Airstream Factory Tour

Admission to the Airstream Factory Tour is Free.

  • When: Normally Monday – Friday at 2pm (tours are two hours long)
  • Locations: (Map It) 419 West Pike Street in Jackson Center, Ohio
  • Phone: 877-596-6111
  • Web: click here

The Airstream Factory Tour is an immersive experience that takes place at the production plant. See the assembly before your eyes as these iconic trailers are built by hand. Meet in the lobby of the service center to get eye and ear protection before the one-mile, two-hour tour begins.

Cardboard Boat Museum

Admission to the Cardboard Boat Museum in New Richmond, Ohio is Free (Donations accepted).

  • Open: Tuesday from 3-7pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 10am – 4pm (recommended to call ahead to confirm).
  • Location: (Map It) 311 Front St. in New Richmond, Ohio
  • Phone: 513-403-1675
  • Web: www.cardboardboatmuseum.com 

The Cardboard Boat Museum in New Richmond, Ohio claims to be the world’s only cardboard boat racing museum and America’s cardboard boat racing capital. The museum is owned and run by some of the best cardboard boat engineers and builders in the country. They will provide tours and building tips. The exotic and unusual boats are constructed with only cardboard, duct tape, and paint. Visitors keep coming back to see what’s new. Don’t miss the annual cardboard boat regatta.

Champaign Aviation Museum

Admission to the Champaign Aviation Museum is Free (Donations accepted).

  • Open: Tuesday – Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
  • Location: (Map It) 1652 N Main Street at Grimes Field Airport in Urbana, Ohio
  • Phone: 937-652-4710
  • Web: click here

At the Champaign Aviation Museum in Urbana, Ohio visitors get to watch as volunteers rebuild historic aircraft like the “Champaign Lady” B-17 WWII Bomber. You can even try your hand at being “Rosie the Riveter.” See this aircraft and the “Champaign Gal” B-25, A-26 Invader, C-45 Expeditor, Fairchild F-24, and a Civil Air Patrol plane that sank a German sub off the U.S. East Coast. It also features special exhibits such as Women Air Service Pilots and World War II artifacts. It’s an up-close and personal hands-on experience all in an open hangar. You can even sit in the cockpit of a C-47 cargo plane. Grimes Field Airport and restaurant are just down the tarmac. Come, help make these old warbirds fly again.

Harrod Railroad Heritage Park

Admission to the Harrod Railroad Heritage Park is free.

  • Open daily from dusk – dawn (indoor artifacts can be seen by appointment)
  • Location: (Map It) Napoleon Road in Harrod, Ohio
  • Web: click here

The Harrod Railroad Heritage Park:  Have you ever wanted to show the kids the “man on the caboose” but discovered that trains today rarely have a caboose at all? Well, at this little “depot” you can see a renovated caboose, a 1905 Shay Engine, and a one-hundred-year-old lumber office building, and inside, plenty of artifacts and memorabilia. The park also has a full-size military U H-1 Huey Helicopter.

Honda Heritage Center

Admission to the Honda Heritage Center is free.

  • Open: (Call ahead to confirm) Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am – 4pm and Wednesdays from noon – 5pm plus
    Select Saturdays.
  • Location: (Map It) 24025 Honda Parkway, Marysville, Ohio (Just off of Rt. 33)
  • Phone: 937-644-6888
  • Web: click here

The Honda Heritage Center in Marysville celebrates Honda’s success in North America. The latest technology like the NSX Supercar and the groundbreaking HondaJet sits side-by-side with products from Honda’s rich heritage. See the revolutionary CVCC Civic that changed the way automakers built cars in the 1970s, and experience a timeline of motorcycles from the earliest Super Cub to Jeremy McGrath’s Supercross bike. See the ‘Engine Ring’ that shows the evolution of Honda engines, and learn about all of the products that are powered by Honda engines including boats, lawnmowers, side-by-sides, and even Miimo, the robotic lawnmower. Walk-ins are welcomed, photo ID is required. Reservations for tours are available.

Huffman Prairie Flying Field + Interpretive Center

huffman-prairie-flying-fieldAdmission to the Huffman Prairie Flying Field and Interpretive Center is free.

  • The Interpretive Center is open daily from 8:30am – 5:00pm, 8:30am – 6:00pm from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend
  • Huffman Prairie Flying Field is open daily from 8am – 6pm, closed Wednesdays.
  • Location: (Map It) the flying field can be entered at Gate 16A off of State Route 444, Wright-Patterson AFB; the interpretive center is two miles from the field on Wright Brothers Hill at 2380 Memorial Road in Dayton, Ohio, close to the intersection of State Route 444 and Kaufmann Road.
  • Phone: 937-425-0008 (call ahead in case of field closures)
  • Web: click here

The Huffman Prairie Flying Field and Interpretive Center in Dayton:  On this 84-acre patch of rough pasture outside Dayton, the Wright brothers learned to control and maneuver their powered machine and taught themselves to fly during 1904 and 1905. It was also the site of the Wrights’ flying school where many of the world’s first pilots learned how to fly. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990, the Flying Field is located on an active military installation and subject to unannounced closure; however this “School House of Aviation” is open to the public most days. Visitors are urged to call 937-425-0008 for current information on field closures. Two miles away is the Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center across from the Wright Brothers Memorial. Exhibits focus on the Wright brothers’ development of the world’s first practical airplane at Huffman Prairie, their flying school starting in 1910, and the development of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the continuing legacy of the Wright brothers.

International Women’s Air & Space Museum

Admission to the International Women’s Air & Space Museum in Cleveland is free.

  • Open: Daily from 8am – 8pm (ReserachCenter & Gift Shop open M-F from 10am-4pm)
  • Location:  (Map It) Burke Lakefront Airport at 1501 North Marginal Rd. in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Phone: 216-623-1111
  • Web: click here

The International Women’s Air & Space Museum is dedicated to the historic accomplishments made by women pioneers of air and space travel. Some of the great women recognized at this museum include Sally Ride – the first American woman in space, Katharine Wright – sister of the Wright brothers, and Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman to orbit the Earth. In addition, there are many personal artifacts of great women in flight as well as some personal memos by these women. News copy, magazines, and speech manuscripts are also displayed.

Lincoln Park Railway Exhibit

Admission to the Lincoln Park Railway Exhibit is free.

  • Open: Daily from 8am- 8pm
  • Location:  (Map It) Corner of Elm and Shawnee Street in Lima at 199 S Shawnee Street in Lima, Ohio
  • Phone: 419-221-5195

The Lincoln Park Railway Exhibit is an outdoor display featuring the following which are also under lights after dark:

  • The last steam engine built at Lima Locomotive Works (Locomotive NKP # 779)
  • 1883 luxury private car (official car #5) for NKP probably used by Chauncy DePew
  • 1882 Nickle-plated caboose #1091
  • and authentic 1895 Country Station by DT&I Railroad

Marion Union Station

Admission to the Marion Union Station is free.

  • Open Tuesday & Thursday’s 10am – 2pm, or by appointment.
  • Location: (Map It) 532 W. Center St. in Marion, Ohio
  • Phone: 740-383-3768
  • Web: click here

The Marion Union Station built in 1902 now serves as a museum and train watching spot where more than 100 trains pass by every day. The museum showcases an impressive collection of memorabilia and the AC Tower, which was once the main switching facility for the Erie Railroad Marion Division. The unusual nature of the station is the fact that it is located between two diamond cross-overs.

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Admission to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton is free (fee for theatre and flight simulators).

  • Open daily from 9am – 5pm but some exhibits have special hours (Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day)
  • Location: (Map It) 1100 Spaatz St. at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio
  • Phone: 937-255-3286
  • Web: click here

The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton is the world’s oldest and largest military aviation museum. Attracting more than one million visitors a year, the museum boasts more than 400 aerospace vehicles and thousands of historical items. Sensory-rich exhibits, hands-on educational programs, and entertaining special events entice the imagination and bring the Air Force story to life. From the Wright brothers through the stealth age, the museum offers visitors a dynamic tour through the portals of aviation history. Highlights include the only permanent public display of a B-2 bomber, President Kennedy’s Air Force One, a Doolittle Raiders exhibit, and much more. Also available are an IMAX Theatre, a souvenir shop, and a café. Museum admission and parking are FREE.

NASA Glenn Research Center Tours

Monthly tours of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are free.

  • Open: Click the link below for virtual tours. Advance registration is required when normal tours are offered (Citizen I.D. required for adults).
  • Location:  (Map It) 21000 Brookpark Rd. in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Phone: 216-433-9653
  • Web: click here

The NASA Glenn Research Center Tours:  You may think you have “the right stuff” but until you tour NASA, you won’t know for sure. When open, the public facility tours include the zero gravity research facility, wind tunnels, and space simulation chambers.

Northern Ohio Railway Museum

Admission to the Northern Ohio Railway Museum is by donation.

  • Open: Normally on Saturdays 10am – 4pm from the 3rd Saturday in May to the last Saturday in October
  • Location: (Map It) 5515 Buffham Rd. in Seville, Ohio
  • Phone: 330-769-5501
  • Web: click here

The Northern Ohio Railway Museum features trolley car rides. Altogether, there are over 40 trolley cars, streetcars, interurbans, and rapid transit cars. Enthusiasts and volunteers work diligently to restore and preserve these beautiful old streetcars and railway equipment for education and entertainment. It is a work in progress and quite a sight to see. Tour the two enormous carhouses and see what moved greater Cleveland through the years. There’s even a three-mile demonstration railroad where – during special events – these relics ride the rails once again with passengers eager to capture that feeling of Yesteryear.

Wright “B” Flyer

wright-b-flyer-reproductionAdmission to the Wright “B” Flyer is free.

  • Open: Normally  Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays from 9:00 am – 2:30 pm
  • Location: (Map It) Dayton Wright Brothers Airport (MGY) 10550 Springboro Pike in Miamisburg, Ohio
  • Phone: 937-885-2327
  • Web: click here

See a Wright “B” Flyer lookalike aircraft in its hanger at the Dayton – Wright Brothers Airport. This aircraft is a flight-worthy version of the 1911 Wright “B” Flyer, the first mass-produced aircraft. Purchase an Honorary Aviator annual Membership for $100 and receive an orientation flight in the Wright B Flyer. The museum is operated completely by volunteers.

Wright Cycle Company

wright-cycle-company-bicycle-shop-daytonAdmission to the Wright Cycle Company is free.

  • Open:  Open daily 10am – 4pm (Closed Mon & Tue from Nov thru Feb)
  • Location: (Map It) 16 S. Williams St. in Dayton, Ohio
  • Phone: 937-225-7705
  • Web: click here

The Wright Cycle Company building is just outside of the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center in Dayton, Ohio. Visitors are free to see where two of the world’s most famous inventors labored in their craft. Two buildings where the Wright brothers worked at their cycle and printing businesses are still standing at their original locations here and are open to the public. Their restored printing businesses, where they worked from 1890 – 1895, can be seen at the adjacent Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center. The Wrights had five different bicycle shops, this being the fourth location. The restored building was home to Wright’s bicycle business from 1895 – 1897. It is where they were when they became obsessed with flying. And from there, these men, self-trained in the science of aviation, went on to build the world’s first manned powered, heavier than air machine capable of free, controlled, and sustained flight.

More Things to do This Month in Ohio

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