California)

From your perch above the production line, you’ll witness all the steps — slurry, steam bath, glossy application — it takes to create the gourmet jellybeans that have been a thing since the late 1800s. Video screens provide close-ups and fun facts (like it takes 1 – 2 weeks to make a jellybean). Feeling hungry? Stop at the café for a jellybean-shaped pizza. Open daily (but factory workers are typically there only on weekdays), $5 for adults, $2 for ages 2 and up, free for younger kids

The Kazoo Factory Tour Experience (Beaufort, South Carolina)

After learning the ins and outs of kazoo-making during a factory walk-through, everyone gets to create their own instrument to take home. A built-in souvenir is music to our ears! Open Monday to Friday, $9 for adults, $7 for ages 4 – 11, free for younger kids

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PEZ Visitor Center (Orange, Connecticut)

The colorful facility dispenses equal parts nostalgia (it maintains well-organized vintage PEZ displays) and tech wizardry (you can see how the famous candy is packed). Be sure to snap your kid’s pic in front of the world’s largest PEZ dispenser, which looks like a person wearing a PEZ-themed baseball cap. Open daily; $5 for adults, $4 for ages 3 – 12, free for younger kids

Polaris Experience Center (Roseau, Minnesota)

School-age kids who love to build things will have their mind blown going behind-the-scenes at this maker of snowmobiles and ATVs. On the guided tour, they’ll see laser cutters, high-speed saws and other cool equipment making parts for the vehicles. They can also watch motors being installed and ATVs being tested. Whoa! Open Monday to Friday; children under age 6 prohibited; free

Hammond’s Candy Factory Tour (Denver, Colorado)

This centuries-old confectioner invites you to see how it makes its lollipops, candy canes and other treats. Looking through large viewing windows, your crew will be gobsmacked at how the colorful candies are shaped and packaged. Open Monday –Saturday; free

Kohler Design Center Factory Tour (Kohler, Wisconsin)

Got a teen whose interested in manufacturing? They’ll be fascinated by this detailed two-hour, 3 ½-mile foray behind the scenes of how the brand’s famous plumbing products are created. Open Monday – Friday, children under 14 not permitted, free

Sweet Pete’s Candy Shop (Jacksonville, Florida)

Willy Wonka vibes are strong at this mansion that takes guests from room to room of candy-making demos. You’ll get to design your own chocolate bar, choosing from more than 16 toppings. Check availability online; $6.45 per person

Henry Ford Rouge Factory Tour (Dearborn, Michigan)

One truck per minute rolls off the assembly line at this famous automotive factory — and your crew gets a birds-eye view of the goings-on from a 1/3-mile observation deck. There’s also a gallery of cool cars, like a 1965 Ford Mustang, to check out. Check dates online; $22 for adults, $16.50 for ages 5 – 11, free for younger kids

Turkey Hill Experience (Columbia, Pennsylvania)

While the dairy producer’s actual factory is closed to the public, this children’s museum-like attraction gives families the inside scoop on ice cream-making, plus unlimited free samples. Your kids can create their own virtual flavor, and then star in a commercial promoting it . Open daily; starts at $10.50 per person

World of Coca-Cola (Atlanta, Georgia)

Since you can’t tour an actual Coke bottling plant, this attraction is the next best thing. Its Bottle Works exhibit, showcasing real equipment, explains the packaging process. And you’ll get a chance to taste different kinds of sodas from around the world. Open daily; $19 for adults, $15 for ages 3 – 12, free for younger kids

Tillamook Creamery Tour (Tillamook, Oregon)

From a viewing gallery above the factory floor, you’ll see how milk becomes cheese. Then hit the dining hall for gooey faves, likes grilled cheese and mac ’n cheese. Your fam can even share a “flight” of ice cream. Open daily; tour is free, you can add tasting experiences for a charge

Warner Bros. Studio Tour (Los Angeles, California)

Your crew will be star-struck hanging out at a working movie studio. During the hour-long guided portion, you’ll see backlots, movie sets and maybe even spy someone famous. Then you’ll have two more hours to explore on your own — plenty of time to snap a pic of your family in front of the fountain from Friends . Open daily: $69 for adults, $59 for ages 5 – 10

The Great Utz Chip Trip Tour (Hanover, Pennsylvania)

Kids will discover how potatoes get turned into chips at this famous maker’s plant near the Pennsylvania-Maryland border. They can watch factory workers from an observation gallery; closed-circuit TV monitors provide close-ups. Everyone receives a free sample of chips at the end. Open Monday – Thursday, free

Ben & Jerry’s Factory Experience (Waterbury, Vermont)

With a tentative re-opening planned for the end of June 2022, this beloved attraction wets appetites with a short movie about how Ben & Jerry got their start. From there, it’s off to the mezzanine where you’ll watch how the ice cream is made. Samples of ice cream (sometimes a flavor that’s exclusive to the factory) is the proverbial cherry on top. On your way out, visit the “ice cream graveyard” of flavors that are no longer made. Check back for ticket info

The Crayola Experience (Easton, Pennsylvania)

There are many activities to take part in at The Crayola experience, including a live show where a "crayonologist" demonstrates how crayons are made. The 65,000-square-foot attraction also includes a toddler and a big-kid playground, interactive games and a studio for art projects, among manny other stations — they recommend blocking out three or four hours for a visit. Open daily. Admission is $25 if you buy tickets in advance; a timed ticket is required for all visitors ages 3 and up. There are also Crayola Experience locations in Chandler, Arizona; Mall of America, Minnesota; Orlando, Florida and Plano, Texas, but offerings may vary

Taza Chocolate Factory Tour (Somerville, Massachusetts)

Specializing in stone-ground chocolate, this candy maker explains the production process and hosts a sampling. On weekends, there’s a scavenger hunt-themed tour for kids under age 10 . Open Wednesday – Sunday; $8-$12 per person

The White House (Washington, DC)

Though not a factory in the traditional sense, White House tours are back, and you can meander around the famous Blue Room, Red Room, State dining room and — best of all — the Rose Garden. But you can’t wait until the last minute to book. Twenty-one to 90 days before you’d like to visit, you need to request one of the free tours by contacting your congress member’s office. Tours are only available on Fridays and Saturdays

Blue Bell Creamery Factory Tour (Brenham, Texas)

Look high above the factory floor to see ice cream being packaged in different types of containers. An employee is on-hand to answer all the kids’ questions about the process, so encourage them to ask away. Open Monday – Friday; free

American Whistle Company (Columbus, Ohio)

A kitschy stop on a Midwest road trip, this factory doles out loads of engaging info about a topic you probably never considered — how whistles are made. Everyone receives a whistle to take home. Open Monday Friday; $6 per person

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From planes to crayons, these fun factory tours go behind the scenes

Feb 14, 2020 • 7 min read

What’s more fun than breaking open a bright new box of crayons or digging a spoon into a melty pint of ice cream? Getting a behind-the-scenes look at how they’re made, of course.

Whether you’re a super fan or are just generally curious, companies around the US – some that have been in business for decades, and in some cases, for over a century – are offering a fresh new way to experience their goods. Visiting the factory offers insight on how a product comes to life, usually in a hands-on, interactive and fun way. From Cape Cod potato chips to PEZ candies, these 11 factory tours are worth a visit.

PEZ Factory – Orange, Connecticut

The world’s largest PEZ dispenser, vintage Star Wars PEZ and a PEZ motorcycle can all be found in the 4000 sq ft visitor’s center of the company’s candy-making factory . From floor-to-ceiling windows, see the tiny tabs being packaged. (Along with its sister candy-making factory in Traun, Austria, the company produces 5 billion candies each year).

Take time to explore the decades of memorabilia packed into the two-story center, and go on a scavenger hunt for a chance to win a sweet prize at the end.

Ben & Jerry’s – Waterbury, Vermont 

Every ice cream lover should add a Waterbury, Vermont , pilgrimage to their bucket list. The Ben & Jerry’s factory tour gives guests a front-row peek into the ice cream-making process, an overview of the company’s colorful history, and – the best part – a sample of the flavors. Finish the visit with a stroll around the company’s outdoor Flavor Graveyard, an ode to discontinued pints.

If a 30-minute tour isn’t enough, opt for the Flavor Fanatic Experience; the $225, two-hour package includes a private guided factory tour, a tie-dyed lab coat, and a hands-on mixing and tasting session in the Flavor Lab, led by one of the company’s Flavor Gurus.

Cape Cod Chips – Hyannis, Massachusetts

In Hyannis, Massachusetts, find the Kennedy compound, the fast ferries to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory. More than 250,000 visitors each year take the free, self-guided tour, which includes a walk through the facility to see potato chips made in custom kettles, plus relics from the first factory dating back to the 1980s.

At the end of the tour, break open your complimentary chips at an umbrella-shaded table on the sunny patio. (The tour is available Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm.)

US Mint – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

If you have coins in your pocket, there’s a good chance they were minted in Philadelphia . (You can tell by the tiny “P” stamped on one side.) In the city of brotherly love, the US Mint has been producing coins for over 225 years, and visitors can see the process during the self-guided, 45-minute tours available to the public most days.

See the coining operation from 40ft above the factory floor, check out the historic artifacts, like the press used to make the nation’s first coins in 1792, and see the series of seven, 5ft-tall Tiffany glass mosaics created to commemorate the opening of the third US Mint building in 1901. While the Mint sadly doesn’t offer free samples, you can buy commemorative coins and other collectibles in the gift shop.

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Jelly Belly Factory – Fairfield, California

The sixth-generation family-run candy company has been in business since 1898, and making the beloved Jelly Beans since 1976. At the Jelly Belly Factory , self-guided tours lead visitors through a quarter mile-long elevated path, with interactive exhibits and a view of the factory floor. For a flat fee of $39 for groups of up to six, private tour guides will take you through. In the end, everyone gets free samples of the rainbow-hued treat.

Louisville Slugger Factory  – Louisville, Kentucky

You can’t miss the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory , located in downtown Louisville , Kentucky. The 120ft, 68,000 pound, world’s largest baseball bat leans against the side of the building, marking the entrance. Louisville Slugger has been making its iconic bats since 1884, and the factory and museum give visitors an up-close look at how they’re produced. Walk through the line to see the step-by-step process, explore the Bat Vault, with a copy of nearly every bat the company has ever made, and leave with a souvenir mini bat, free for tour-goers.

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Tillamook Creamery Factory – Tillamook, Oregon

Inside the strikingly modern facade of Oregon’s Tillamook Creamery Factory , the milk produced by the cows on the company’s fourth generation farm is transformed into award-winning cheeses. Get a bird’s-eye view from the observation windows, down onto the factory floor, as the process goes from fresh milk to cheese curds to aged cheddars.

The sprawling, state-of-the-art aging warehouse on site houses upwards of 37 million pounds of cheese, which age from 60 days to 6 years before being sent back out to the warehouse to be cut into bricks and packed up for the grocery store. Don’t leave before sampling all the cheese.

Hershey’s Chocolate Factory – Hershey Pennsylvania

In the central Pennsylvania town of Hershey, the lamp posts are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses and there’s usually a faint whiff of chocolate in the air. To find the source, head straight for the Hershey’s Chocolate Factory . During the free, 30-minute tour, visitors can take an immersive journey through the facility to see how chocolate is made, from cocoa bean to foil-wrapped bar, and finish with a Hershey’s treat.

For $26.95, the create-your-own candy bar tour lets visitors make their own confection, and design a personalized wrapper for a one-of-a-kind souvenir.

Crayola Experience – Easton, Pennsylvania

Crayola has been in business for over a century, making iconic crayons and coloring accoutrements for kids and adults alike. (Color Escapes, ie adult coloring books, were introduced in 2015.) The colorful company has a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania ’s Lehigh Valley, about halfway between Philadelphia and New York City, and about ten minutes away, visitors can check out the Crayola Experience . Guests can see how crayons are made in a live show, pose for a personalized coloring page, mold a critter or character out of crayon wax, and name a color, taking home a keepsake crayon.

Taylor Guitars – San Diego, California

Seasoned musicians and anyone who appreciates a good Spotify playlist will love the thoroughly educational look into how Taylor Guitars are made. Every weekday at 1pm, free, guided tours are offered at the legendary manufacturer of premium acoustic guitars, used by artists like Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, and Zac Brown.

The 75-minute tour takes place right on the factory floor, so visitors can soak up each step of the process, from choosing the wood and assembling the pieces to finished product. Don’t miss the guitar room, where myriad models are available to test out. (Tours aren’t offered on weekday holidays, so check the schedule before visiting.)

Boeing – Everett, Washington 

The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour is located just north of Seattle , at the company’s Everett factory. Inside the building – which is the largest in the world, by volume – the aircraft design and manufacturing company assembles the 747, 767, 777 and 787 planes. The 90-minute tour is the only one of its kind in North America, offering a look inside a working commercial jet engine assembly plant, and highlights include the factory tour, plus the Boeing gallery that showcases over 150 products the company makes and is developing, including satellites, submarines, and alternative fuels.

On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the facility offers hands-on robotics workshops, introducing visitors to the basics of coding robots for use in the manufacturing process. Tours are so popular, travelers can book day trips from downtown Seattle that include transportation, hotel pickup and dropoff. (Visitors must be 4, or 122 cm tall, to go on the tour.)

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The 15 Best Factory Tours in America

By Katelin Hill

Updated on Aug 1, 2018 4:14 PM EDT

0 minute read

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John Deere in East Moline, Illinois

In 1837, Illinois blacksmith John Deere set out to address the concerns of local farmers whose plows weren’t holding up against the thick Midwest soil, and the John Deere empire was born. Today, the company’s East Moline factory offers tours that guide visitors through the process of manufacturing the company’s various machines—the American-made equipment that helps feed the world.

Related: 10 American-Made Buys for Your Outdoor Living Area

Jelly Belly in Fairfield, California

Wikimedia Commons

Why does it take up to 14 days to create a single jelly bean? Find out on the Jelly Belly Candy Company’s free factory tour. Learn how the 50 Jelly Belly flavors and other sweet treats are made, sample some of your favorites, and stop off at the café or fudge shop afterwards to enjoy some sweet (and savory) snacks, or take them to go. Jelly bean-shaped burgers, anyone?

Related: Yes, These 20 Weird and Wacky Museums Actually Exist

Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations in York, Pennsylvania

flickr.com via Klaus Nahr

The Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations center, established in 1973, is where the Touring, Trike and CVO families of motorcycles are assembled. Visitors to the Vaughn L. Beals Tour Center will be able to explore exhibits, walk the factory floor from manufacturing to assembly to the end of the line, and sit on a current production model.

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The United States Mint in Philadelphia and Denver

istockphoto.com

See where the money gets made at two of the four active United States Mint facilities. The Philadelphia and Denver locations offer free self-guided walking tours that showcase the past and present of the Mint and describe all stages of the coining process, from the craftsmanship that goes into the original designs to the final production process.

Related: 20 Weird and Wacky Destinations for a Family Road Trip

Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour in Mukilteo, Washington

To visit the only North American commercial jet factory open to the public, direct your car to Mukilteo, about 30 miles north of Seattle. There, you can view 747, 777, and 787 Dreamliner models while they’re being assembled in the Everett production line and meet some of the thousands of employees who support the design and development of Boeing’s aircraft. The Everett production facility, the largest building in the world by volume, has welcomed millions of visitors since 1968.

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Celestial Seasonings Factory Tour in Boulder, Colorado

flickr.com via Wally Gobetz

The Celestial Seasonings Factory offers what may be one of the country’s most aromatic tours: a behind-the-scenes look at how tea is made. See for yourself the manufacturing magic, from blending to shipping, that goes into every cup of tea, including the company’s ever-popular Sleepytime blend.

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Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania

flickr.com via Rain0975

Hershey’s Chocolate World’s big attraction isn’t technically a factory tour—it’s more like an educational ride, the likes of which you might find at Disneyland. Guests board a moving chain of cars, “It’s a Small World” style, to travel through the story of chocolate, where animatronic characters explain how Hershey makes the company’s iconic milk chocolate . After the tour, try other attractions, including a create-your-own-candy-bar activity or the 4D Chocolate Mystery show.

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Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Louisville, Kentucky

flickr.com via Alves Family

An apprentice in his father’s woodworking shop , John Andrew “Bud” Hillerich began crafting baseball bats for himself and his teammates in the 1880s. Although the company was originally known for its wood butter churn, the baseball bats eventually became the company’s signature item. Fast-forward more than a century, and guests on the factory tour can watch the bats made right before their eyes—and even receive a free miniature Louisville Slugger bat to take home as a souvenir.

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Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour and Ice Cream Shop in Waterbury, Vermont

Learn how one of America’s favorite ice creams is made, from farm to freezer. View the production room from a glassed-in mezzanine, and enjoy the sample of the day. After the tour, wander through the Flavor Graveyard to pay your respects to beloved flavors of years past.

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Gibson Guitars in Memphis, Tennessee

Music lovers won’t want to miss the Gibson Beale Street Showcase in Memphis, where highly skilled luthiers (makers of stringed instruments) craft world-class guitars. On the tour, you’ll learn how Gibson became a leader in the musical instrument industry and trace the many steps involved in making a guitar, including binding, neck-fitting, painting, buffing, and tuning.

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Toyota Tour in Georgetown, Kentucky

At the world’s largest Toyota manufacturing facility, more than 2,000 cars are made each day. The Georgetown, Kentucky, factory  welcomes visitors on weekdays for a tour that includes a tram ride around the plant, a discussion of the acclaimed car company’s future, and a peek at the very first Camry ever made in the United States—a pristine example of late-1980s auto design. 

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Airstream Factory Tour in Jackson Center, Ohio

flickr.com via Matthew Simoneau

For many, an Airstream isn’t just a convenient, comfortable way to get from point A to point B— it’s a way of life . These touring coaches and travel trailers are handcrafted in Jackson Center, Ohio, where the company welcomes visitors for a two-hour walking tour through the state-of-the-art factory.

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Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee

Make a trip to Lynchburg, Tennessee, for a behind-the-scenes tour of the whiskey-making process at the Jack Daniel Distillery. As  no distillery tour would be complete without a taste , upgrade to the Flight of Jack Distillery Tour, which includes a stop at historic Barrelhouse 1-14, where visitors over 21 years of age will savor a flight of five Jack Daniel’s whiskeys and liqueurs.

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Tabasco Factory in Avery Island, Louisiana

flickr.com via Kent Kanouse

The McIlhenny Company has turned their hometown of Avery Island into a destination for lovers of their famous Tabasco® brand Pepper Sauce. A factory tour of their facility provides background on the McIlhenny Company and the McIlhenny family, and answers all your burning hot-sauce questions. While you’re there, take the Tabasco Culinary Tour, sample delicious Cajun cuisine, or take a Tabasco-centric cooking class with Hospitality Chef Lionel Robin.

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Pendleton Woolen Mills in Washougal, Washington, and Pendleton, Oregon

flickr.com via Association of Washington Business

Learn how Pendleton turns raw wool into fabric, and fabric into beautiful, intricate clothing and blankets . The Pendleton Blanket Mill and Washougal Weaving Mill offer weekday tours where they educate visitors about the weaving process and demonstrate how one weaver’s dream and the hard work of six generations turned Pendleton into a household name.

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21 Great American Factory Tours You Can Take Right Now

Many historic American factories are open to the public. Here are the ones worth the trip.

There's probably no escaping taking the kids to an amusement park this summer—sweltering in long lines and paying for overpriced junk food. But when that torment is over, take them to a different kind of theme park, one you'll both enjoy: an American factory. You'll see how baseball gloves are made. Or how they print the posters for your favorite concert. Or how a guy at Harley-Davidson takes every bike up to 77 mph on what looks a lot like an automotive treadmill. Sometimes you'll even get candy. And unlike at Six Flags, admission is often free.

1. Hatch Show Print

Nashville, Tennessee:  75 minutes; $15 (adults), $10 (ages 6 to 12)

Nashville's recent "it city" status has our skyline so dotted with cranes that longtime residents have started calling it Little Dubai. I worry that the town where my ten-year-old daughter, Margot, was born is becoming unrecognizable to her. So I decided a tour of the Hatch Show Print letterpress was in order.

"What's a letterpress?" Margot asked.

"They make music posters," I said. She got excited.

"Think they have any of Taylor Swift?" she asked.

"Maybe," I said, explaining that they've been in business since 1879, and have worked with just about every musician you can think of—from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello.

"Who's Elvis Costello?" Margot asked.

The production process hasn't changed much in over a century. Some of the letter blocks—exactly 0.918 inches high, a standard established in 1886 by the United States Type Founders' Association—are the original end-cut maple versions. This isn't Photoshop. There is no erasing. If even the smallest amount of grit builds up beneath an individual block, it must be sanded by hand so that it prints evenly. The rollers have to be reinked every four prints—each one slightly more faded than the last. These subtle inconsistencies are what make Hatch Show Print posters so special: No two look exactly alike.

The craftsmanship wowed my daughter—just like it had wowed me on my first visit, not long after I moved to Nashville two decades ago. But her favorite part was the end, when we got to browse through an inventory of photo plates and posters dating back to the shop's very first print run. I marveled at the photo plate for Led Zeppelin's first Nashville appearance in 1970. Then I glanced over and spotted Margot. She had the very same grin on her face. She was looking at a poster from Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" tour. —Adam Ross

2. The U.S. Mint

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Also Denver, Colorado): 45 minutes; free

From a 40-foot observation deck you'll see coins—tens of millions each day—sliced from metal coils that weigh 6,000 pounds and stretch five football fields. Inspectors use magnifying glasses to check the quality. Just one flaw in one coin and the entire batch is destroyed and recycled.

3. John Deere

Waterloo, Iowa (Also East Moline, Illinois, and Ankeny, Iowa): 90 minutes; free

Tours take place on a tram pulled by—what else?—a John Deere tractor. Huge robotic arms spray each vehicle in signature green and yellow. But the logo is still applied by hand.

4. Airstream

Jackson Center, Ohio: One to two hours; free

Each of the iconic travel trailers has thousands of rivets holding together huge sheets of aircraft-grade aluminum. And every one of those rivets is drilled in by hand. Once finished, the campers go into the rain-test booth, where they're pounded by hurricane-strength rain for 20-minute cycles.

5. Bourbon Barrel Foods

Louisville, Kentucky: 25 minutes; free

The nation's only soy sauce microbrewer—yes, soy sauce microbrewer—uses repurposed bourbon barrels and limestone-filtered Kentucky spring water to create a uniquely smoky-sweet condiment. FDA restrictions keep you from the factory floor, but you can still watch through glass as workers cook soybeans, roast grain, and press mash with six tons of force.

6. Woolrich

Woolrich, Pennsylvania: One hour; free

Woolrich has been churning out fabric since 1830, including blankets for Civil War soldiers. And for the factory's 60-odd employees, working with raw wool—a single blanket takes roughly four pounds—is its own kind of battle. A variety of heirloom machines dye, comb, spin, wind, warp, weave, wash, and roll the material before it can be turned into something you'd cozy up with on the couch.

7. Coors Brewing Company

Golden, Colorado: 30 minutes; free

What kind of dad takes his five-year-old son on a brewery tour? A cool one, I thought, boarding the shuttle bus to the Coors plant in Golden, Colorado—the largest single-site brewery in the world, capable of turning out 13 million barrels of beer annually. To me, it was just another father–son outing—a chance to see something new and learn something interesting. Like the zoo, but with the freshest free beer imaginable. Little did I suspect my boy would end up scarred for life.

In and of itself, the self-guided tour is utterly wholesome, an experience as pure as the vaunted Rocky Mountain spring water that prompted Adolph Coors to set up shop in Golden back in 1873. Exhibits explain ingredients, malting, mashing, etc., while affording a look at impressive mechanized assembly lines that channel endless rivers of freshly filled cans and packed cardboard cases in perfect perpetual motion. It wasn't easy to detach my son's nose from the observation window, but over the clack of the machinery, Daddy discerned the siren song of the samples that await responsible drinkers of legal age at the end of the tour.

As I sipped a cold glass of Coors and my son a soda, we surveyed our surroundings: an ersatz pub, decorated with old advertisements—including one featuring E.T. (left), that lovable extraterrestrial, imploring imbibers to "phone home" for a ride should they overindulge. This seemingly harmless poster, unfortunately, made by far the largest impression of the day on my son. What is that thing? Is it coming to get me? What part of me do you think it would eat first? Years later, the poor lad is still uncommonly concerned with the perceived dangers posed by aliens, even smiling ones in bartenders' aprons.

Then again, if that keeps him out of the taverns for a few extra years, maybe it's not all bad. —Kendall Hamilton

8. Golden Flake

Birmingham, Alabama: 45 minutes; free

When my wife and I moved from New York City to Birmingham, Alabama, five years ago, I'd braced myself for culture shock. I knew as much about college football and black-eyed peas as I do thermonuclear fusion. But while I'm still rusty on the vagaries of the wishbone formation, we definitely came out ahead. We've got a yard now, and a dog, and some savings. And we live ten minutes from a snack-food factory.

Since 1923, Golden Flake, "The South's Original Potato Chip," has been supplying chips and puffs and curls and popcorn and pork skins from Florida up through Virginia, in flavors as unlikely as Tangy Pickle BBQ and just plain Hot. It is tiny next to the Utzes and Pringles of the world, and touring its 700-employee Birmingham facility can feel like visiting a friend's home-brewing shed, if instead of beer he churned out Chili Lime Pork Cracklin Super Strips.

"This is our cheese puff, corn puff, and popcorn department," said both our guide and, I hope, whoever greets me in the afterlife. There are 14-foot drums of vegetable oil and giant rotating seasoning cylinders and kind-looking ladies slicing potatoes in half (by hand, for quality control). The highlight comes at the halfway point: a basket brimming with potato chips plucked fresh off the conveyor belt, intercepted between fryer and bagging station, and offered to you for sampling. It is the perfect bite of a perfect chip. Thin but still crunchy, with just-too-much salt. Whatever's in your pantry seems like wafer-shaped Styrofoam in comparison.

It's just one of several snack breaks on the tour. If your taste buds still want more—and they will—you get a few complimentary bags to take home. Lucky for me, I was already there. —Brian Barrett

Everett, Washington: 90 minutes; $20 (adults), $14 (age 15 and under)

When you're stuck in the middle seat and the baby behind you is wailing, it's easy to forget what a miracle an airplane is. You won't after visiting Boeing—the largest building in the world, big enough to fit Disneyland with 13 acres to spare—and witnessing 30,000 employees assemble millions of parts and miles of wiring into 747s and other jumbo jets.

10. Chevrolet Corvette

Bowling Green, Kentucky: One hour; $10 (adults), $5 (ages 10 to 16)

So you're buying a Corvette Z06. First off, congratulations. A supercar. You're a lucky man. But why stop there? For an extra five grand you can hop on the assembly line at the Bowling Green factory and help build your 650-hp engine, which gets emblazoned with a plaque commemorating the experience. For those on a budget, $10 gets you the standard factory tour—still thrilling, just no keys at the end.

11. Harley-Davidson

York, Pennsylvania: Two hours; free or $35

There's a free tour, but it keeps you on the periphery of the shop. Pay the $35 for the Steel Toe Tour and you get to walk up and down the aisles, right next to the workers as bike parts are delivered to them, on-demand, by a trolley that follows magnetic tracks in the floor. At the end, the guys put each finished Harley on a dyno machine and steadily bring it up to 77 mph, running the bike through all the gears.

12. Fender Guitars

Corona, California: One hour; $10 (adults), $8 (seniors), $6 (ages 13 to 17), free (ages 12 and under)

The first time I saw a Fender Telecaster up close was in 1979 on the stage of the Hollywood Palladium. I was 14, and Joe Strummer was next to me pounding out the chords to The Clash's "White Riot"—the two of us shouting the lyrics along with a few other teenage punks who had also scrambled onstage during the encore.

Strummer was thousands of miles from his London home that night. But his battered axe? That wondrous machine had been born less than an hour south, in Fullerton, California, where in the early 1950s self-described tinkerer Leo Fender revolutionized the electric guitar. Since that encounter with Strummer, I've seen hundreds of other Fenders—as a music journalist as well as in my short time as a drummer, which included a stint with punk legends Bad Religion. But I didn't fully appreciate their magic until I strapped on a pair of Devo-like safety goggles and took my first tour of the Fender Factory.

It all starts with unremarkable blocks of alder and ash. From this wood, about 400 employees—more than a few aging longhairs among them—shape, sand, seal, and paint the classic Telecaster and more angular Stratocaster bodies. They then fit the necks, attach the wound pickups, and connect the knobs. Finally, each instrument is plugged in to a row of new Fender amps to check the sound quality.

In the summer, crowds for the twice-daily tour average 50 people. On the April morning I visited, there were only six of us, including two middle-aged Swedes. Afterward, browsing a showroom filled with memorabilia of Fender-playing guitar gods, I asked the guys what made them travel all this way. One clearly didn't understand En glish. The other only a little. He smiled, pointed to a poster of Jimi Hendrix, and simply said, "Him." Returning the gesture, I pointed across the room, to a display about punk. The centerpiece: a replica of Strummer's banged-up Telecaster. —John Albert

13. Lodge Cast Iron Manufacturing

South Pittsburg, Tennessee: Last weekend in April, 45 minutes; free

You can't get in while the factory is running—it's way too dangerous—but once a year (during April's National Cornbread Festival, naturally) Lodge opens its doors to tourists. Hard to say what's more amazing: the electromagnet that can lift five tons, the furnace that burns at 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit, or the pouring machine that uses ancient sand-molding techniques to create as many as 8,000 skillets an hour.

14. Wood -Mizer

Batesville, Indiana: 30 minutes; free

I live in rural Indiana, in the north part of a farm county. Out here, the sight of a Wood-Mizer, the industrious portable saw mill, passing by behind a pickup or being towed up onto someone's acreage for a few days of transformative deep-woods lumber milling, is a moment of awe, rare and powerful, like catching sight of a panther or something. In the right conditions, three men and a Wood-Mizer can mill enough lumber to build an entire pole barn or a fishing cabin in just a day. It is a tool of thrift, profit, and creativity. I don't own one—I'm just another fanboy—but I do have a hat. And the logo alone gets me silent nods of respect from farmers who otherwise want nothing to do with me.

I bought the hat after going on the Wood-Mizer factory tour in Batesville, Indiana. (It was cheaper than the sawmill.) The six-month-old plant churns calmly forward, the assembly line formed in the shape of a U. There's no shouting. No rushing. No alarm registered along any of the snug, worker-designed assembly. There's notable focus in the workforce—risen from pride, taken from ownership (the 34-year-old company is entirely worker owned)—that permeates the movement and pace from loading dock to shipping dock. For me, the moment I recognized the familiar machine occurred right in the turn of that U, after the powdered orange paint was kiln-dried onto the steel frame. Then the wheels were attached and the custom motor mounted.

And then I couldn't help myself. "There's the big cat," I exclaimed, like some kid seeing a ballplayer parking his car. The guy on the line heard me. "You gonna build something?" he asked, assuming I was a buyer. I smiled and pointed to my factory-supplied earplugs. "I'm just on a tour," I said, but he couldn't hear me. "Build something great," he said. He was standing over a new Wood-Mizer, so it sounded like a promise. —Tom Chiarella

Nocona, Texas: One hour; $5

When Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan was seven, his father took him to a hardware store in downtown Alvin, Texas, to buy his first baseball mitt. It was a Nokona. Since 1934, the family-owned company has made gloves the same way: hand-lacing and stitching American rawhide, then beating it to hell with a mallet until the pocket is ready to snag a one-hop grounder.

16. Jelly Belly

Fairfield, California: 40 to 60 minutes; free for the self-guided tour, $47 for a guided tour that takes you on the factory floor

The thousands of jelly beans tumbling in hoppers may sound like bingo balls, only here every one drawn out is a guaranteed winner—except maybe the buttered popcorn. You can taste them at every stage of the tour, but save your appetite. The factory store at the end offers unlimited samples. If you paid for the guided tour, called Jelly Belly University, this is where you make up for your tuition.

17. Tabasco Pepper Sauce

Avery Island, Louisiana: One hour; $5.50

When I was growing up in the Cajun Triangle, any time a relative or college friend came to town, my family trotted out one of three old chestnuts: tours of swamps, plantations, or the Tabasco factory. I always hoped for the peppers—because I am afraid of alligators and ghost stories but mainly because, like all good Louisianans, I am obsessed with hot sauce.

Avery Island is only three miles wide, so most of the growing happens in South America. But this is where the rust-colored mash is packed into old bourbon barrels—about 50,000 are stacked in the warehouse—and left to ferment for three years. When ready, it is mixed with vinegar and aged for another month. Finally, the sauce gets bottled and shipped off to 180 countries.

The smells of the tour are as good as the sights—all that spice mixing with nearby forests of azalea trees. But the best part comes afterward, at the free tasting, when someone inevitably volunteers to try the inferno-level habanero sauce. That someone will always be me. —Katie Macdonald

18. Kenyon's Grist Mill

West Kingston, Rhode Island: July 23 to 24 and October 22 to 23; free

Two giant slabs of granite—each more than 150 years old and weighing more than 2,000 pounds apiece—pulverize whole grain and corn into meal and flour. That's it. A simple, centuries-old process that retains all the nutrients of the original grains and corn. Make sure to bring home some Johnny Cake mix.

Kohler, Wisconsin: Three hours; free

Lowell Kappers, the 80-year-old former Kohler employee who led our tour, worked at the Wisconsin factory, north of Milwaukee, for 44 years—31 of them as a cast-iron grinder. Three decades machining crankshafts and rail-track components. Three decades wearing a respirator helmet to keep pulverized iron dust out of his lungs. He retired in 1999 but still shows up two or three mornings a week to give tours. The factory has been offering them since 1926, a couple of decades before Kappers's dad started working there.

The tour is epic: four buildings, three hours, two and a half miles. You sidestep moving forklifts. You cross beneath conveyors shuttling tubs. You watch molten iron flow. In a cavernous brick loft called the pottery, liquid clay pumped from basement tanks filled plaster-of-paris molds before getting glazed and fired in 2,450-degree industrial kilns. In the enameling shop, an employee in a silver heat shield coated a cast-iron shower floor in enamel powder, then slid it into the orange maw of another kiln.

There are so many kilns. But Kappers didn't break a sweat, despite the heat and constant walking. The only time he really lingered was when we got to the aisle where he had worked, the spot where he jockeyed that heavy grinding wheel all those years.

"Noisiest place in the factory," he said. He wasn't complaining. He was proud. And then he was off again. —Phil Hanrahan

20. R.L. Winston Rod Company

Twin Bridges, Montana: 45 minutes; free

I learned to fly-fish on a fiberglass five-weight that my dad bought at Abercrombie & Fitch in the '60s. With his tongue sticking out in a pose of concentration, he showed me the basic ten and two. Wait for the glass to finish its slow backward flex, wait for the line to unfurl, then launch your forearm forward. Be patient, son.

This was the early '90s. By then, Dad's A&F beauty was a relic. Space-age graphite had made fiberglass obsolete. Trouble was, graphite is much stiffer than glass. Graphite rods cast like rocket launchers, and spooky trout require a delicate approach. Based in Twin Bridges, Montana, at the confluence of three legendary trout rivers, 87-year-old R.L. Winston Rod Company has figured out an alchemy that transforms graphite into velvet. The key ingredient is its staff of 40—roughly 10 percent of the population of Twin Bridges. They secure line guides with hand-wrapped thread. They balance rods by feel and sight alone. They hand-fit the ferrules connecting the rod sections to within one thirty-second of an inch. When customers send in broken rods for repair, Winston rebuilds the damaged segments from scratch.

"We've got a machine for attaching guides that's sitting upstairs collecting dust," said my tour guide, production manager Joe Begin. "We find that our employees are more efficient and make fewer mistakes."

This tireless, meticulous labor accounts for the cost of the rods: ranging from $500 to $3,000. That might sound pricey, especially when a perfectly serviceable rod will run you about $200. But near the end of the tour, I was frantically crunching numbers in my head, trying to figure out how many meals I could skip in the coming month. Fortunately, the gift shop sells only hats and sweatshirts. —Elliott Woods

Seattle, Washington: 30 to 40 minutes; free

One look at the sewing floor and it's easy to see how the garment and bag company that C.C. Filson started in 1897 to outfit Gold Rush prospectors has continued to thrive. Veteran employees, some who've been there 30 years, operate antique treadle machines customized to work with the brand's hallmark rugged twill.

*This article origionally appeared in the July/August 2016 issue of  Popular Mechanics. 

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4 Pa. locations included among 25 best factory tours in U.S.

• Published: May. 03, 2022, 12:17 p.m.

Honestly, if there are food samples involved, we're there. (photo by Petr Magera via Unsplash)

• Claudia Dimuro | [email protected]

When it comes to their favorite products, some people thoroughly enjoy seeing how the sausage is made (so to speak).

If you’re one of these people who happen to also be living in Pennsylvania, there’s a total of four of some of the top-ranked factory tours right here in the Keystone State.

• LISTEN: Pennsylvania ballpark ranked among top 5 best baseball stadiums in U.S. | Today in Pa.

Good Housekeeping’s recently published list regarding the “25 Best Factor Tours in America” seeks to provide those looking to take their families (or just yourself or some friends, up to you!) with some inspiration so as to what factories to drop by on vacation.

“These behind-the-scenes looks show kids how their favorite objects are made; they may even get a lesson in industrial design, engineering and manufacturing,” reads the Good Housekeeping article. “Plus, if you tour a creamery, ice-cream factory or sweet shop, you might get a tasty sample at the end!”

Sure sounds like incentive enough and, wouldn’t you know, three out of the four Pennsylvania factory locations have to do with food?

Without further ado, here they are below:

• Turkey Hill Experience, Columbia, Pa. (ranked at number 10)
• The Great Utz Chip Trip Tour, Hanover, Pa. (ranked at number 14)
• The Crayola Experience, Easton, Pa. (ranked at number 16)
• Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, Lititz, Pa. (ranked at number 25)

The other members of the top 10 best factory tours excluding the aforementioned Turkey Hill Experience are the following:

• Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Louisville, Ky.
• Jelly Belly Visitor Center & Factory, Fairfield, Calif.
• The Kazoo Factory Tour Experience, Beaufort, S.C.
• PEZ Visitor Center, Orange, Conn.
• Polaris Experience Center, Roseau, Minn.
• Hammond’s Candy Factory Tour, Denver, Co.
• Kohler Design Center Factory Tour, Kohler, Wis.
• Sweet Pete’s Candy Shop, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Henry Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Dearborn, Mich.

Happy touring!

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See It Made: 10 Top Factory Tours

Of the thousands of factories in the U.S., a few stand out for their tours. Here are 10 winners:

Ben and Jerry’s, Waterbury, Vermont

Vermont is not only a place for gorgeous scenery, but also home of the Ben and Jerry’s factory. See how their delicious ice cream is made and learn how two childhood friends started the company in a renovated gas station. The tour begins with a movie about the history of Ben and Jerry’s. After that the tour gives a look at the production room before moving into the Flavoroom. Everyone leaves with a sample of the flavor of the day.

Jelly Belly, Fairfield, California

Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, California

During a 40-minute walking tour, learn how making a single Jelly Belly bean takes more than a week to complete. Starting with eight flavors in 1976, the company now has over 50 unique flavors and enough beans are consumed in one year to circle the planet five times. Get a birds-eye view of the production room where you can see the beans and other candies being made. Jelly Belly also features some impressive art made out of beans. Visitors receive free samples at the factory.

Steinway, Long Island City, New York

Heinrich Steinway built his first piano in his kitchen in Germany and now the company has been making pianos for 160 years. Steinway’s tours show you their method for making pianos that such celebrities as John Lennon have played. Learn how building a Steinway piano takes about a year to complete while hearing how even the wood is carefully selected.

Boeing, Mukilteo, Washington

Boeing factory Mukilteo, Washington

The world’s leading airplane manufacturer offers interesting exhibits and a behind-the-scenes tour that shows planes being assembled in its Seattle-area plant. Visitors can design, test and print their own virtual jet in the Airplane Design Zone after touring Boeing’s collection in the Future of Flight Aviation Center Gallery.  Other exhibits focus on in-flight entertainment systems,  the flight deck and engines used in jets. Special tours and activities are offered to student groups.

The Crayola Factory, Easton, Pennsylvania

You can see live demonstrations on how crayons and markers are made and receive a four-pack of crayons at the end of the tour. But it’s more than a tour—it’s an experience with interactive exhibits and crafts. Activities include creating your own coloring page with yourself as the character, drawing on Crayola’s giant Glow Boards, painting with melted crayons and molding art using Crayola Model Magic modeling material. Crayola has approximately 120 crayon color names and uses solar energy to power its factory.

Ford Rouge, Dearborn Michigan

Ford Rouge factory, Dearborn Michigan

This factory tour is divided into five parts. Start off in the Legacy Theatre to learn about the company’s history and then move on to the Art of Manufacturing Theatre to see how automobiles are made. After that, visit the observation deck to see the world’s largest living roof before watching F-150s being made during the assembly plant walking tour. The experience is complete with a look at historic vehicles in the Legacy Gallery that includes the 20,000,000th Ford. The factory also offers a Living Laboratory walking tour to show visitors its sustainable design.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing, Montgomery, Alabama

HMMA can produce 345,000 vehicles a year. Watch the process while riding in a tour tram and listening to live narration. The modern manufacturing technology is impressive-their machines can be adjusted to each worker’s height for the best product. Hyundai Motor has over 78,000 employees worldwide and six overseas plants. This $1.7-billion factory has five different sections including the stamping shop, welding shop, paint shop, engine shops and general assembly.

Hammond’s Candies, Denver, Colorado

Learn how candy is made on Hammond’s Candies’ tour and watch how their hard candies are shaped by hand, just as they’ve been since the 1920s.  Hammond’s only factory produces candies such as candy canes, lollipops, chocolates and caramel. Tours run every half hour and last about 30 minutes. The factory has been featured on Food Network’s “Kid in a Candy Store” TV show, and products are sold to stores such as Whole Foods and Cracker Barrel.

McIlhenny Company, Avery Island, Louisiana

McIlhenny Company Tobasco factory Avery Island, Louisiana

The Tabasco sauce factory is in a beautiful location known for its bird sanctuary and botanical specimens. Clear your sinuses while seeing how the sauce is made and then aged in barrels before bottling. The factory created in 1868 has not changed the basic recipe and still uses Avery Island salt from the salt mines beneath the island.  A member of the McIlhenny family inspects the mashed peppers before it moves along in the production process. Learn about the different degrees of hot, from the mild sweet and spicy sauce to the hottest habanero sauce. The factory offers free samples and recipes.

Nokona Baseball Glove Factory, Nocona, Texas

This factory, founded in 1926, makes about 75,000 handcrafted leather gloves per year in over 60 models. Some gloves are even made of exotic leathers such as buffalo or kangaroo. Watch the leather selection process, as well as the cutting, stamping, embroidery, stitching and lacing of gloves, making each one unique. Along with creating gloves, Nokona will also do service work on your old glove to make it good as new.

For other factory tour ideas, check out the book Watch it Made in the U.S.A by Karen Axelrod and Bruce Brumberg (Avalon Travel).

Share your experience and submit your own favorite factory tour below.

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The best food tours in the USA

The best food tours in the USA offer a behind-the-scenes look at how your favorite comfort foods are created

Ever wonder how jelly beans get their color or how potato chips are made to be perfectly crunchy? Learn the secrets behind your favorite snacks straight from the source on one of the best food factory tours in the USA. 

While some classic food factory tours – like the ice cream tour at Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury, Vermont, the kettle chip tour at Cape Cod Chips in Hyannis, Massachusetts, and the tea production tour at Celestial Seasonings in Denver, Colorado – remain closed due to the pandemic, there are many food factories open for food fanatics to enjoy the ultimate tour de feast. From potato chips and classic fortune cookies to jelly beans, let culinary curiosity be your guide during your next road trip by taking a detour to a food factory.

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Best food tours in the USA

1.  Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory | San Francisco, CA

Ever wonder how paper fortunes make their way into a crescent-shaped fortune cookie? Witness the fortune cooking-making process for yourself at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco, CA. Located in Chinatown, Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has been making custom fortune cookies by hand since 1962. Each day, the team makes 10,000 cookies on a rotating cast iron griddle. Sample classic fortune cookies plus chocolate, green tea, and strawberry fortune cookies after the tour.

2.  Goodrich’s Maple Farm | Cabot, VT

The family-run Goodrich’s Maple Farm offers free tours of its sugarhouse, which contains one of the largest sap evaporators in the world. The family taps more than 125,000 trees each maple sugaring season in March and April. The 30-minute tour includes learning about the history and process of making maple syrup, from tree to table. The tour concludes with a stop at the tasting table to sample maple products like syrup, spreads, and jellies.

3.  Hammond’s Candy | Denver, CO

Since 1920, this Denver confectionery has been making sweet treats in the Mile High City. Opened by Carl T. Hammond, Sr., the candy factory offers complimentary tours to see how its famous candies are made. The 30-minute Hammond’s Candy guided tour includes a short video presentation and a factory tour. Peer through large glass windows to see how candy canes, lollipops, and other classic candies are created. Visitors also get a free sweet treat.

4.  Hershey’s Chocolate World | Hershey, PA

Hop aboard the Hershey’s Chocolate Tour ride for a sweet trip to see the iconic chocolate’s journey from bean to bar. The free 30-minute tour concludes with a free sample of Hershey’s chocolate. Part of the Hershey’s Chocolate World complex, chocoholics can also purchase additional experiences like the 45-minute Create Your Own Candy Bar, the 30-minute theatrical show Hershey’s Unwrapped: A Chocolate Tasting Journey, the 45- to 75-minute Hershey Trolley Works, and the 30-minute 4D Chocolate Movie. Make a day (or stay) of it riding the amusement rides at Hersheypark.

5.  Jelly Belly Visitor Center | Fairfield, CA

Located halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, the Jelly Belly Visitor Center offers $5 self-guided tours. A series of videos, interactive exhibits and games, and an elevated quarter-mile walkway offering views of the production floor demonstrate how jelly beans are made. The Jelly Belly Visitor Center also includes the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Art Gallery, Jelly Belly Candy Store, Jelly Belly Café, and Jelly Belly Chocolate Shoppe and Fudge Counter.

6.  PEZ | Orange, CT

Learn all about the pellet-shaped candy at the 4,000-square-foot Pez Visitors Center in Orange, Connecticut. The self-guided tour includes a history wall, videos showing how Pez and Pez dispensers are made, and viewing windows that look over the packaging production area. The visitors center also includes the world’s largest Pez dispenser and the largest collection of Pez memorabilia in the world. The $5 tour includes a souvenir lanyard, a $2 store credit to use toward same-day purchases, and the chance to win a free Pez dispenser by playing the game of the month.

7.  Snyder’s of Hanover | Hanover, PA

The guided Snyder’s of Hanover walking tour includes a visit to the pretzel-maker’s raw material warehouse, finished materials warehouse, packing room, and oven room. Along the way, guests 5-years-old and up learn about Snyder’s of Hanover’s history and see how pretzels are made during the free, 30-minute tour. Each participant receives a free bag of pretzels at the conclusion of the tour, which ends at the factory store.

8.  Tabasco | Avery Island, LA

Located three miles inland from Vermilion Bay, Avery Island is a salt dome famous as the home of Tabasco hot sauce. Learn how the fiery pepper sauce is created during the self-guided Tabasco Avery Island Fan Experience. During the tour, visitors learn about the history and production of Tabasco sauce from seed to shelf. The complex also includes the 170-acre Jungle Gardens, a country store, and Restaurant 1868. Tours are $12.50.

9.  Tillamook Creamery | Tillamook, OR

The self-guided tour at Tillamook Creamery gives ice cream lovers the scoop on how the creamery has been creating its exceptional ice cream for more than a century. The tour includes several exhibits on the farm and the creamery’s history and a viewing gallery to see the ice cream making process. Tillamook Creamery also offers premium experiences, including the $40 Honorary Tillamook Taste Bud: Exclusive Ice Cream Experience with a Creamery Expert, which includes Tillamook swag and testing and tasting ice cream as an honorary sensory team member.

10.  Utz Chip Trip Tour | Hanover, PA

Take in the aroma of fresh potato chips during this 30- to 45-minute self-guided Utz Chip Trip Tour at the 600,000-square-foot Utz factory in Hanover. During the free tour, visitors can peer through the observation gallery at the factory floor to see the potato chip production process from start to end. Along the way, an audio guide and exhibits explain the history of Utz and its snack products.

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10 Top Factory Tours

Activities , Magazine Features

It’s a fact of modern life: our complex technological civilization surrounds us with machines, infrastructure and products whose workings we don’t understand at all. While people in the villages of past societies either made their own goods or at least knew the local craftsmen who did, our global high-tech economy has disconnected us from the realities of manufacture. Consider the many machines you rely on every day, from cars to computers to kitchen appliances. Do you know how they work, where they came from, who made them or how they reached you?

Jelly Belly

This is perhaps one reason why touring factories to see how things are made has become a popular leisure activity. These tours can give valuable insights by letting us slow down to see how products are created, who makes them, what’s in them, where they’re shipped from, and how other people work and live. The cost is low, and many tours are free (or at least give free samples). At their best, these tours can also open windows on unfamiliar types of work and lifestyles. Visitors find out how the company started and grew, learn about the history of its industry and see how the workers spend their days.

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Factory Tours

Get a good look at american manufacturing.

Factories are one of the many reminders of our state’s prized industrial heritage. From coins and motorcycles to potato chips and chocolate, many Pennsylvania factories offer tours and are the perfect places to find Made-in-PA keepsakes.

Get trip ideas

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City Life 30 Best Things to Do in Lancaster, PA History, culture, art, city life, and delicious food all come together in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Whether you're a longtime fan who visits often or are crossing state lines to explore the area for th ... Read More

Foodie Fun 17 Famous Products Made in PA What do crayons, guitars, chocolate, violins, chips, brews, and baseball bats all have in common? You guessed it! They’re all made right here in Pennsylvania. So, stop by, take a tour, and perhaps eve ... Read More

Factory Tour Destinations

Results are limited to a 25-mile radius

  Thomasville, PA Martin's Potato Chips Inc.

  Mountainhome, PA Callie's Candy Kitchen

  Lititz, PA The Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

  Hershey, PA Hershey's Chocolate World

  Scranton, PA Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour

  Hershey, PA Hersheypark

  Columbia, PA Turkey Hill Experience

  York, PA Wolfgang Confectioners

  Mercer, PA Wendell August Forge

  Hershey, PA Hershey

  Hanover, PA Utz Quality Foods

  Tyrone, PA Gardner's Candy Museum

  Brookville, PA BWP Bats, LLC

  Altoona, PA Benzel's Pretzel Bakery

  Cresco, PA Callie's Pretzel Factory

  Easton, PA Crayola Experience

  Pottsville, PA Yuengling Museum & Gift Shop

  Saint Marys, PA Straub Brewery

  Souderton, PA Asher's Chocolates Factory

  Philadelphia, PA U.S. Mint

  Nazareth, PA C.F. Martin & Co.

  Geigertown, PA Joanna Furnace Historic Site

  Nottingham, PA Herr's Snack Factory Tour

  Lebanon, PA Weavers-Kutztown Bologna Inc

  Hanover, PA Snyder's Of Hanover Factory Outlet

  Lewistown, PA Asher's Chocolates Factory - Lewistown

  York, PA Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations Factory Tour

  Lakeville, PA Sculpted Ice Works Factory Tour & Natural Ice Harvest Museum

  Mount Joy, PA Wilton Armtale Factory Store

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• Experiences

Top 10 Japanese Factory Tours in Kansai As Voted By Japanese Locals

Factory tours are a fun and educational day out for the family, and since they're usually free, they can be a great choice for any travelers on a budget, too. Major Japanese travel website, Jalan, recently held a survey asking Japanese locals about their favorite factory tours in the Kansai region. Topping the list were tours of factories that make worldwide Japanese favorites like Pocky, Asahi beer, and Kewpie mayonnaise. Read on to learn about the top 10 factory tours in Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Best Factory Tours in Kansai Survey Results

A factory tour gives you a look behind the scenes of a world most of us don't get to see every day. It's also a fun way to learn about the history and culture of food and industry in Japan.

What actually makes a great factory tour? Jalan asked survey responders what factors were important for them when they were deciding on which tour to check out. The first answer by far was whether or not the tour was free! Respondents also liked to see food samples, which definitely explains why nine out of the ten factories in this list are at factories that make food. Other deciding factors were whether or not there was enough to do to spend the day there, whether or not there were souvenirs to buy, and whether or not there are activities the whole family can enjoy.

The Top 10 Factory Tours in Kansai

1. cup noodles museum | osaka.

Taking first place is the Cup Noodle Museum in Ikeda City, Osaka. This museum teaches you about the importance of innovation and discovery as framed through the invention of instant ramen.

This factory tour is well known for its popular hands-on areas, including the Chicken Ramen Factory where visitors can make their own ramen from scratch, and the My Cup Noodle Factory, where you can pick your soup and ingredients to create your very own personalized cup noodle!

2. Meiji Naruhodo Factory | Osaka

Recently re-opened after renovations in May 2018, the Meiji Naruhodo (which means, "I see!") Factory tour is structured around the manufacture of two famous Meiji products: the bamboo shoot-shaped cookie, Takenoko no Sato, and the mushroom-shaped cookie, Kinoko no Yama. 

With displays structured like an assembly line, this tour takes you through the process of making candy, starting from how the raw ingredients, such as cocoa, are sourced. You'll have a chance to learn more broadly about the world of chocolate as you see, touch, experience, and enjoy learning about how these beloved sweets are made. 

3. Asahi Beer Suita Brewery | Osaka

The Asahi Beer Suita Factory in Osaka was Asahi's first brewery, and today it has a great free tour that allows you to see the Asahi production line and sample freshly-brewed beer.  Beer lovers are also sure to get a kick out of the World Beer Collection Exhibition Corner that displays beer packaging from all around the world. 

4. Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Kyoto Plant | Kyoto

You can see the production line plus a range of fun exhibits about the world's most iconic drink at Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan's Kyoto Plant.

Displays include a Time Tunnel that features Japanese Coca-Cola designs over the years. Once you pass through the can-shaped path and see the production line, you can stop at the factory's photo spot to commemorate your visit! 

5. Glicopia Kobe | Kobe

Glicopia in Kobe is the site of the factory that makes the world-famous snack Pocky and its savory equivalent, Pretz. Here you can see the factory line, learn about new sweets made using the latest cutting-edge Japanese technology, and even try your hand at making some sweets yourself!

Glico fans can also pick up some original Pocky and Pretz souvenirs, and maybe even some exclusive snacks, too. 

6. Meiji Naruhodo Factory Kansai | Osaka

The second Meiji factory tour to appear on this top 10 list, the Meiji Naruhodo Factory Kansai is all about yogurt! This is a great tour to visit with children as an educational outing. They'll learn how yogurt is made and about nutrition more generally by looking at the health benefits of dairy. Visitors can even take part in butter making workshops!

7. Japan Mint | Osaka

As the only non-food factory in this top 10 list, the Japanese Mint has some unique charms all of its own! For one, it's conveniently located in the center of Osaka, and its gardens are also known locally as one of the best spots for cherry blossoms in the city.

The guided tour here teaches you about how the Japanese Mint is run, and lets you see currency being made on the factory line. Afterwards, the tour takes you to the Mint Museum to learn more about the history of something we all care about - money! While some of the tours on this list are definitely more family-orientated, this tour is sure to be interesting for kids and adults alike.

8. Kewpie Kobe Factory Open Kitchen | Hyogo

Whether as a salad dressing or a topping for okonomiyaki and takoyaki, Kewpie mayonnaise is definitely an indispensable kitchen staple in Japan. Of course, this brand has diehard fans all over the world too! 

There are two options for guided factory tours at the Kewpie Kobe Factory: a Mayonnaise Course and a Dressings Course. After the tour, you can visit the factory's informative displays, and then finish your visit with some delicious food samples!

9. Kirin Brewery Tour | Shiga

Kirin Beer Factory in Shiga offers a selection of tours. The Kirin Ichiban Brewery Tour allows you to touch, smell, and even taste hops and malt, the raw ingredients that are used to make beer, and then learn all about the mashing and fermentation process. Whisky lovers will enjoy the Fuji-Sanroku Distillery Tour, which provides a hands on experience of the different aroma profiles of whisky and a chance to see the enormous grain stills used in its production, too. Of course, both tours end with beer or whisky tastings! 

If you're visiting with kids, the Kirin Gogo-no-Kocha Tour might be more interesting! This tour allows visitors to smell the different types of tea leaves used to make this famous iced tea drink, see how PET bottles are molded up-close, and then take a tour to see the entire production line.

10. Mentai Park Kobe Sanda | Hyogo

In 10th place is Mentai Park, located in Sanda, Kobe. Mentaiko, or pollock roe, is a very popular Japanese ingredient that might not be as familiar to international visitors. Here you can take a factory tour where you can see mentaiko being processed and pickled. After, you can sample foods made with fresh mentaiko, dine-in at the food court, and buy some mentaiko direct from the factory to take home, too. You might even discover your new favorite food here!

Experience a Factory Tour in Japan!

A factory tour is definitely a little off the beaten track of things to do in Japan, so if you're looking for a unique experience during your time here, why not find out how your favorite Japanese foods are made? A factory tour is a perfect way to break up trips to Japan's many historical sites if you're traveling with kids, too.

If you're visiting Tokyo instead, or just want to read more, check out our round up of the  10 Best Factory Tours in the Kanto Area ! 

If you want to give feedback on any of our articles, you have an idea that you'd really like to see come to life, or you just have a question on Japan, hit us up on our  Facebook ,  Twitter , or  Instagram !

Header credit: Morumotto / Shutterstock.com

The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.

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Moscow Metro Tour

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Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

Write your review

PGA TOUR University on TOUR:  Four alumni in top 10 at Veritex Bank Championship

PGA TOUR University

Trent Phillips carded a career-low 10-under 61 in the first round of the Veritex Bank Championship on his way to a third-place finish, his second top-three of the season. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

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Korn Ferry Tour  

Trent Phillips and Quade Cummins finished in the top five at the Veritex Bank Championship at Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington, Texas. Phillips carded a career-low 10-under 61 in the first round that included three eagles on his way to a third-place finish, his second top-three of the season. After starting the season with back-to-back missed cuts in the Bahamas, Phillips has made the cut in seven straight starts and is up to No. 5 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Cummins tied his career low with an 8-under 63 in the second round and tied for fifth, his third top-10 finish of 2024.

In his Korn Ferry Tour season debut, Yuxin Lin finished eighth after carding rounds of 8-under 63 in the second and final rounds. The No. 12 player in the 2023 ranking has made the cut on three different tours this season, and in four of five starts overall. In addition to his eighth-place finish last week in Dallas, he finished T56 at The American Express on the PGA TOUR, and he made the cut in both his starts on PGA TOUR Americas, with his best finish being T3 at the Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club.

Trevor Werbylo closed with a 63 to earn a T9 finish, his first top-10 on any tour since he won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lake Charles Championship in March 2022. He has made the cut in four of seven starts this season and he’s currently 68th on the points list.

The Korn Ferry Tour season will resume at the AdventHealth Championship (May 16-19) at Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri.

PGA TOUR University Alumni – Korn Ferry Tour Points List  

Austin Eckroat and Chris Gotterup teamed up and finished T11 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after finishing the weekend 20-under. Eckroat, the No. 3 player in the 2021 ranking and Gotterup, the No. 7 player in the ranking in 2022, were the only team made up of PGA TOUR University alums in the field. Eckroat has made the cut in 13 of his last 15 starts dating back to last season while carding six top-25s and a win at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in that span.

Jacob Bridgeman and Chandler Phillips finished T19, Mac Meissner and Austin Smotherman finished T23 and Kevin Yu and C.T. Pan finished T28.

Eight PGA TOUR University alumni are in the field this week at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch. Meissner, Pierceson Coody , Parker Coody and Davis Thompson will be making their return to the event while Bridgeman, Gotterup, Yu, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Joe Highsmith will make their debuts in McKinney, Texas.

PGA TOUR University Alumni – FedExCup Standings  

PGA TOUR Americas

Five PGA TOUR University alumni made the cut at the Diners Club Peru Open at Los Inkas Golf Club. Derek Hitchner and Cameron Sisk led all alumni in the field after finishing T22. Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (T34), Ben Carr (T34) and Reid Davenport (T42) also made the cut in Lima.

Hitcher has finished in the top 25 in six of his last 10 starts dating back to last season on PGA TOUR Canada. The Pepperdine alum had back-to-back top-10s at the Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club and the 69th ECP Brazil Open.

Seven alumni are expected to be in the field at the Kia Open (May 2-5) in Quito, Ecuador: Hitchner, Davenport, Carr, Sisk, Fernandez de Oliveira, Tommy Kuhl and Chase Sienkiewicz .

The PGA TOUR Americas Latin Swing consists of six events, with two tournaments remaining. The top 60 players in the Fortinet Cup at the conclusion of the Latin Swing earn exempt membership for the North America Swing.

PGA TOUR University Alumni – Fortinet Cup Standings  

2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds, picks, Fantasy golf power rankings: PGA Tour predictions, expert best bets

After the Rory McIlroy-Shane Lowry team won in a playoff at last week's Zurich Classic, the PGA Tour returns to its individual stroke play format for this week's CJ Cup Byron Nelson event in Texas. A full field of 156 golfers will compete for a $9.5 million purse for the third 2024 event in the Lone Star State. 

Jordan Spieth is the +1600 favorite, followed by defending champion Jason Day (+1800), Si Woo Kim (+2000), Will Zalatoris (+2200), Adam Scott and Alex Noren (+2500).

With a competitive field again this week, who can you trust for your CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf picks? Before you set your 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf lineups or make any PGA Tour bets, you NEED to see the Fantasy golf rankings from Fantasy expert Eric Cohen .

Cohen is an avid golf bettor who correctly predicted the pre-tournament outright winner of the 2024 Players Championship (Scottie Scheffler +550), 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic (Rickie Fowler +1400), 2023 PGA Championship (Brooks Koepka +2000), 2023 Honda Classic (Chris Kirk +3500), 2022 Open Championship (Cameron Smith +2200), 2022 U.S. Open (Matt Fitzpatrick +2500), and 2022 Phoenix Open (Scheffler's first career victory at +2800). 

Eric is a contributor to SportsLine's YouTube shows including "Early Edge" and is the host of "The Early Wedge" golf show (live on Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET).  Anyone who has followed Cohen's predictions has made positive gains on their golf picks.

Now, Cohen has studied the field set to play at TPC Craig Ranch and revealed his CJ Cup Byron Nelson Fantasy golf rankings. 

We can tell you he is backing Alex Noren as his top choice this week despite having no PGA Tour victories on his resume. "The Swede has made the cut in 14 straight events, despite only finishing in the top 10 once since January. The ball-striking numbers have been good and the putter has mostly cooperated en route to a slew of top-20s of late. Between 2009-18, he won 10 events on the DP World Tour and might be the best player on the PGA Tour without a victory."

On the other hand, Cohen is fading Will Zalatoris at +2200. "Once again, the putter is plaguing Zalatoris, as he's lost strokes on the greens in four straight stroke play events. He's also not the type of player to thrive in birdie fest events."

Cohen also is backing several underdogs in his 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson Fantasy golf picks, including a triple-digit longshot who would be a nice piece for DFS lineups ! If this player can pull off a stunning result, it would bring a HUGE payoff and be a valuable piece for CJ Cup Byron Nelson Fantasy golf lineups. You ABSOLUTELY need to see who it is before locking in any fantasy golf picks.

Who wins the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch ,  a nd which triple-digit longshots could bring a HUGE payout and be the difference for your Fantasy golf picks? Join SportsLine now to get Eric Cohen's Fantasy golf rankings and picks for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, all from the Fantasy expert who has delivered a positive ROI with his golf picks !

GET VEGAS EXPERT PICKS FOR NFL, MLB, NBA, CBB, GOLF, NHL, HORSE RACING AND MORE - PLUS ADVANCED COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, WINNING TOOLS, AND MORE!

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Home » Singapore » Top 10 Educational Tours For Kids And Families In Singapore

Top 10 Educational Tours For Kids And Families In Singapore

Expand your knowledge with a variety of different guided tours.

Got a kiddo at home who’s always inquisitive and won’t stop asking questions? Quench your little one’s need for knowledge with these educational tours around Singapore. It’s a beneficial way to spend the weekend as a family. Who knows – you might learn a new thing or two yourself!

Want More? Check out our other educational guides!

• Top Enrichment Classes For Kids In Central Singapore
• Top March School Holiday Events And Activities 2024 In Singapore
• Best Preschools And Kindergartens In Singapore 2024: A Comprehensive Guide

HAY DAIRIES FARM TOUR: Lim Chu Kang *Educational Tours In Singapore

Let your kiddos get up close and personal with little goats at Hay Dairies. Their farm tour features an educational orientation by an in-house experienced goat farmer, so your kids can ask whatever questions they like about his job and the farm. Each participant even gets a 200ml bottle of Fresh Goat Milk and a Hay Dairies souvenir to take home. For every two paying participants, you’ll receive one packet of Alfafa Hay to be fed to the goats!

Suitable for ages 18 months and above. From SG$10.90 per participant.

Hay Dairies , 250 Neo Tiew Crescent, Singapore 719866, +65 6792 0931, haydairies.sg/farm-visit-2/educational-tour

S.E.A AQUARIUM VIP EXPERIENCE: Resorts World Sentosa *Educational Tours In Singapore

There are so many fascinating underwater species to learn about at the S.E.A Aquarium, and the VIP experience includes a guided tour during your visit. This way, your kiddos can learn more about the marine world and discover secrets under the sea! The VIP experience even entitles you to a back-of-house tour where you get to check out their gigantic aquarium tank from a top view — and if you’re lucky enough, even get to see their manta rays waving from the surface!

Suitable for 4 year olds and above. From SG$158 per participant.

S.E.A Aquarium , 8 Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098269, +65 6577 8899, www.rwsentosa.com/en/special-experience/seaa-vip-experience

YAKULT FACTORY TOUR: Senoko Avenue *Educational Tours In Singapore

Did you know the Yakult Factory in Singapore conducts tours? You can learn how your favorite probiotic drinks are made while touring the facility, and you also get to view the entire high-tech production process through the glass-walled gallery. Staff will also give a presentation about the company and products, and the best part? You’ll get a free Yakult!

Suitable for all ages. Free, but registration is required online.

Yakult Factory, 7 Senoko Ave, Singapore 758300, +65 6756 1033, www.yakult.com.sg/yakult-factory-tour

GUIDED MUSEUM TOUR: Dhoby Ghaut *Educational Tours In Singapore

Interested locals or visitors alike can participant by signing up for the tour, with a maximum of five people per tour excluding the tour guide. It’ll be an interesting learning experience for the kids as the different exhibitions are explained to them in an engaging manner for better understanding. Do check with the front desk regarding tour schedules, and click the link below to the vaccination requirements for participants.

Suitable for 4 year olds and above. Free, but registration is required.

National Museum Of Singapore , 93 Stamford Rd, Singapore 178897, +65 6332 3659, www.nhb.gov.sg/nationalmuseum

NEWATER VISITOR CENTRE: Koh Sek Lim Road *Educational Tours In Singapore

NEWater is fascinating, since it recycles our treated water into ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water. There are several steps in the process, of which you’ll learn more about during the tour at their visitor centre. It’s an interesting tour that’ll provide you with the knowledge of how Singapore played its part in water sustainability.

NEWater Visitor Centre , 20 Koh Sek Lim Rd, Singapore 486593, +65 6546 7874, www.app.pub.gov.sg/newatertour

FIRE STATION OPEN HOUSE: Multiple Locations *Educational Tours In Singapore

If your little one has dreams of becoming a firefighter, give them an insight to their potential future with a tour at the Fire Station. SCDF organizes tours every Saturday mornings. There, kids can witness firemen in action, sit inside a fire truck and try on safety helmets! Who knows – it could spark a fiery passion within your kiddo.

Fire Station Open House , multiple locations, www.scdf.gov.sg/home/community-volunteers/visit-scdf-establishments

ORGANIC FARM TOUR: Kranji *Educational Tours In Singapore

Spend a day among greenery with an organic farm tour in Kranji. Kin Yan Agrotech has organic farm tours where kids can learn more about organic farming and crops such as wheatgrass, mushrooms and cactus. Besides getting up close with these fresh harvest, joiners will also get a drink and pea sprouts to bring home and develop their green thumb.

Suitable for 4 year olds and above. From SG$5 per participant.

Organic Farm Tour , Kin Yan Agrotech Pte Ltd, 220 Neo Tiew Crescent, Singapore 718830, +65 6794 8368, kinyan.sg/organic-farm-tour

ZOOKEEPER FOR A DAY: Mandai *Educational Tours In Singapore

To get an exclusive first-hand look at the wonderful world of animals in our Singapore Zoo, this backstage pass allows kiddos to play zookeeper for a day and tour the compound with an expert. They’ll learn animal care tips, feeding habits and get close-up opportunities with the fantastic beasts, making for an unforgettable time.

Suitable for 6 to 12 year olds. From SG$380 per participant.

Zookeeper For A Day , Singapore Zoo, 80 Mandai Lake Rd, Singapore 729826,​​ www.mandai.com/en/singapore-zoo/things-to-do/activities/tours

KAMPONG EXPERIENCE: Buangkok *Educational Tours In Singapore

Kampongs may be a thing of the past, but there is still one last remaining kampong village left in Singapore! Both young and old can go on a tour of the last remaining village so to learn about the simple way of life Singaporeans used to lead. The tour even includes stepping into an actual kampong house and chatting with residents, as well as playing old-school games from the good ‘ol days!

Suitable for 6 to 12 year olds. From SG$200 per session.

Kampong Experience , Kampong Lorong Buangkok,  www.letsgotoursingapore.com/kampong-experience

PERANAKAN TOUR: Joo Chiat *Educational Tours In Singapore

Most of us are aware of Chinese, Indian and Malay culture in Singapore. But do you know much about Peranakan culture? To get a deep dive into their heritage through a walktabout tour in the culturally rich neighborhood of Joo Chiat, join this tour, which will take 90 minutes and span about 1.8km. Besides newfound knowledge and getting some Vitamin D, parents and kids will also get an duio guide and an activity book!

Suitable for 4 to 10 year olds. From SG$30 per person.

Peranakan Tour , Joo Chiat, kiddotrip.com/produit/visit-joo-chiat-with-kids

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2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds: Our long-shot pick eyes his second PGA Tour win

C.T. Pan is our long-shot pick to win in Texas.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The PGA Tour returns to Texas and to a traditional tournament format with this week’s 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, and we’re picking a long shot who nearly took home the title last year. Here’s our long-shot pick, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds, betting favorites and everything else you need to know.

CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds: Long-shot bet

For this week’s newly named CJ Cup Byron Nelson, we’re picking PGA Tour veteran C.T. Pan to beat the odds and come out on top. Pan’s odds to win to start the week sit at +10000.

Pan is a former top-50 golfer in the world, capable of winning any time he tees it up. He proved that at the 2019 RBC Heritage , which he won to earn his only Tour victory.

Tour Confidential: U.S. Ryder Cup captain, PGA Tour payouts, Zurich format

So far this season, Pan has only managed one top 10, but it was a good one: a T3-finish at the Mexico Open. Most intriguingly for our purposes is the fact that Pan finished solo 4th at last year’s Byron Nelson, just two shots short of winner Jason Day’s 23-under total.

If you put $10 on Pan to win and he comes through, you’ll earn $1,000. For insurance, consider placing additional small bets on Pan to finish top 10 and top 20.

Looking for more long-shot bets for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson? This week’s honorable mentions are Adam Schenk (+5000) and Kevin Yu (+9000).

CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds: The favorites

Leading the Byron Nelson field as the pre-tournament betting favorite is three-time major champion Jordan Spieth , who comes into the week with +1400 odds.

He’s followed by Alex Noren at +1800, and three players are tied at +2000, including Adam Scott , Si Woo Kim and defending champion Jason Day .

You can see the top 15 in CJ Cup Byron Nelson betting odds as of Monday morning below or head over to BetMGM to see the full list of odds and bets for this week.

2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson betting odds (Top 15 and ties)

Jordan Spieth (+1400) Alex Noren (+1800) Adam Scott (+2000) Jason Day (+2000) Si Woo Kim (+2000) Will Zalatoris (+2200) Sungjae Im (+2500) Byeong Hun An (+2800) Tom Kim (+2800) Keith Mitchell (+3300) Min Woo Lee (+3300) Stephan Jaeger (+3300) Tom Hoge (+3300) Thomas Detry (+4000) K.H. Lee (+4500) Mackenzie Hughes (+4500)

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