My husband and our two boys, ages 9 and 10, will soon be flying to Cleveland to visit his side of the family. They have not been in 5-6 years and really have done nothing besides visit family while they are there.
Do any of you Cleveland Dopers have any ideas? Our kids are pretty easy travelers. They enjoy anything from parks, to sporting events, to museums, to local tourist trap stuff (world’s largest ball of STRING)!
I know it’s going to be cold and they won’t be used to that. They are from Texas and anytime we go somewhere cold, it is usually to go snow skiing.
It has been a while, but I enjoyed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art as a slightly older kid. The Cleveland Symphony is outstanding as well.
BTW, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s current blockbuster exhibit is Arms and Armor from Imperial Austria. I haven’t seen it, but it’s gotten great reviews. I think a couple of boys aged 9 and 10 would probably find it cool as all get out.
Since no one has mentioned it, the science center is right next door to the R&RHOF. I think there’s a Great Lakes ore ship right there that you can tour, too. Spend the entire day on the lakefront!
I third the Great Lakes Science Museum. All of freckafree’s suggestions are good.
It’s basketball season, and kids like the LeBron. And it’s also…Indoor Football season!
If they do go to a Gladiators or Cavs game, I suggest scheduling a little time to go hang out at Tower City beforehand, which is just a mall but it has some neat stores and the Hardrock Cafe. They can walk through a special walkway to get to the arena right from there.
Depending where in “Cleveland” they’ll be, they can come out to Fun 'n Stuff for arcade/laser tag action. That’s more for if they’re out in the southeast. In the northwest there’s Swings-n-Things. I don’t know what people in the northeast or southwest do for fun
Cleveland? Well, you’ve got Middlesbrough and Hartlepool. I am not sure how interesting that is, really, but you could play football or hang innocent little monkeys. Or both, of course.
Willoughby is east and north of Cleveland. It will be very easy to get to University Circle, which is where the art, natural history, and auto museums are, from there.
Personally, I think they’d be bored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unless you’re familiar with the music and the musicians, I don’t think it’s all that interesting.
I looked it up and apparently the kids up in the northeast go to Scores for their arcade, laser tag and cosmic bowling. Definitely something to consider if the kids get stir-crazy.
I agree that they’d be bored by the Rock Hall. But, it shares a courtyard with the Great Lakes Science Center so they can at least snap some pictures of the cool-looking building.
