Things to Do in Ohio

Northeast Ohio's most visited year-round attraction, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, is home to 3,000 animals representing 600 species - many of which are endangered.

The RainForest with simulated tropical rain is home to orangutans, birds, otters and ocelots. The Australian Adventure with kangaroos and koala bears has live animal shows during the summer. View giraffes, lions, zebras, elephants, rhinos, monkeys and a hippo in the African Savanna. A popular site is the Center for Zoological...

Northeast Ohio's most visited year-round attraction, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, is home to 3,000 animals representing 600 species - many of which are endangered.

The RainForest with simulated tropical rain is home to orangutans, birds, otters and ocelots. The Australian Adventure with kangaroos and koala bears has live animal shows during the summer. View giraffes, lions, zebras, elephants, rhinos, monkeys and a hippo in the African Savanna. A popular site is the Center for Zoological Medicine; learn about animal care and the life of a zookeeper. The Northern Trek takes visitors to chilly places to see bears, tigers, reindeer, camels, sea lions, wolves, beavers and bald eagles. The Primate, Cat and Aquatics Building houses gorillas, baboons, monkeys, leopards, pandas, clouded leopards and underwater creatures, including sharks, piranhas, a giant Pacific octopus and coral. Flamingos and swans among other birds, reside along Waterfowl Lake's shore.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 40,000 objects and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. Currently undergoing a multi-phase renovation and expansion project, it is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts and art education. Admission to the museum has been free since its founding charter.

Highlights include major exhibitions and an...

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 40,000 objects and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. Currently undergoing a multi-phase renovation and expansion project, it is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts and art education. Admission to the museum has been free since its founding charter.

Highlights include major exhibitions and an internationally recognized collection of art - from ancient Egyptian statues to Renaissance armor to Impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh to works of today.

**When the renovation is completed in 2012, it will transform the institution, leaving no part of the museum untouched. The building project includes the renovation of two historically important structures - the CMA's original building which opened to the public in 1916, and the addition designed by Marcel Breuer in the late 1960s - as well as the construction of several new wings designed by project architect Rafael Viñoly.

At the heart of the expanded facility is a 39,000-square foot, glass-enclosed atrium uniting the entire complex and serving as the visual and spatial heart of the museum. The first phase of the project began in 2005. In summer 2008, 19 newly renovated galleries in the museum's historic 1916 building re-opened to the public. These galleries feature more than 900 works from the museum's holdings of European art from the 17th through the 19th centuries and 18th and 19th century American art. Among the many masterpieces on view are Caravaggio's "The Crucifixion of St. Andrew" (1609 - 10), Turner's "The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons" (1835), Church's "Twilight in the Wilderness" (1860), and Bellows' "Stag at Sharkey's" (1909).

In summer 2009, the museum's galleries of modern and contemporary art re-opened in the first of the three new wings designed by Rafael Viñoly. The museum's renovation and expansion includes the construction of new wings on the north and west sides of the complex and the new atrium.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, founded in 1920, is reputed to be one of the finest natural history museums in North America with an emphasis on scientific research, conservation and education. The museum's collection includes more than five million artifacts and specimens. The highlight of which is the largest, most researched and published collection of modern human and non-human primate skeletons in the world.

Permanent exhibits:...

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, founded in 1920, is reputed to be one of the finest natural history museums in North America with an emphasis on scientific research, conservation and education. The museum's collection includes more than five million artifacts and specimens. The highlight of which is the largest, most researched and published collection of modern human and non-human primate skeletons in the world.

Permanent exhibits:
• Steggie - a life-sized stegosaurus that welcomes visitors at the front entrance.
• Lucy - a skeletal cast of a 3.2-million-year-old species of a human ancestor.
• Happy - the oldest sauropod on exhibit anywhere and the most complete adult specimen of this 70-foot-long, 14-foot-high dinosaur skeleton.
• Alice - a 135-million-year-old predator known as a "strange lizard."
• Jane - a skeletal cast of a juvenile tyrannosaur.
• Triceratops horridus - a 21-foot-long replica of a dinosaur that lived from 68 million to 65 million years ago.
• Dunk - a 360-million-year-old fish with a big bite.
• Balto - a heroic dog, which in 1925 helped transport diphtheria serum to save lives. • Shafran Planetarium - a glimpse at the universe and beyond with live shows.
• Mueller Observatory - home to a 105-year-old, 10.5-inch Warner and Swasey telescope.
• Wade Gallery - with more than 1,500 gems and minerals.
• Perkins Wildlife Center and Woods Garden - a 2.2-acre outdoor gallery that features Ohio's native animals and plants

The institute is the Miami Valley's only fine art museum. It is housed in Dayton's best-known landmark, an historic 1930 Italian Renaissance-inspired building in downtown Dayton, overlooking the Great Miami River.

The permanent collection has more than 27,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of art history. European art includes works by Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens, Mattia Preti, Edgar Degas, Joshua Reynolds, William Adolphe Bouguereau, Georges Rouault, Pier Francesco...

The institute is the Miami Valley's only fine art museum. It is housed in Dayton's best-known landmark, an historic 1930 Italian Renaissance-inspired building in downtown Dayton, overlooking the Great Miami River.

The permanent collection has more than 27,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of art history. European art includes works by Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens, Mattia Preti, Edgar Degas, Joshua Reynolds, William Adolphe Bouguereau, Georges Rouault, Pier Francesco Bissolo, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Claude-Joseph Vernet. American art pieces include works by Edward Hopper, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Peter Frederick Rothermel, Tiffany Studios, Charles Sheeler, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, April Gornik, William Louis Sonntag and American, Chippendale.

The Asian art wing showcases Indian, 2nd century AD, Indian, 12th century, Chinese, Han Dynasty, Kim Hongdo, Korean, Chosen Dynasty, Japanese, Edo period, Thai, Sukhothai period, and African, Hemba people.

The Great Lakes Science Center is one of America's largest interactive science museums with more than 400 exciting "hands-on" exhibits and daily demonstrations, such as the Electric Theater where visitors can see the power of lightning firsthand. Educational programs illustrate to visitors the interdependency of science, environment and technology, particularly in the Great Lakes Region.

Featured exhibits: science phenomena - Touch The Indoor Tornado; environment -...

The Great Lakes Science Center is one of America's largest interactive science museums with more than 400 exciting "hands-on" exhibits and daily demonstrations, such as the Electric Theater where visitors can see the power of lightning firsthand. Educational programs illustrate to visitors the interdependency of science, environment and technology, particularly in the Great Lakes Region.

Featured exhibits: science phenomena - Touch The Indoor Tornado; environment - Investigate The Sick Earth; technology - Experiment at The Materials Bar; and one-of-a-kind - The Great Lakes Situation Room with 24 computer stations and the area's largest video wall.

The Cleveland Clinic OMNIMAX® Theater is a six-story-high domed theater with 11,600 watts of digital sound that makes viewers feel as if they are inside the film.

The Gund Wintergarden, a nine-story-high enclosed atrium, offers spectacular views of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes.

Tour three historic buildings - the Monroe House, the Little Red Schoolhouse and the Jewett House - that tell the story of Oberlin and its nationally significant history - interracial schools, the first co-ed college, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, women's rights and manufacturing of aluminum.

Other self-guided tours available through the center or a biking tour of historic Oberlin, a walking tour of Oberlin and a Charles Martin Hall and Oberlin's Aluminum...

Tour three historic buildings - the Monroe House, the Little Red Schoolhouse and the Jewett House - that tell the story of Oberlin and its nationally significant history - interracial schools, the first co-ed college, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, women's rights and manufacturing of aluminum.

Other self-guided tours available through the center or a biking tour of historic Oberlin, a walking tour of Oberlin and a Charles Martin Hall and Oberlin's Aluminum Connection.

At the hall's entrance a bronze replica of football legend Jim Thorpe, who was a member of the Canton Bulldogs, greets visitors. Guests are invited to learn about pro football's history from 1892 to 1992, as well as current National Football League (NFL) players.

In the Fame Gallery, inductees are showcased, while their contributions are recognized in the Moments, Memories and Mementos Gallery. The Pro Football Adventure Room highlights other professional leagues that have...

At the hall's entrance a bronze replica of football legend Jim Thorpe, who was a member of the Canton Bulldogs, greets visitors. Guests are invited to learn about pro football's history from 1892 to 1992, as well as current National Football League (NFL) players.

In the Fame Gallery, inductees are showcased, while their contributions are recognized in the Moments, Memories and Mementos Gallery. The Pro Football Adventure Room highlights other professional leagues that have taken on the NFL. Headline making performances are featured in the Pro Football Today Gallery. The Super Bowl Room looks at this single most important day in football - the annual championship - and how it evolved. Exhibits on officiating and the Arena Football League are also featured.