Tag: factory tour

Posted in: Exploring Ohio, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

American Whistle Corporation

Written by tepetravels

There is a really neat factory tour near Columbus, Ohio at a company called the American Whistle Corporation. I have had this on my list of things to do with the kids for years, but never got around to it. We finally found a day where everyone was off of school and made our appointment.

I would pay attention to your GPS, because although there is a small sign, it is easy to miss. There is parking around the back of the building. There is a small entryway with a display case and framed articles about the company. The next room is the main manufacturing area (which also includes the bathroom).

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The manufacturing area was smaller than I thought it would be, but it looks like they had it well laid out and made good use of the space. There was enough room for our group, plus 2 other small families, to walk around and listen to the tour.

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Our tour guide was great. He kept it interesting, as well as informative, and was enthusiastic about his place of work. The tour was a mix of walking and seeing the equipment, a demonstration of the equipment, watching people work, and watching a video. The tour ended at the plastic whistle area near the gift shop. The gift shop had several different items available for sale. At the end of the tour, each person also gets a metal whistle.

For an extra fee ($2.15) you can make/buy a plastic whistle. We made one whistle that I now have on my keys. To make your own whistle, you get to pick a color for either side, as well as the ball. We went with a glow in the dark, a blue, and then a green ball. You put together your whistle pieces (placing the ball in the interior circle area and line up the sides). Once you place your whistle in the machine, you pressed a button on either side and the machine sonic welds the pieces together.

I would definitely recommend taking this tour if you are close to Columbus!

VIDEO: American Whistle Corporation Tour

DETAILS:

  • WHERE: 6540 Huntley Rd, Columbus, OH 43229
  • HOURS: Tours are available Monday to Friday. (Currently, tours should be pre-scheduled. M/W/F tours are at 10:00am, T/R tours are at 1:00pm). Gift Shop is open M-F 9:00am-4:00pm.
  • COSTS: $6/person for the tour (includes a whistle)
  • PARKING: Yes (Parking available behind building.)
  • BATHROOM: Yes
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1 hour
  • COVID RESTRICTIONS: n/a
  • *Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
Posted in: Exploring New York, Museums & Tours

Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum

Written by tepetravels

The boys and I went to the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.

It was a lot of fun and we all learned something new as well. The Museum has an audio tour (716)566-2772 with 7 stops. Since the museum closed at 3 every day, Ben wasn’t able to go with us. He did however, look at our pictures and listen to the audio tour later.

The Museum used to be an actual factory where they made the carousel horses. Each horse was carved by hand! The original horses had real horsehair tails and ears that stuck up. However, people started using the ears to pull themselves on and off and to hold on to. When the ears started breaking off, they switched to the ears laid back design that we see now. The horses also just slightly rocked back and forth in the beginning before they went up and down like they do today. Today’s new carousels are made from fiberglass molds.

Other fun facts we learned: The non-horse animals are called menagerie animals, although the only one to wear clothes is the Jumpy Fog! The carousels in the US run counter-clockwise, which means the animal face to the right. If you look at an older carousel next time you ride one, you may notice the public facing side is decorated more elaborately than the inside facing side. It helped save on costs. There is also usually a lead horse, who is slightly bigger than the others.

It was fun to find pieces of Ohio in the museum. The Wurlitzer Company made band organs and began in Cincinnati, Ohio! The organs are what gives the carousel it’s music. King’s Island’s carousel is an Allen Herchell carousel!

It wasn’t too expensive and we all really enjoyed our time there. Each ticket came with 2 ride tickets that worked for either carousel (kid only or the larger carousel).

DETAILS:*

  • TICKETS: $10/adults, $5/child (ages 2-16). COVID Restrictions: masks required
  • HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday 10am-3pm, Sunday 12pm-3pm
  • PARKING: Yes
  • BATHROOM: Yes
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-2 hours
  • *Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
Posted in: Exploring South Carolina, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Kazoobie Kazoos Factory Tour

Written by tepetravels 2 Comments on Kazoobie Kazoos Factory Tour

While looking for things to do around our campground, I found Kazoobie Kazoos in Beaufort, South Carolina. They offer, as you may guess by the name, kazoo factory tours. We had so much fun on this adventure (even Ben and he was skeptical when I told him about it).

Our kazoos, Nick’s pressed penny (double sided!)

The tour consisted of two videos, an impressive kazoo demonstration, and a peek at how the kazoos are put together and embossed. Did you know that there are only 3 kazoo factories in the world! Or that the kazoo was originally called the Down South Submarine (probably for its shape)? There are two in the US (South Carolina and New York) and one in the UK. At the end of the tour, we got to pick out our kazoo body and resonator cap colors and then put together our own! There was a small museum, which had some really neat information. The gift shop was also fun with different kazoos and kazoo type items for sale.

Making our kazoos
Museum items

We bought a couple of things from the shop. Nick also made a pressed penny, which was double sided! We had so much fun, I would definitely recommend going there and taking the tour!

Awesome finds at the gift shop

YouTube Video: Kazoobie Kazoos Factory Tour

DETAILS:*

  • TICKETS: $9/adults, $7/child (ages 4-11) COVID Restrictions: masks required.
  • TOUR HOURS: Monday-Friday at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 2:00pm
  • PARKING: Yes
  • BATHROOM: Unknown
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-1.5 hours (45-60 minutes for the tour, then browsing the museum and shop)
  • *Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
Posted in: Exploring Nevada, Food, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Ethel M Chocolates and Cactus Garden, Las Vegas

Written by tepetravels

Our stay in Las Vegas was almost over and there were a few things I wanted to do still. One of which was the Ethel M Chocolates factory tour. It was only about 20 minutes from the campground. It was a (free) self guided tour. There were glass windows with informational text, along with a few TV screens with a slide show video. (Video: We walked through the Ethel M Chocolates Self Guided Tour.)

We didn’t see any of the chocolate being made when we were there, but it was still an interesting tour. (They are part of the Mars family.) We received a dark chocolate square sample when we walked in the door and a truffle sample when we were browsing the shop. There were so many different chocolates to choose from! Ethel M is a higher end chocolateir, so it was a little more expensive (for example, it was $2.50/truffle, or $35 for a 12 piece build your own box). I bought a chocolate covered apple for us all to share and a 12 piece box. I’ve been limiting myself to one a day. They are delicious! (And so pretty!)

You know it’s a nice chocolate store when you get a cooler bag when you spend $5 and they pack it with an ice pack!
Time to eat!

If you are in the Las Vegas area (and love chocolate), I would definitely recommend stopping in!

Outside the store was a cactus garden, which was part of the Ethel M grounds. They had a lot of variety and interesting informational signs. They were in the process of putting up the Christmas lights in the garden while we were walking through. (Video: Ethel M Cactus Garden Walk Through)

Posted in: Exploring Colorado, Food, Museums & Tours

Laundry, Candy, and Rocks

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on Laundry, Candy, and Rocks

We started the morning doing laundry at the campground. It’s a pretty nice set up and we had it all to ourselves for the majority of the time.

When Ben was done with work for the day, we went on a candy factory tour. The tour was at Hammond’s Candies. The tour consisted of a video and then a walking tour. They are known for their candy canes (the large shiny ones you see at Christmas time). Their candies are carried in several stores, including Williams-Sonoma and Target (Wonderland section at Christmas). It is all made by hand!

We got to see them making candy while we were there. It seems like Covid hit them hard, as the tour guide stated they were down half of their cooks. I have a video up with clips from the tour (it’s about 4 minutes long) on the YouTube channel.

Everyone got a piece of candy at the end of the tour, which conveniently ends in the shop! We bought a few different kinds of candy to try, including a chocolate filled candy cane. I haven’t seen the filled candy canes in stores near us, so I was really excited to try it.

Afterwards Ben wanted to see Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater. I typed in Red Rock Park and ended up in Boulder near some apartments, which by the way is not where the amphitheater is. Whoops. I never would have guessed that there was a Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater and a Red Rocks Park as separate places, or that not adding on amphitheater would change my directions so much. So, we had a 40 minute detour…well more like an 80 minute detour since we had to drive back to our original starting spot. Apparently, I have not gotten that much better at directions as I have aged.

We finally made it to the amphitheater and it was really neat to see. The color of the rocks was amazing, as well as the shape of them just jutting forth. It must be an incredible place to go to a concert. It was a little crowded with visitors and people getting graduation pictures, so we didn’t stay too long.

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American Whistle Corp
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