12 days / 11 nights

Inclusions:

• Flights

• Insurance 

• Accommodation

• 11 Breakfasts, 11 dinners

• Excursions and activities

• All ground transportation and public transport passes

• Tips for local guides, leaders, and drivers

• Departure date of your choice

• Transfers by private coach

• Two teachers free of charge (single rooms)

Itinerary:

Please note that this itinerary is provided as an example and can be changed as required.

 

Day 1
International flights from New Zealand to San Francisco. On arrival into San Francisco enjoy a sightseeing tour of the city including Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park and its redwood trees, Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, and Fisherman’s Wharf. 

Visit the Exploratorium, one of the premier interactive science museums in the country. Later in the afternoon check in to your accommodation. 

This evening enjoy a welcome dinner at the world-famous Hard Rock Café. 

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Day 2
This morning the ferry to the infamous Alcatraz, “the Rock”, the former federal penitentiary in the middle of San Francisco Bay where you will take an audio tour of the prison cellblock. 

The entire afternoon will be spent visiting the California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park which features an aquarium, rainforest, planetarium, and natural history museum all under one living roof. While at the museum participate in a STEM-related workshop. This evening head to Chinatown, one of the largest Chinese communities outside of the Orient, for a sumptuous Chinese dinner and time to shop at the stores. After a visit to the fortune cookie factory take the cable car to Russian Hill and then a walk down Lombard Street, known as “the crookedest street in the world” before returning to the hotel.

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Day 3
Today the group will head to Silicon Valley where many of the country’s computer and high tech companies are based. Initially, a stop will be made at the Intel Museum in Santa Clara for a guided tour and learn about the semiconductor industry. You then continue to the Google Store in Mountain View where you will take a media and photography workshop. The next stop is the Apple Store near Apple’s corporate headquarters in Cupertino. Then it is off to the Tech Interactive Museum in San Jose for a STEM-related workshop. Dinner follows at Santana Row, San Jose followed by the leisurely drive back to San Francisco.

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Day 4
A full day of travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Drive via Highway 101 to beautiful Santa Monica, a suburb of Los Angeles. Enroute stops will be made in Salinas, the charming Danish community of Solvang, and at Santa Barbara where you will visit the historic Spanish mission. 

Arrive in Santa Monica in the early evening. Tonight head to the Santa Monica Pier for dinner at the popular Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

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Day 5 
The morning will be spent visiting the California Science Center, another sensational interactive science museum that features the Space Shuttle. Then it is off to Pasadena for a tour of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The tour continues to world-renowned Hollywood where you will see the TCL Theatre and take the Hollywood Walk of Fame. An early dinner follows at Miceli’s in Hollywood which features pasta and pizza and a singing waitstaff. Tonight head to the Griffith Observatory to watch an IMAX show and do some stargazing if the weather permits.

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Day 6
The entire day will be spent visiting Universal Studios, one of the largest motion picture and television studios in the world. Initially, you will take a STEM-related workshop where students apply math and logic to design a simulated studio tour. Afterwards, you will be taken on a guided tour via tram of the front and back lots followed by time to enjoy the exhilarating rides, see the live shows in the Entertainment Center, and experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

Tonight you will be taken to K1 Speed near Burbank for fun-filled go-kart racing which features a race, awards ceremony, and dinner. 

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Day 7
Depart Los Angeles today and fly to New York City. Upon arrival in New York, you will drive into Manhattan. Tonight the group will first have dinner at the Tick Tock Diner at the hotel, a retro 50’s American Diner, followed by a short walk to the Empire State Building for sensational views and photos of the New York Metropolitan Area.

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Day 8
This morning take the subway to lower Manhattan to visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum at Ground Zero. After an early lunch (on your own) at the Oculus, a transportation hub in a spectacular building, take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The rest of the afternoon will be spent taking a skill set computer lab at New York University, Columbia University, or another university in New York City. You will then have dinner at the Student Union Building.

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Day 9
This morning visit the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum which is housed in a historic aircraft carrier permanently moored on the Hudson River. Participate in a special Stem-related program followed by time to see the fascinating exhibits. The afternoon will be spent at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City which will feature another Stem workshop. 

Tonight the group will have dinner and enjoy the video arcade games at Dave and Buster’s followed by time to explore Times Square.

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Day 10 
This morning board an Amtrak train at Penn Station for the rail journey through New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts to Boston, Massachusetts. Upon arrival, you will take a short guided tour of Boston which will feature the Freedom Trail, the Boston Commons, the Old State House, and Fenway Park. This evening head to the Faneuil Hall Marketplace for dinner.

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Day 11 
Today head to Harvard University in Cambridge for a walking tour of the campus. The tour continues to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the premier engineering school in the world, where you will visit the MIT Museum which features collections of holography, artificial intelligence, robotics, and architecture. This evening enjoy a memorable farewell sunset harbour cruise in Boston.

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Day 12
Spend the morning at the Boston Science Museum where the group will take an engineering design workshop. Afterwards, head to Boston airport for your return journey to New Zealand. 
 

*Costs are based on the current level of exchange and are therefore subject to change due to currency fluctuation until final payment is received.
We reduce your exposure to currency rate fluctuations by making regular and early payments to overseas suppliers.