factory tours for schools

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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Take a Made in America Massachusetts Factory Tour

Massachusetts is a great state to enjoy some chocolate , visit a brewery , see a world-class piano being built, learn how braille is produced and published, or watch a glass blower blend modern techniques with old-world traditions on these Massachusetts factory tours.

Massachusetts Factories That Offer Tours

Mason & Hamlin | Haverhill, MA

See how the finest hand-built pianos in the world are made when you visit the Mason & Hamlin piano factory. Tours are available by appointment and must be made at least one week in advance.

#Mason & Hamlin

National Braille Press | Boston, MA

Learn how braille is produced and published when you take an educational tour of National Braille Press. Tours are offered by reservation request with at least two weeks notice.

#National Braille Press

Pairpoint Glass Company | Sagamore, MA

Watch the team of glassblowers continue the nearly 200 year old tradition of glassblowing, learn the history of Pairpoint Glass Company, and see how traditional methods and modern techniques are combined to make modern glass.

#Pairpoint Glass Company

More Tours in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Chocolate & Candy Factory Tours

Made in the USA Matters has a complete directory of United States chocolate and candy factories that offer tours . Check out the chocolate and candy factory tours in Massachusetts .

Massachusetts Dairy Farm Tours

Made in the USA Matters has a complete directory of United States dairy farm tours . Check out the dairy farm tours in Massachusettts .

Massachusetts Distillery and Brewery Tours

Made in the USA Matters has a complete directory of United States distilleries and breweries that offer tours . Check out the distillery and brewery tours in Massachusetts .

USA Factory Tours

Did we miss a Massachusetts factory tour? Please share it with our community in the comments below.

American Dairy Farm Tours | See Dairy Products Made in the USA

American Cheese Factory Tours | See Cheese Made in the USA

American Chocolate & Candy Factory Tours | See Chocolate & Candy Made in the USA

American Potato Chip Factory Tours | See Snack Foods Made in the USA

American Distillery & Brewery Tours | See Spirits Made in the USA

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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.

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Factory Tour Destinations

Results are limited to a 25-mile radius

  Scranton, PA Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour

  Philadelphia, PA U.S. Mint

  Tyrone, PA Gardner's Candy Museum

  Geigertown, PA Joanna Furnace Historic Site

  York, PA Wolfgang Confectioners

  Mercer, PA Wendell August Forge

  Cresco, PA Callie's Pretzel Factory

  Easton, PA Crayola Experience

  Hanover, PA Utz Quality Foods

  Souderton, PA Asher's Chocolates Factory

  Hershey, PA Hershey's Chocolate World

  Lebanon, PA Weavers-Kutztown Bologna Inc

  Brookville, PA BWP Bats, LLC

  Columbia, PA Turkey Hill Experience

  Hershey, PA Hersheypark

  Mountainhome, PA Callie's Candy Kitchen

  York, PA Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations Factory Tour

  Mount Joy, PA Wilton Armtale Factory Store

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

  Nazareth, PA C.F. Martin & Co.

  Pottsville, PA Yuengling Museum & Gift Shop

  Lititz, PA The Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

  Hershey, PA Hershey

  Altoona, PA Benzel's Pretzel Bakery

  Lewistown, PA Asher's Chocolates Factory - Lewistown

  Nottingham, PA Herr's Snack Factory Tour

  Thomasville, PA Martin's Potato Chips Inc.

  Saint Marys, PA Straub Brewery

  Hanover, PA Snyder's Of Hanover Factory Outlet

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5 Best Factory and Museum Tours for Students

Everyone wants to know where their favorite stuff comes from and how it’s made. That’s why factory and museum tours are so much fun! These are our picks for the 5 best factory and museum tours for students in some great student destinations .

World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, GA

If your group is going to Atlanta, be sure to stop at the World of Coca-Cola. It’s a fantastic tour for students with 125 years of stuff to check out! Students can start in the lobby with an ice-cold Coke before checking out the Loft, an area packed with Coca-Cola’s rich heritage.

The Bottle Works is a super cool replica of a bottling facility that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the bottling process. It uses some of the same equipment the plants use but runs more slowly to allow students to see how it’s done.

Everyone loves a hidden treasure, and the Vault of the Secret Formula doesn’t disappoint. Students can pass through interactive, multimedia exhibits while learning about the history of Coca-Cola’s top-secret formula. Kids can become effervescent bubbles, protectors of the secret and creators of a flavor that they can taste.

Of course, the best part of the museum is Taste It! Guests can sample more than 100 different beverages from around the world (arranged geographically- you’re welcome, teachers!)

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, KY

If your student group is heading to Louisville, you have to “swing” by the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory . The world’s biggest baseball bat (120 feet and 68,000 pounds of steel) greets you as you enter. The museum exhibits celebrate the role the of the Louisville Slugger in baseball throughout the years.

The Hold A Piece of History exhibit is pretty awesome. You can actually hold a bat used by Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter and other greats throughout the years!

The factory tour is a one-of-a-kind experience. You’ll be right in the middle of the production line where you can see, smell and hear these iconic bats being manufactured. You’ll even get a free souvenir mini bat at the end of the tour. It’s a swing and a hit!

 Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY

I know what you’re thinking. Glass + student groups = DISASTER! Time to rethink because this is a really cool experience for kids. The Corning Museum of Glass is an ultramodern facility with a designated education department for student groups. You can learn about the history, science and art of glass, as well as its daily applications. There are tour options for all ages, each with a S.T.E.A.M. focus. Demonstrations, exhibits, glass making and more make this a great stop on any New York itinerary!

Turkey Hill Experience in Lancaster, PA

I scream, you scream… the Turkey Hill Experience in Lancaster, PA will make everyone scream for ice cream! This bright, spacious facility in the middle of Amish country is tons of fun. Students can learn how ice cream is made, milk mechanical cows or sit in an old-fashioned milk truck. The Turkey Hill Taste Lab allows them to virtually create their own ice cream flavor and then EAT IT!!

Tea Discovery will let them learn about and taste teas from around the world. Turkey Hill Experience offers discounts for groups and educational supplements for the classroom as well.

Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, PA

Just a short drive from Lancaster is Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, PA. Anything with the words “chocolate world” in the title is already a win. Now factor in free admission, a free tour and free candy at the end of said tour and it’s like winning a championship!

Hershey’s Chocolate World is a fun look at Hershey’s chocolate making process from bean to bar. See, hear, feel and smell as you ride through the chocolate making tour in comfort. Cows will sing, and kids will love it!

If you want to add to your visit, you can create your own candy bar or participate in a tasting for an additional fee. Both are immersive learning experiences and lots of fun for students.

These 5 best factory and museum tours for students in some of the best student travel destinations. If you’re looking for more things to do with students, check out some of these great ideas…

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Travel Student Planning Guide’s   See It Made: 10 Top Factory Tours

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10 Student Factory Tours for STEM Experiences in the Midwest

Midwest , STEM

These factory tours with 10 prominent companies in the Midwest are ideal for STEM learning field trips and hands-on opportunities

The Midwest is packed with factory tours of just about every kind of manufacturing department or fulfillment center, and students looking to receive incredible STEM experiences are sure to be amazed and inspired while visiting any one of them. With the chance to visit these locations, students will be able to see the engineering and the mechanics of factory assembly lines and production. Take a trip to one of these 10 factories in the Midwest for interactive and hands-on STEM experiences students will never forget.

1. Airstream Factory

Bring your students to the Airstream Factory in Jackson Center, Ohio to walk through a two-hour tour of the factory that creates and assembles the Airstream travel trailers and tour coaches. The Airstream history is richly intertwined with the evolution of travel and comfort, so a visit here is a student tour group must. The tour is free, making it an amazing educational experience and a cost-effective travel choice.

Airstream Factory Tour; Credit Airstream

2. Amazon Fulfillment Center

The Amazon Fulfillment Center hosts tours in Jeffersonville, Indiana by showing the process and machinery involved in getting Amazon products and packages from the centers to the customer’s doors. Students will be able to see products arriving from the suppliers to the warehouse, items being selected for each order and orders being packaged and processed to be shipped out.

3. Ford Rouge Factory

With the combination of history and manufacturing, Ford Rouge Factory in Dearborn, Michigan offers a unique view into the creation of one the most-recognized automobile brand’s assembly line. The tour will take students through exciting aspects of creating the Ford vehicle and its components. Student tickets are $10. There should be one adult chaperone per every ten students, and for every ten students signed up the company will provide one free chaperone ticket.

4. Harley-Davidson Powertrain Operations

Credit Harley-Davidson Powertrain Operations

The Harley-Davidson Powertrain Operations Factory in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin gives students an inside look at the composition and creation of the engine of a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle through Engines 101. Students will be able to have an irreplaceable and interactive experience exploring what it takes to manufacture and engineer the Harley-Davidson Milwaukee-Eight engine. This experience is sure to be the experience of a lifetime, as it inspires student’s interest in the mechanics behind one of the most iconic motorcycle brands in the market.

5. Honda Heritage Center and Auto Plant Tour

The Honda Heritage Center and Auto Plant Tour in Marysville, Ohio is a free tour option for students grades 7 and higher to see the assembly and manufacturing behind Honda automobiles. Touring the center and the auto plant takes about two-and-a-half hours and gives students the chance to see the hard work put into creating a Honda automobile.

6. John Deere Factory Tours

John Deere Factory Tours are available for students at a few locations within Iowa and Illinois. Factory tours at locations like John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois and the John Deere Tractor Cab Assembly Operations in Waterloo, Iowa offer free admission and require that all guests are at least 13 years old to embark on tours. At the John Deere Harvester Works location in East Moline, Illinois, students will be able to see the manufacturing of combines and the front-end attachments for their harvesting and farming equipment. The John Deere Tractor Cab Assembly Operations in Waterloo, Iowa shows touring students the manufacturing behind John Deere’s famous tractors.

John Deere Factory Tour; Credit John Deere

7. Kohler Design Center

The Kohler Design Center in Kohler, Wisconsin happily hosts tours available to students age 14 and higher. Tours are about three hours long and there must be an adult chaperone present for every nine students in attendance. The factory tour will give students an inside peek into the creation and manufacturing of Kohler’s leading components such as their tubs, sinks and toilets. They will be able to tour the foundry and the pottery where they will be able to see the casting, pouring, baking and enameling of items in heat up to 2000 degrees.

Kohler Design Center; Credit Travel Wisconsin

8. Phoenix Bats Plant Tour

Students will see the process of creating the professional and esteemed Phoenix Bat and learn about the history of the company while partaking in the Phoenix Bats Plant Tour in Plain City, Ohio. The tours are $10 per attendee and offer a STEM factory tour option in combination with one of the United States favorite past times.

9. Toyota Factory Tour

The Toyota Factory Tour in Princeton, Indiana welcomes students to join the hour-long tours of their manufacturing plant. One adult chaperone per 15 people is required for school groups embarking on the Toyota Factory Tour. Students will get to ride on a tram through the facility where they will be able to see the engineers and robotics that help assemble and create the Toyota automobile.

10. Winnebago Industries Visitor Center

Credit: Winnebago Industries

The Winnebago Industries Visitors Center in Forest City, Iowa has two factories available for touring: the Lake Mills Assembly Facility and Forest City Facility. The Lake Mills Facility showcases the manufacturing of Winnebago’s Class B Van, and the Forest City Facility tour allows students to take tours of two buildings that showcase the creation of the Winnebago Motorhome’s furniture components and the main production area. Follow up whichever tour you chose by visiting the Winnebago Industries Museum to learn more about the history and brands homed within the company.

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Experience firsthand the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s roots, where over 80 acres brim with resourcefulness and ingenuity. Greenfield Village will be open for field trips on select dates through September, will be closed in October, and open Fridays in November.

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Experience the awe-inspiring scale of a real factory floor as you rev up your inner engineer. Get an inside look at the most iconic moments of American manufacturing history, and immerse yourself in automaking’s most progressive concepts.

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Northeast Ohio Family Fun

Make Memories, One Cool Family Outing at a Time!

25 Factory Tours in Ohio: Unique Behind-the-Scenes Experiences

Last Updated: 11/9/2023

Are you ready to discover the process of making your favorite products? One of the factory tours in Ohio is a great, behind-the-scenes activity! From foods you enjoy, to products you love, to operations that help a city run, you have a variety of factories to choose from. We’ve put together a list of fun factory tours throughout the area.

American Whistle Corp Tour

“Whoo,” calling all whistle lovers! The American Whistle Corp is the only manufacturer of metal whistles in the United States. Ever wonder how the little ball gets inside the whistle? You can find that out, and so much more on a tour of The American Whistle Corp.

The tour is welcome and tailored to all ages, so bring the entire family! The 45 minute tour is scheduled in advance online Monday through Thursday. Learn more under the “what to expect” section for additional details.

The American Whistle Corporation 6540 Huntley Rd., Columbus, OH 43229 Website

You may be interested in: More fun things to do in Columbus

Columbus Washboard Company Factory Tours

Come take a tour of a washboard factory and take a step back in history! Columbus Washboard Company Factory is the only washboard factory remaining in the United States. You will see the plant, as well as the process of making the washboards. Interestingly, the company still uses many of the original tools today in their manufacturing process.

The washboard tour will take around 35 minutes. It is designed for both children and adults. Please book ahead for your tour. Visit the website for costs, hours and additional information.

Columbus Washboard Company Factory Tours 4 Main Street, Logan, OH Website

Mitchell’s Ice Cream Tour

The Mitchell brothers created Mitchell’s Ice Cream with the hope to create memories over ice cream. Today, you can not only enjoy the fresh homemade ice cream, but you can see the process first hand at their Ohio City location. Stop by and peek through their window to watch as they handcraft each batch of ice cream in their kitchen.

Check out the website for a full menu of flavors during your visit, and their seasonal offerings. You can also look at their cakes and pies. You can reserve the Ohio City location for private events as well! This would make a fun location for a child’s birthday party!

Mitchell’s Ice Cream 1867 W 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113 Website

You may be interested in: More fun things to do in Cleveland

Original Mattress Factory Tour

At the Original Mattress Factory each mattress is handmade and built to last! That’s why they invite you to come behind-the-scenes to see the process of making a mattress. You’ll be able to see each layer from the springs, to the cotton, to the foam.

Original Mattress Factory 4930 State Road, Cleveland, OH 44134 Website

MVP Dairy Tour

Want to learn about dairy farming? The best way is to come see the entire operation!! MVP Dairy is a non-profit education center that offers tours to the public. With two levels of interactive games and displays you will learn about the process of milk’s journey. You can also get a close up look at their milking carousel with real cows. Appointments are encouraged, so make sure to call and book your tour in advance.

MVP Dairy 7124 US-33, Celina, Ohio 45822 Website

Al’s Delicious Popcorn Tour

At Al’s Delicious Popcorn they consider you one of the neighbors, and they invite their neighbors in! They have had generations of families tour their locations, and enjoy making memories with you. On their tour you will learn the history of popcorn and their business. Then you are invited into their kitchen (hair net and all) to learn first hand from their Popcorn Chefs. They do it all by hand! You end the tour with a popcorn tasting. Yum! 

Plan for 30 minutes to an hour for the tour, the larger the group the longer it will take.  

Al’s Delicious Popcorn Locations in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio Website

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Chocolate Factory Tours

Harry london/fannie may fine chocolates.

Are you ready for a mouthwatering, behind-the-scenes look at chocolate? Harry London/Fannie May Fine Chocolates offers a peek into the process of their gourmet chocolates. You will get a lesson in Fannie May history, as well as a chance to taste test their creations. Tours are free and you need to call to book in advance. Make sure to book early because tours fill up quickly, especially during the summer.

Harry London/Fannie May Fine Chocolates 5353 Lauby Road, North Canton, OH 44720 Website   | Our Review

You may be interested in: More fun things to do in Canton

Malley’s Chocolates (virtual tour)

Each piece of chocolate is hand-picked off the line to ensure it is the highest quality! If you grew up around Cleveland, you probably took a field trip or two to tour the factory. Unfortunately, Malley’s no longer offers in person tours, but you can take a first hand look at how each piece of chocolate is made in one of their virtual tours. If you are a fan of their melt-in-your-mouth Buckeyes, you’ll definitely want to watch the video of how they are made in their 60,000 square foot facility.

Malley’s Chocolates Website

Anthony-Thomas Candy Company

Channel your inner Willy Wonka with a tour of the 152,000 square-foot, Anthony-Thomas Candy Company candy factory! You won’t take a glass elevator, but you will have the chance to walk comfortably along their glass-enclosed suspended “Cat-Walk,” where you will view nine lines of 30,000 pounds of chocolate production per shift. Plus, they make sure you get a free sample.

The tour ends in their 2,500 square foot retail shop, where you can purchase more candy from your visit. You can register on their website, as well as find out hours, admissions and more details about their tours.

Anthony-Thomas Candy Company 1777 Arlingate Lane Columbus, OH 43228 Website

Maverick Chocolate Factory Tour

If you’ve ever wondered about the entire bean to bar process of making chocolate, the Maverick Chocolate Factory Tour is for you. You will literally use all of your senses as you experience the entire process of chocolate making. You will learn about the history of the Picton family, how chocolate is made and then you’ll have a chance to enjoy free samples.

The tour runs from 30 to 45 minutes. You must wear closed toed shoes, and a hat or hair net will be provided for your visit. Babies are allowed, but strollers are not permitted in the factory area. 

Maverick Chocolate Factory Tour 2651 Edmondson Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209 Website

Coblentz Chocolate Company

At Coblentz Chocolate Company you can take a peek behind-the-scenes of chocolate making. Their recently remodeled showroom includes a viewing gallery. You get to watch their delicious creations being made!

Their headquarters is like stepping back into an old-fashioned candy store. You can purchase chocolates in the shop or online via their website. 

Coblentz Chocolate Company 4917 Walnut Street, Walnut Creek, OH 44687 Website

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Young’s Jersey Dairy Cheese & Ice Cream Tours

At Young’s Jersey Dairy you can spend a day at the farm and experience their cheese and ice cream production firsthand. One of their dairy experts will walk you through the process, while you can watch through the windows at their ice cream and cheese production facility. Each tour ticket also includes your choice of a cheese item and a pint of Young’s Homemade Ice Cream.

Tickets are required for those 5-years-old and up and you can sign up for a tour via their website. 

Young’s Jersey Dairy 6880 Springfield-Xenia Rd Yellow Springs, OH 45387 Website

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For more than 140 years Rookwood has been transforming “earthen materials into works of art.” On a Rookwood tour, you’ll have a unique opportunity to step inside the studio for a history on the art. Their historian, George, takes you through their 88,000 square facility. You can also use your $10 ticket as a credit for a $50 or more purchase in their showroom after the tour. 

Rookwood 1920 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Website

Airstream Factory Tours

Have you ever wondered how an Airstream is built? On one of the Airstream Factory Tours you’ll get to see how they are made and explore the completed product. You’re invited to take a tour of the travel trailer or touring coach factory, or you can view both. While you’re touring the manufacturers are hard at work around you.

The tour of each factory takes about one hour. Close toe shoes are required and the tours are only offered during weekdays so make sure to plan accordingly. 

Airstream Factory Tours 1001 W. Pike Street, Jackson Center, OH 45334 Website

Rumpke Landfill & Recycling Tour

Do you know what happens to your trash and recycling after you throw it away? A Rumpke Landfill & Recycling Tour allows you to see both the landfill side of the process as well as the recycling side. They offer two separate tours. The landfill tour is done from the safety of one of their buses, and the recycling tour is a walking tour. Tours are free and last approximately one hour.

Rumpke Landfill & Recycling Tour Locations for tours include Columbus, Cincinnati, Colerain Township and Brown County Website

Clifton Mill Tours

One of the “largest water powered grist mills still in existence,” is right here in Ohio at Clifton Mill. Dating back to 1802, there is a deep history and unique story to this mill. Today you can visit and tour the property, including the inner workings of the mill. Tours are available on weekdays during spring and summer.  

Clifton Mill 75 Water St., Clifton, OH 45316 Website

Cheese Factory Tours

Guggisberg cheese factory tour.

Take a trip through the scenic Doughty Valley for a Guggisberg Cheese Factory Tour. The same valley you’ll drive through produces the fresh milk that makes the cheese you will taste. You can watch them make the cheese, as well as enjoy their more than 60 varieties of cheese.

The location also includes a retail store. You can purchase “authentic Cuckoo Clocks, beer steins, local goods, cutlery and so much more.” Take a look at the website for tour details.

Guggisberg Cheese Factory Tour 5060 State Route 557 Millersburg, Ohio 44654 Website

Pearl Valley Cheese Factory Tour

At Pearl Valley Cheese Factory Tour you can not only see your favorite cheeses being made, you can taste the different varieties. Pearl Valley Cheese has more than 30 options to choose from. They also have weekly specials!

Take a look at the website for best times to visit to see the cheese being made. You can also bring your pets to exercise in their pet-friendly field in front of the shop. They are closed holidays.

Pearl Valley Cheese Factory Tour 54760 Township Rd 90, Fresno, OH 43824 Website

Heini’s Cheese Chalet Tour

Want to see how cheese is made? Heini’s Cheese Chalet Tour provides self-guided tours that allow you to see the process. Call ahead to get each week’s cheese-making schedule so you can plan your trip accordingly. Their website includes an interesting PDF on the history of cheese making. 

Heini’s Cheese Chalet Tour 6005 County Road 77, Millersburg, Ohio 44654 Website

Honda Heritage Center Tour

If you love cars and the history of cars then the Honda Heritage Center Tour is for you! Take a self-guided stroll through the museum at your own pace. You should allow 45-90 minutes for your tour. Walk-ins are welcome and the visit is free of charge. There is plenty of free parking on-site as well. 

Honda Heritage Center 24025 Honda Parkway, Marysville, Ohio 43040 Website

Spangler Candy Company Tour

The Spangler Candy Company tours are currently closed. However, they have a new store coming in 2023. The location will include interactive displays, a retail store and a factory tour up on the big screen. 

Spangler Candy Company Downtown Bryan, Ohio Website

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P. Graham Dunn Production Tour

When you take a trip to the P. Graham Dunn factory store, not only can you enjoy the products of the store, but you can get a peek into the process of their woodworking. The store has windows that overlook the factory. Watch the production process from start to finish!

Visit the website for details on the store hours. You can view the production side of the business anytime the store is open. You can also shop products in the store and on their website.

P. Graham Dunn 630 Henry Street, Dalton, OH 44618 Website

Schwebel’s Bakery (photo tour)

Are you interested in how bread is made? If you visit the Schwebel’s Bakery website, they have a photo tour of their entire bread making process. They invite you to see how “Schwebel’s time-tested, old-world recipes meet state-of-the-art equipment!”

You can almost smell the fresh bread while taking an online photo tour of the bakery. The website also has a  Family Fun  page featuring funny videos and downloadable coloring pages for kids.

Schwebel’s Bakery Website

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. is Ohio’s original craft brewery. You can take in a little bit of their history, while getting a lesson in the beer making process…all with a beer in hand! You begin the tour with a sample in the Beer Symposium and then you get to experience the production facility for a behind-the-scenes look at the entire process.

The entire tour takes about 60 minutes from start to finish. Your ticket includes the tour as well as four 5 oz. beer samples and a souvenir pint. Be sure to check out the website for tour details and rules.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. 2516 Market Ave. Cleveland Ohio 44113 Website

The Phoenix Bat Company Factory Tours

If you have a baseball fan on your hands, then The Phoenix Bat Company Factory Tours are for you! Unfortunately, the factory tours are currently closed due to minimal staffing. However, they plan to restart them in the future. Check back on the website for details about tours. Their showroom is currently open and they can do bat fittings as well.

The Phoenix Bat Company Factory Tours 7801 Corporate Blvd. Suite E Plain City, Ohio 43064 Website

KitchenAid Tours

A visit to historic Greenville comes with many charms, including the KitchenAid Experience® Retail Center. This location used to offer tours to the public. However, it is currently closed for tours. Greenville is home to the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and well known throughout the area.

KitchenAid Website

More Fun Things to do in Ohio

• Things to do in Ohio  – The ultimate list of fun places to go and things to do
• Things to Do This Weekend  – Top picks for your weekend adventures

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5 Fun Factory Tours for Kids

For kids, there's nothing quite like seeing how some of their favorite stuff is made. Here are 5 places where visitors can get an inside look at assembly lines, and walk away with some free stuff, to boot.

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Go On Tour with Kids in L.A. Factories

Published October 8, 2018

Story and Photos By Matt Krantz

Learn about marmalade and see it made at E. Waldo Ward in Sierra Madre.

Got a golden ticket? You’d need one to enter Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. But if you want to peek inside some of Southern California’s most interesting factories, usually all you have to do is ask.

Local factories – which make everything from fresh marmalade to olive oil and, yes, chocolate – gladly open their doors to families looking to see the inner workings of their production process. Factory tours give families a glimpse into the business, manufacturing and even history of these companies. And in many cases, kids can taste the results. Sometimes the founders or owners of the companies will make an appearance or give the tours themselves.

“Touring factories is an inspiring experience for children and can also be very educational,” says Karen Axelrod, author of Factory Tour.com and the book, “Watch It Made In the USA.” “Everyone is like a 5-year-old when they go on a factory tour. Their eyes light up.”

Factories on the Farm

Graber Olive House in Ontario – less than 40 miles from L.A. – feels like a step back in time. The second you pull up in the driveway, you’re transported to 1894, when Clifford C. Graber and his brother Charles started the business.

The roughly one-hour tour starts in the grading room, where olives picked from the company’s orchard in the San Joaquin Valley are unloaded and sorted by size. The olives are then soaked in a salt solution in one of 550 concrete olive vats for 21 days. You’ll see every step of the process down to the canned olives being heated in a steam cooker at a curiously precise 242 degrees for 62 minutes.

“Families that visit always find the process to be interesting,” says Rosalie Godfrey, a tour guide at Graber who has worked at the company for 31 seasons. “And the olives are a treat.”

At Graber Olive House in Ontario, Rosalie Godfrey shows visitors how local olives are canned and made into olive oil.

If you’re looking to try out a factory tour, this is a good one to start with because no advance planning is required unless you’re coming with a large group. Tours are offered Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Just ask for a tour in the gift shop office. The tours are open to all ages and restrooms are available. There’s no cost for the tour and there’s no restaurant on the premises, but you can buy as many olives as you can eat. Try to go at harvest time, October through December, if you want to see the factory in action.

How do you discover which factories to tour? Follow the breadcrumbs. As you visit more factories, you’ll find some interesting business connections, as it can be a small-business world, after all, in Southern California. Take a close look at the shelves at Graber Olive House’s gift shop, for instance, and you might notice marmalade sold by E. Waldo Ward of Sierra Madre – the perfect place for your next factory adventure.

Like Graber, E. Waldo Ward has been in business a long while, going back to 1891 when Edwin Waldo Ward Sr. first started to grow citrus in this residential town. The two companies have worked together for years.

When you arrive for the E. Waldo Ward tour, you might think you went to the wrong place. The factory looks more like a quaint farmhouse located in a sleepy neighborhood than in an industrial park. Just look for the steps leading up to a yellow building with a sign that reads, “Office.” Let the person at the desk know you’re ready for the tour. Ward’s great-grandson Jeff, who owns the company, still gives many of the tours himself. “Are you ready?” Jeff asked us when we arrived.

Waldo Ward makes everything from barbecue sauce to jelly, but it’s the marmalade it’s best known for. E. Waldo Ward grows a unique type of orange, the Seville orange, known for a unique zesty taste perfect for marmalade. Ward explains the difference between jam and marmalade, a fine distinction you might miss when rushing to fill your cart at the grocery store. Unlike jam, marmalade retains some of the fruit’s skin, giving it a more distinct taste.

Waldo Ward is as much a farm as it is a factory. The orange trees are grown on a small orchard on the property, which is part of the tour. You’ll also see how the fruit is cooked at 200 degrees before being packed into jars, where the tops are screwed on by hand. At the end of the tour, you’re invited to sample a variety of the company’s products.

The historical aspect of E. Waldo Ward makes it a popular factory tour, says Kim Cooper, a tour guide with Esotouric Bus Adventures, which occasionally brings groups to the factory. “Our passengers love the chance to step back in time and see how Southern California’s world-famous orange crop was sugared up and packaged as marmalade served in all the Harvey House restaurants along the transcontinental rail lines,” she says. “The traditional factory equipment, still in use by this fourth-generation family business, tells a fascinating story made all the sweeter because the tour ends in the gift shop. Who could resist taking a little piece of California history home to share with friends?”

David Tran, founder of Huy Fong Foods in Irwindale, gives visitors the chance to see the company’s iconic bottles of sriracha sauce made and filled.

The hour-long tour is free, but you’ll have a tough time not buying some of the company’s products when it’s over. The tour is perfect for kids of all ages since it moves pretty constantly and there’s even an outdoor portion. Restrooms are available. Tours are usually conducted on weekends, but it’s best to call ahead and make sure.

This Tour is Red Hot

While E. Waldo Ward is a farm with a factory, it’s all high tech at Huy Fong Foods. That’s the maker of the iconic bottles of red sriracha hot sauce emblazoned with a rooster logo common in so many SoCal restaurants. It turns out you can tour the company’s massive factory in Irwindale, watch hundreds of bottles whiz by and get flash-filled with chili sauce.

The factory is so large – more than 650,000 square feet – that visitors are transported to the various stages of production in golf carts. Not only does the company sort and process the red chilies it grows here, it mixes in the ingredients and makes the iconic bottle as well. The tours are given several times a day.

“Kids get amazed with our blow molding machine, which makes our bottles from a small plastic preform to a bottle,” says Daisy Acuna, one of the company’s tour guides. “The parents enjoy watching the packaging area. It surprises them how automated we have become.”

The company opened its factory to the public in 2014, around the time the City of Irwindale sued it. The lawsuit alleged some residents complained the factory was a public nuisance due to its spicy scent. Touring the factory for themselves, though, visitors found a high-tech production facility – not some kind of eye-watering experience. The city dropped the lawsuit in mid-2014, and the tours remain a way for families to see what’s inside. The tour allows “people to see for themselves how our sauce is truly made and there is ‘no tear gas made here,’” Acuna says.

It’s also an American success story. Founder David Tran, who had tinkered with chili recipes in his native Vietnam, headed to the U.S. in 1979 on a Taiwanese freighter named Huey Fong. It was such an important moment in his life that he named his company after it. “Many [visitors] are impressed learning that David Tran is very involved in his company, and the fact that he has never changed the price on his product is very amazing to them,” says tour guide Andrea Castillo. You’ll likely see Tran in the factory – and he’ll gladly stop to talk to visitors on the tour and take photos.

You need to schedule a tour ahead of time, but they are free and there are no age restrictions. Food isn’t available, but you will likely get to choose a bottle of one of the company’s sauces at the end. Restrooms are available. “The families that come by are usually big fans of sriracha and very eager to learn how the sauce is made,” Castillo says.

Famous Assembly Line

Finding out which companies offer tours can be tricky. Some, like Huy Fong Foods, promote them on their websites, but with others, you have to ask. That’s the case with Beverly Hills chocolatier Edelweiss Chocolates. It’s really a retail store on Canon Drive, and the entrance looks like any other candy shop with rows of truffles and bars.

Edelweiss Chocolates is a chocolate shop in Beverly Hills, but it gives behind-the-scenes tours so visitors can see how its wares are made.

But just ask, and the clerk will take you to the back of the store and show you how the chocolate is made. There are vats for melting and shaping chocolates in the company’s signature shapes. You’ll see the assembly line that, legend has it, inspired the “I Love Lucy” television episode where Lucy and her pal Ethel, posing as factory workers, can’t keep up with the increasingly speedy line and try to hide the evidence by stuffing their mouths full of chocolates. Pay close attention and you’ll see a portrait of Lucille Ball on the wall near the machine.

You don’t need to book this tour, but it’s a good idea to call ahead to make sure there’s someone available to take you to the back. The tour is free, but restrooms are not available in the store.

Even if a tour doesn’t require reservations, it’s a good idea to call ahead. Sometimes tours are put on hold for business reasons. Chocolatier ChocXO’s factory tours in Irvine were so popular they filled up months in advance. But during this past summer, the company closed the factory and moved its entire operation to a larger facility in Canada. Robinson Helicopter offered tours of its factory in Torrance for years – allowing visitors to see the manufacture of its choppers. But since the company is doing construction in its facility, at least as of the summer, tours have been suspended. Similarly, Amazon.com has temporarily halted tours of its San Bernardi.no distribution facility, which allowed visitors to see how the giant online retailer packs and ships the items ordered.

Finding tours takes some “good old-fashioned research,” Axelrod says. FactoryTour.com and FactoryTourist.com keep a list to get you started, and you’ll be surprised at how many Southern California companies would be happy to show you their factories. They’re just waiting for you to ask. No golden ticket required.

Matt Krantz is an L.A.-based writer whose work has appeared in USA Today and L.A. Weekly.

  Local Tours You Can Take

Graber Olive House: 315 E. 4th St. Ontario; graberolives.com , 909-963-1761.

• Waldo Ward & Son: 273 E. Highland Ave., Sierra Madre; waldoward.com , 626-355-1218.

Huy Fong Foods: 4800 Azusa Canyon Rd., Irwindale; huyfong.com/toursnow , 626-286-8328.

Edelweiss Chocolates: 444 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills; edelweisschocolates.com , 310-275-0341.

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Tours & Events

personalized classes, tours, and experiences, guided by our chocolate education team

1-1.5 HOURS

GUIDED WALK

Walk through our historic brick 16th Street factory with an expert Chocolate Educator: View our entire production line, and enjoy plenty of samples, from fresh cacao pulp to finished chocolate. Weekdays until 2 p.m., you're likely to see our Chocolate Makers in action, and catch the aroma of freshly roasting cocoa beans. On weekends, we have the factory to ourselves; we'll dive deeper into chocolate history, as well as our own sourcing and production processes. Both tour versions include lots of chocolate tasting.

Please anticipate high levels of noise at certain parts of the tour when visiting during operating hours. Ear plugs are provided upon request.

16TH STREET FACTORY

$20 / PERSON

TUESDAY – SUNDAY: 11AM, 3PM, 5PM

summer events at the factory

 a series of special events hosted at our chocolate factory 

Week One: All Things Frozen – Ice Cream & a Movie

Kid-Friendly

$35 / PERSON Free for kids 2 & under

friday, july 19, 6 pm doors open at 5:30

We enjoy transforming our chocolate factory for festive seasonal experiences! On July 19th, join us as we turn our open factory space into a cozy movie theater to screen Disney’s Frozen . Most appropriately, we will serve house-made ice cream, accompanied by an open Dandelion toppings bar (including single-origin chocolate sauces) — plus chocolate drinks, popcorn, and hand-crafted truffles to enjoy with your movie. All ages are welcome, and everything is included in your ticket price.

Week Two: Unwrapped – Storytelling

Presentation

tuesday, july 23, 7 pm doors open at 6:00

Inspired by our heroes at The Moth , we are hosting our own storytelling event here at the factory. If you’re excited about connecting with community through storytelling, we welcome you to come share your own tales with an audience. For our inaugural event, we are looking for stories about a “First Time” that includes a chocolate component: a first date that ended with chocolate cake; the first dessert you made with your grandma; the first time you got pied in the face … (Just make sure your story is true.) If you aren’t too comfy in front of a crowd, join as a listener and be ready to support your presenters. Our café will be open, serving hot chocolate, coffee, wine, and other treats. 

Week Three: Brunch With Chef Durfee & Friends

Educational

$60 / PERSON

sunday, august 4, 11 am

Curriculum Director (and talented pastry chef) Stephen Durfee is hosting brunch at the factory with some of his friends. We will transform the back part of our factory into a lively brunch space, where we’ll serve a fixed menu including chocolate drinks, freshly baked scones, a main dish, tea pairing, and a tasty dessert. Every course will include some component of cacao or chocolate, along with seasonal ingredients perfect for a summer repast. Take your experience a step further and accompany your brunch with a glass of wine or beer from our Bloom Chocolate Salon.

Week Four: S’mores Day – From Fruit to Bar to S’more

$25 / PERSON

saturday, august 10, 4 pm

Celebrate S’mores Day with us by exploring the history of chocolate, and of s’mores. We will demonstrate (and consume) the many forms chocolate takes — from fresh cacao fruit, to drinking chocolate as it was made by Mayan and Aztec cultures, to a replica U.S Ration Bar — and everything in between. Finish off by considering the evolution of the S’more, and toasting a marshmallow for yourself.

CLASSES & EVENTS

curated ingredients, tools, and recipes: the best kind of structured creativity

Tea & Chocolate

$100 / person

7 PM, Friday, June 28

We worked with Bay Area tea expert Jody Beavers from Tap Twice Tea to curate this guided exploration of tea and single-origin dark chocolate. Taste through four distinctive teas and four distinctive single-origin dark chocolates. We will explore production processes and flavor development of both.

Date Night with Dandelion

Demonstration

$50 / PERSON

thursday 6 pm

Join a chef from our team for a live dessert demonstration in 16th Street factory experience space. We will run through the steps of a new chocolate dessert recipe each week, emphasizing classic pastry and chocolatier techniques, then shares the finished treats with you. Contains: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, eggs

Chocolate Making

INTERMEDIATE

$160 / PERSON

SATURDAY 11 AM

Follow simple steps to craft your very own batch of single-origin, two-ingredient chocolate, using our cocoa nibs and organic sugar. Our Educators offer hands-on instruction, while explaining the science and mechanics behind exceptional chocolate making. You'll leave with an appreciation of the chocolate maker's art, along with your just-made chocolate to share with friends and family.

Chocolate Tasting

$55 / PERSON

SATURDAY 4 PM

Taste your way through a flight of five distinctive chocolate bars, featuring a range of the flavor notes — from fudgy to fruity — that may be found in chocolate made of well-fermented cocoa beans. Expand and refine your palate as you learn specialized techniques and specific vocabulary to identify tasting notes in chocolate. You'll depart with knowledge that will enliven any future chocolate adventure.

Truffle Making

$100 / PERSON

friday 6 pm

Our truffle-making class is a fun, interactive activity to enjoy with family, friends, or teammates. Learn the process of blending creamy ganache using our two-ingredient chocolate, then hand-roll your ganache into truffles. We supply all necessary materials (including truffle toppings) to make a generous truffle batch — simply arrive ready to plunge your hands in chocolate.

Chocolate 101

$40 / person

6 PM WEDNESDAYS

This class is one of our favorites — interactive and engaging, with light, fun content. It is a perfect introduction to single-origin, two-ingredient craft chocolate. We explore many of the common ingredients used in craft chocolate bars, tasting each component individually, and learning about its' purpose. For a delicious finale, you will participate in a blind taste test of a variety of chocolate bars from other makers, and try to guess which ingredients are present.

Chocolate Tempering

Intermediate

$125 / person

On specific saturdays

In our Chocolate Making class, we learn about bean-to-bar chocolate production from dried cocoa beans to melted, refined chocolate. Our Tempering class teaches you what comes next — the process of tempering chocolate to create a smooth, shiny, delicious chocolate bar with a perfect, snappy crystal structure. Our Educators will guide you through the mechanics of tempering two-ingredient chocolate, and the process of foiling and wrapping a Dandelion chocolate bar. In addition, you will prepare chocolate mendiants from tempered chocolate. You will leave class with 28 finished mediants, as well as three full-sized finished chocolate bars — hand-wrapped in gold foil and custom-patterned paper, with your own blank label.

Irish Whiskey & Chocolate

$125 / PERSON

7 PM, FRIDAY, SEPT 20

Hosted at our 16th Street location, this 90 minute experience is the perfect introduction to tasting and pairing craft chocolate with Irish Whiskey. Joining our team is whiskey expert Andrew Healy, also known as 'Irish Whiskey Lad'. Together, we'll explore the rich histories of whiskey and chocolate while tasting three types of chocolate and four whiskeys. Must be 21 years or older to attend this experience. We will verify your age upon arrival. Must be 21 years or older to attend this experience. We will verify age upon arrival.

Music & Chocolate

7 PM, Wednesday, Oct 2

Explore how all of your senses influence your palate in our new Music & Chocolate experience, created in collaboration with Tertulia Chamber Music. Explore our chocolate factory in a completely unique way, listening to live performances and tasting through different variations of cocoa. We found crafting this curriculum fascinating, and look forward to sharing it with you. For our Fall event, we welcome violinist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violist Jonathan Vinocour, and cellist Christopher Costanza to play live while we serve you some delicious treats.

DINING AT BLOOM

We’re excited to let you know that we are officially open with limited hours, Thursdays through Saturday (for now). Come visit us and enjoy exclusive menu items, such as chocolate-almond Babka French Toast; a freshly baked chocolate Soufflé topped with house-made cocoa-nib ice cream; and much more. Available for walk-ins or contact Guest Care to reserve space for private event.

16TH STREET FACTORY

THURSDAY: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM

FRIDAY: 7:30 AM - 6:30 PM

SATURDAY: 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM

OFF-SITE EXPERIENCES

Our classes, tastings, and events may be tailored into private, off-site experiences at your request. Please contact us to design your special experience.  

All of our classes, tastings, and tours can be made into private off-site experiences at your request. Contact us to curate your experience.

VIRTUAL EVENTS

Make Your Own Truffles

TEAM BUILDING

$108 / PERSON

friday 3 pm

Our virtual truffle-making class is a fun, interactive activity to enjoy with family, friends, or teammates near and far. Learn the process of blending creamy ganache using our two-ingredient chocolate, then hand-roll your ganache into truffles. We’ll send you all necessary materials (including truffle toppings) to make a generous truffle batch — simply be ready to plunge your hands in chocolate.

Already ordered your kit?

Virtual Chocolate Tasting

$75 / PERSON

friday 5 pm

You’ll receive a flight of five distinctive chocolate bars, featuring a range of the flavor notes — from fudgy to fruity — that may be found in chocolate made of well-fermented cocoa beans. With guidance from an expert Chocolate Educator, you’ll expand and refine your palate as you learn specialized techniques and specific vocabulary to identify tasting notes in chocolate. You'll gain knowledge that will enliven any future chocolate adventure.

Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Request a Private Experience for Your Group

Most of our classes, tastings, and events may be made private for your group. Please submit the form below, telling us what sort of personalized experience you'd like to create, and we'll be in touch.

Please allow 48 hours for our team to be in touch and to confirm availability and details.

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Summer Camp Field Trip Idea: Factory Tours for Kids!

by Sharon Rowley 2 Comments

My kids love to watch the show “ How It's Made ” on the Discovery Channel, and so we thought it might be fun to look around for factory tours for kids within driving distance of where we live! We knew it would be a great idea for a field trip for our DIY summer camp at home!

If you are looking for some don't-miss factory tours across the US- check out this list or this one . But if you would like a more complete list of what factory tours are available around where you live, check out this list of factory tours by state !

A  Few Things to Know About Factory Tours for Kids…

You have to check carefully into the factory tours that you sign up for- some of them are more of a “show” than a tour!

One summer we traveled to Easton, PA to visit the Crayola Factory – only it is not a factory at all. It's really more of an interactive Crayola experience ( picture   thousands of crayons set up at various stations with ideas for craft projects). But it bored my kids over the age of 7.

We also made a trip to Hershey's Chocolate World to take their chocolate factory tour- which was a huge hit for my kids- but this was more of a Disney-esque show than a true tour of a factory watching how chocolate is made.

The true factory tours that we have taken that show us how things are actually made, but are also engaging enough for kids to love all seem to center around food! We've done the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory tour , the Utz Snacks Factory Tour , and the Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory Tour . And we would recommend all of these!

So my best suggestion that a good place to start with factory tours for kids is to pick ones that feature food production!

A Glass Factory Tour

Another experience we loved was during a visit to the town of Corning, NY at the Corning Museum of Glass where we learned how glass is made. And boy were we impressed!

We spent time at the glass blowing demonstration where we watched artisans remove a disc of molten glass from a kiln and shape it using a long pipe used to blow air into the molten glass.

We also enjoyed the exhibits where we learned all about the many ways that glass is manufactured and then used in everything from light bulbs to dishes!

You can read more about our experience at the Corning Museum of Glass here!

Here are some more great summer ideas for you:

Please check out my DIY Summer Camp page for lots of ideas on how to host your own kids summer camp at home!

• Free Family Summer Bucket List Printable
• Free Printable Summer Schedule
• 50  Fun Summer Activities , Crafts, and Field Trips (From Pre-K to Teens!)
• How to Build a Backyard Zipline!
• Make Your Own Lava Lamp

Christine@TheAums says

August 4, 2011 at 9:48 am

What a cool field trip, but seriously, did no one working with hot molten glass wear gloves in the factory?! We are planning an upcoming trip to the Jelly Belly Factory!

Sharon says

August 5, 2011 at 6:17 am

I think the reason they don’t wear gloves is the pole doesn’t get too hot, and they need to keep a constant feel for spinning the pole to keep the glass symmetrical. But that would have been a good question to ask! Our ornaments arrived yesterday and they are beautiful! I am trying to figure out how to display them year-round…. I don’t want to wait for the holidays!

We would love to visit the Jelly Belly Factory! Can’t wait to hear about it!

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12 Best Food Factory Tours for Kids

Jan 1, 2009

See recent posts by Lissa Poirot

Watch how chocolate is made, taffy is pulled and cheese is churned at these family-friendly food factory tours across the country, many of which are free — and feature free samples, the best part!

Hershey’s Chocolate World – Hershey, Pa.

This food factory tour for kids became so popular, the company created a special theme park attraction for families to get the authentic factory experience without interrupting the chocolate-making process! The free, robotronic-filled tour at Hershey’s Chocolate World takes visitors through the process, beginning with the cocoa bean harvesting, all the way to the end product: delicious candy! In the same building, families can join a Chocolate Tasting Adventure, the Great Chocolate Factory Mystery in 4D and a Create Your Own Candy Bar station.

Cabot Visitors Center & Tour – Cabot, Vt.

This is your opportunity to sample fresh, free cheese — what could be better? The Cabot Visitors Center offers guided food factory tours ($2 for adults; free for kids under age 12) in which families learn about the cheese-making process, which also includes a lesson in agriculture. Afterward, visit the onsite store to purchase cheese and yogurt to take home.

Jelly Belly Factory – Fairfield, Calif.

Founded in 1869, the “original gourmet jelly bean” maker offers free factory tours and a chance to sample a selection of more than 150 jelly bean flavors. Worth the 40-minute drive from San Francisco, the 40-minute walking tour at the Jelly Belly Factory divulges the secrets of the candy, which takes more than a week to create! After the tour, visit the store and stock up on sweets.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory – Waterbury, Vt.

Vermont’s Green Mountains are a beautiful backdrop to our favorite ice cream brand’s headquarters: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory . Visitors get to see how the ice cream is made, and at the end of the 30-minute food factory tour, they can sample the Flavor of the Day in the Flavoroom (the best part of the visit)! Stop by the Flavor Graveyard to reminisce about old favorites, and visit cows in the pasture during the summer months. Be sure to check out the gift shop and full-service ice cream parlor, Scoop Shop, too.

Hammond’s Candy Factory – Denver

When in the mile-high city of Denver, visit Hammond’s Candy Factory , which has been dishing out sweets since 1920. Free factory tours are offered and allow visitors a chance to see how hard candy is made — right down to the stripes on peppermints — as well as an opportunity to sample some of the treats. Candy canes, ribbon candy, lollipops and chocolate are available for purchase at the tour’s end.

The Candy Factory – Columbia, Mo.

With a name like the The Candy Factory , how can this chocolatier’s factory not make the list? Walk through Candy Lane to watch traditional handmade candy-making processes before devouring samples. Afterward, try the Ultimate Chocolate Pizza or Chocolate Potato Chips.

Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory – Hyannis, Mass.

When vacationing in Cape Cod, a rainy day becomes a perfect excuse to hide indoors at the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory — the same chips your family is probably consuming on the area’s sandy beaches. The self-guided food factory tours are free and include samples.

Blue Bell Creameries – Brenham, Texas

Somewhere between Houston and Austin rests a little town that churns out butter-soft ice cream. Tours of Blue Bell Creameries include a short video about the company and ice cream samples, guaranteed to cool off the Texas day. Food factory tours for kids are also available at Blue Bell’s Oklahoma and Alabama facilities.

Wolfgang Candy Company – York, Pa.

The Wolfgang Candy Company invites families to visit its Visitor Center and Museum for samplings of the chocolate it’s been producing since 1921. Begin with a look at its antique candy-making molds, jars and factory items before an official food factory tour. After the tour, stop in Das Sweeten Haus for gifts like chocolate-dipped blueberries.

Morley Candy Makers and Sanders Candy – Clinton Township, Mich.

Free, self-guided “Stop & Shop” tours are available at Morley Candy Makers and Sanders Candy . Follow a 100-foot observation walkway to watch confectioners hand-make chocolate treats, then sample the goods before stocking up in the candy and gift shop.

PEZ Visitor Center – Orange, Ct.

Although you cannot tour the manufacturing area, the PEZ Visitor Center features the world’s largest PEZ dispenser, a 40-foot-high working replica. Interactive video areas feature a PEZ timeline, trivia and a Factory Tour. The Personalize Your PEZ section gives you a chance to do just that!

Theo Chocolate – Seattle

Theo Chocolate is the first organic and fair trade chocolate factory in North America, and you and the kids can learn about it on a trip to Seattle. Food factory tours for kids last about an hour, and include a sit-down portion in which you learn about the company and sample chocolates. During the second part of the tour, visitors get to see the chocolate-making facilities and sample more treats before receiving a free bar of chocolate to take home.

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10 Fantastic Factory and Fun Tours You Can Only Take Around Dallas - Fort Worth

Robin McClure

More by this Author

The Dallas – Fort Worth area prides itself on producing a lot of things. From consumables to wearables, we have an assortment of products that are made with pride by locals, and some businesses offer tours to see how it’s done. Fun tours are also offered around the area at venues that focus on our various sporting teams. Here are some interesting tours to check out:

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Learning about how things are made provides a fascinating look into the process, and these cool factory tours prove it. Have you been on any of these tours? Do you know of other great ones in the Dallas – Fort Worth area? Let us know in the comments!

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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MINI Plant Oxford Tour

Experience innovative technology and sustainable mobility at one of the oldest automotive plants in the world – the MINI Plant Oxford

The MINI Plant Oxford has been in continuous production since 1913. It is not only one of the oldest automobile plants in the world but also the birthplace of the MINI. Following the launch of the new MINI in 2001, the car ensured the brand’s worldwide success: more than 10 million MINIs were sold in 110 countries around the world. Today, following significant investment over the years, the plant is among the leaders of technology and sustainability in automotive production. Every day, employees at the plant produce around 1,000 cars in three different body styles. Before and after the tours, you will have the opportunity to visit the MINI Museum. There you can follow the development of the cult car from the Bullnose to the classic MINI.

i FACTORY EXPERIENCE at the BMW Group Plant Oxford

In 90 minutes, you will gain fascinating insights into the body shop and the final assembly. At the MINI Plant Oxford, which is two and a half times the size of the famous Westminster Abbey in London, up to 1,000 cars are manufactured everyday. Starting in the body shop, you will see how 1,200 robots and 650 employees produce the basic framework of the MINI from steel sheets. Continue on to the final assembly hall, where you can watch live as the MINI takes shape – from the installation of the cockpit to the wedding of the power units and through to validation – where the car is put through its paces.

The Family Tour takes families with children and teenagers on a journey into the world of automotive production. In around 90 minutes, the contents of the Basic Tour are conveyed in an age-appropriate way. Discover how a MINI is created from thousands of individual parts in the body shop and in the final assembly. If you have any questions, please contact our team: [email protected] .

Book your iFACTORY EXPERIENCE at the MINI Plant Oxford now. We look forward to welcoming you to the plant soon!

Please Consider These Points Before Visiting the Oxford Plant:

• Current global events can have a significant influence over our production. As a result, tours may have to be cancelled for operational reasons. Should this happen to you, we will offer you an alternative date or schedule a refund as soon as possible.
• Children under the age of 14 are not allowed on the factory premises. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 may only enter the plant premises if accompanied by an adult. School classes are an exception, here the following regulation applies: schoolchildren as young as 11 are allowed to enter the factory premises. However, school classes with children aged 11 to 14 must be supervised. An adult may supervise a maximum of two children at the same time.
• Children between the ages of 14 and 18, students, severely disabled people, pensioners and BMW Group employees receive reduced admission. Please have a valid ID ready.
• Closed shoes must be worn during the tour.
• Photography and filming are not permitted during the tour.
• Animals are not allowed in the facility.
• Personal items, especially electronic devices such as smartphones or tablets, must be left in a lockable cabinet as they are not allowed on the visitor path.
• The tour is not suitable for pregnant women as well as for people with an electronic medical implant (e.g. pacemakers, insulin pumps, etc.).
• The consumption of food and beverages is not permitted during the tour. Smoking is also prohibited.
• No restroom visits are allowed during the tour. There will be opportunities to visit restrooms before and after the tour.
• Tickets are available at the ticket store. Please note that all tickets for tours must be purchased in advance. There is no ticket purchase available on site.
• Audio guides with headphones are provided for a full tour experience. Wearing the headphones is mandatory. If you are unable to wear headphones for health reasons, please contact the booking centre prior to your visit to the factory.

Links Oxford

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• TripAdvisor

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UK Technology Centre

Educational Programmes

Inspiring the Next Generation

At Sony, our vision is to create a sustainable future for all. We believe in the importance of engaging and inspiring our community and the next generation by presenting equal opportunities for education and raising awareness about career pathways. Since 2012, we have worked tirelessly with local and national educational bodies to develop and deliver several educational programmes at our site, welcoming over 25,000 children of all ages since the start of this journey.

Our programmes are designed in alignment with the UK and Welsh curriculum and aim to give pupils a hands-on experience of two exciting industries very close to our heart – manufacturing and the creative arts. The programmes are delivered on our premises where everyone attending can experience a modern manufacturing environment, meet our team, and learn specific skills within our onsite classroom. The programmes are free to attend and are delivered by our dedicated team with the support of professional educators.

Interested to join? Find out more below and contact our team at [email protected] .

Manufacturing Industry Experience Visit

10:00am – 12:00pm

This programme is suitable for all ages and designed to give pupils an introduction to the world of modern manufacturing.

During the visit, pupils will learn about the history of technology and how the different parts of a global corporation like Sony come together to deliver products and add value to people around the world. They will experience a tour of the factory, seeing how different products are made in real-time. Finally, they will have the opportunity to meet and speak to our team members about what it takes to build a successful career.

This is offered to all levels of education, from primary and comprehensive schools to colleges and universities.

Film In A Day

9:45am – 2:15PM

This programme is aimed at students in Years 5 and 6 of education and focuses on developing various creative skills. Using Sony Professional Broadcast Technology and green screens, the pupils will experience the step-by-step process of creating a short film on a topic selected by the school.

First, the children will learn about the different roles within the media industry and their importance. The group will then partake in writing a script, directing, acting, and/or presenting in front of a camera, overseeing camera work, audio, lights, wardrobe, and makeup – fully immersing themselves in the film production process.

At the end, the school will receive the fully edited film created during the session for their perusal.

Learn 2 Code

9:45am – 2:15pm, Mondays & Tuesdays

We offer a one-day coding workshop that covers a variety of different areas and can be tailored to the abilities of the school attending. This is aimed at students in years 4, 5, and 6 of education. The workshops are developed and led by Steven Lewis, a fully qualified coding instructor. When asked about his experience running the classes, he said:

“I’ve found the workshops give the children an insight into their own creativity by using a variety of platforms to teach STEM skills outside of the classroom environment. The programme uses games such as Minecraft to introduce the pupils to various programming languages including Scratch and Python, which they would not normally encounter as part of the school curriculum.”

Please note: prior to the programme, all pupils are required to complete a questionnaire to determine their competency level. This will allow the instructor to tailor the session to the specific needs of the group.

EESW Girls Into STEM Programme

The Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) is a non-profit, educational charity which runs programmes across Wales to inspire and motivate young people to choose a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

We are proud to have been a partner to EESW for many years, supporting their Girls Into STEM programme which aims to break down stereotypes regarding the role of women in STEM industries. As part of this programme, students will experience the Sony operations in real-time, learning about the exciting reality of 21st-century manufacturing, and be introduced to the variety of career paths available in the industry.

They will also meet the amazing women on our team who will share their own experiences of working within an industry which is perceived as traditionally male-dominated.

Forest Schools

Working in partnership with Tanio , we have created a programme that engages children using Forest Arts as a teaching method, with wellbeing in mind. The children take part in activities such as mindfulness team games, building bug hotels, emotion wood cookies, and forest crowns to name but a few. Through this programme, students will have the opportunity to develop their creative skills, as well as their knowledge about nature, biodiversity, and sustainability.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Yes! We do not charge a fee for our programmes. However, you may need to cover other expenses related to the trip such as travel, etc.

Our visits are available Monday through Thursday at various times as indicated under each programme outline. Please discuss availability with our team as the calendar tends to be booked up far in advance.

Unfortunately, we do not accept individual bookings. If you’d like your child to attend one of our events, please discuss this opportunity with their school. They can then organise a visit to our site.

We aim to keep each visit to a maximum of 30 pupils to ensure each child makes the most of the experience. However, please discuss your specific request with our team and we can advise on the most suitable solution.

Yes! However, please ensure to discuss your request directly with our team. Our event starting times are usually pre-set in the morning, so you may need to allow enough time to travel to our premises.

No, all required items will be provided by our team upon arrival. Please note, all visits are delivered following a thorough risk assessment. At the time of booking, our team will advise you on everything you need to know ahead of visiting our site.

Our commitment to Sustainability

Our vision is to create a sustainable future for all. To achieve that, we established four pillars of activities to address important topics in our modern world.

How can we help?

If you are looking for a Contract Electronics Manufacturing partner, submit your enquiry today and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.

Are you experiencing an issue with your Sony product? Tell us about it and our team of expert technicians will be in touch.

Are you looking for office space with fantastic amenities and 24/7 security? Enquire today with your requirements and our team will be in touch with information about our availability.

We are a socially aware business which seeks to support our local community You can submit your request today using the form on the right. Please note that we can only support requests within a 30 mile radius from our facility. Our committee reviews requests on a monthly basis, so please allow a few weeks for our team to respond.

To arrange a visit for your school as a part of our educational programs, please submit your inquiry today. Our committed team will respond with guidance regarding availability within a week.

Ready to join the Sony team? Please submit your CV and cover letter today using the form on the right and our recruitment team will be in touch.

Summer College Tours: Who to Meet and What to Do

Summer allows for longer college visits, but some parts of campus may be closed and some people unavailable.

Summer College Tours Checklist

Getty Images

Whether students are set on a major or still exploring, one of the top priorities should be asking to visit a building where they might spend a lot of their time.

Key takeaways:

• Summer visits allow you to spend more time on campus.
• Professors and others may be unavailable and some buildings may be closed.
• Plan visits when you can meet in person with someone.

While many students and families take college visits during the school year, the summer is still a busy time for college admissions offices to coordinate campus visits. With students not bound by a school schedule or single-day campus tours during the school year, the summer offers more flexibility for students and parents to spend a longer time or multiple days on campus.

“The summer really is an ideal time for that exploration," says Kent Barnds, vice president of admissions, financial aid, and communication and marketing at Augustana College in Illinois. "There’s a little greater flexibility on a college campus then to accommodate visits. Summer is sometimes an ideal time for a student and a family that is at the beginning of the college search and may be a little uncertain about what they want."

Summer visits often allow students and families to explore campus more freely and find parking more easily, says Kelly Nolin, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Montana .

A less-crowded campus can also be good for students who may feel anxious about the college experience and can be a less-intimidating way for them to acclimate to a campus environment, she adds.

But it also means students won't get a sense of what the campus feels like when everyone is there, Nolin says. Families should also be aware that some professors may not be available and some offices or buildings may be closed or inaccessible during the summer.

But experts say that with some planning and coordination, families can still schedule effective campus visits. Here are some tips for planning summer college tours.

Be Intentional When Planning a Visit

While it's less frequent than during the academic year, some colleges hold formal visit days during the summer to ensure people from certain offices are present, such as financial aid, academic advising , counseling, residence life and career services. Augustana does this each summer, Barnds says, and he encourages families to plan their visits on those days if possible.

An alternative would be to coordinate with a person or office your student sees as a priority, such as a coach for a prospective athlete or a professor in their field of interest, and schedule an in-person meeting with them – then plan the rest of the visit around that. Families who show up unannounced hoping to see certain people or buildings may not have much luck, Barnds says.

“It never hurts to ask if that meeting might be available, but I do think that students and families have to temper their expectations about who may be available on any given day," he says. "That’s one of the reasons why one of the formal days might be better visit opportunities, because usually college campuses might be mobilizing more resources."

Employees on 12-month contracts, such as those in career services , financial aid and residence life , will likely be on campus, Barnds says, but Nolin says it's still best to plan a meeting ahead of time, preferably at least two weeks in advance. Admissions counselors can often help with this.

"Counselors are a great resource for not just the time on campus but for what families might want to do in the area," she says. "They can recommend other things to check out. They can also set realistic expectations for who is and who isn’t on campus."

Who to Meet and What to See on Campus Visits

A crucial part of an effective college visit is getting questions answered and having conversations about important parts of the college experience, such as available courses, extracurricular activities , residence life, joining a Greek organization and what's available through student support services.

Visiting certain buildings and offices and meeting with specific campus personnel can also help students make informed college decisions. Here's who and what should be on that list, experts say.

Speak With Tour Guides

Barnds, who is also Augustana's executive vice president for strategy and innovation, says the most important resource during summer visits is often the student tour guide.

"That experience of going on a campus tour with a current student, having the ability to ask that current student questions, that’s the most important part of that summer visit experience," he says.

If possible, students should elect to take a guided rather than self-guided tour so that someone is there to answer questions or provide access to buildings that might otherwise be closed, he says.

Visit Primary Study Buildings and Meet With Faculty

College tours sometimes take students through campus without entering buildings. Whether students are set on a major or still exploring, one of the top priorities should be asking to visit a building where they might spend a lot of their time, Barnds says.

For example, a prospective biology major should ask to see a lab, while a prospective journalism student should ask to see the journalism building or student publications office.

Nolin adds that students should also visit the campus library and university center, and meet with faculty or other academic representatives in their prospective major.

"This might not be a faculty member since many professors are not on campus during the summer," Nolin says. "However, they may be able to talk with a departmental adviser or recruiter."

Though some professors are off campus or out of town conducting research during the summer, some may still be local and available to meet in person either in their office or at an off-campus location such as a coffee shop. Others may be open to meeting virtually, Barnds says.

Eat at the Campus Dining Center

Some schools require residential students, especially first-year students , to purchase a meal plan , which can cost between $3,000 and $5,500, or much more in some cases. Because of that, and the number of meals students will likely eat on campus , experts say visiting students should eat at least one meal on campus. Some schools provide at least one complimentary meal as part of the visit.

"Summer is a good time to try out the dining center because it’s a lot less crowded, although choices may be limited," Nolin says. "It’s most important for students with allergies or food intolerances to try a meal while visiting so they can make sure their nutritional needs will be met."

If the dining center is closed, Barnds encourages students to ask current students or campus employees to recommend several local restaurants where students often enjoy eating. This allows prospective students to get a taste of what’s available in town and experience the atmosphere off campus.

Tour a Residence Hall

Some schools require first-year students to live on campus , but some students may choose to do so for convenience or other reasons even as upperclassmen. Experts say visiting students should ask to see a residence hall building and a dorm room while on their visit if it's not part of the tour.

These visits can typically be set up through the school's residence life office, and some schools have a model dorm room for students to tour while visiting.

Meet With Student Services and Other Support Personnel

Some students may need additional support while in college, whether for academic tutoring, mental health counseling, physical or learning disability accommodations or special health needs and accommodations. Others may want to meet with people in the diversity office, a campus religious ministry or the health center.

Scheduling those meetings over the summer may allow for more meetings and in-depth conversations with the appropriate people, experts say. Knowing where those offices are located, who to contact and what services are available is important to ask about on a summer campus tour, Barnds says.

"Those are sometimes the facilities people don’t see on their campus tours but are the most important facilities once they actually get to a campus," he says.

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