Saudi Arabia & Bahrain Virtual Experience
This tour covers two fascinating countries: the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia & Bahrain from the Middle-Eastern region. Saudi is one of the most mysterious countries in the world and among the last nations to open its doors to the world of tourism. Students will learn about Arab culture and traditions. Get a glimpse into Saudi Arabia’s ultra-conservative society. Saudi is the largest producer of oil and petroleum in the world – learn about its discovery. Get to know about the Bedouin nomadic history and how a barren desert land turned into one of the richest countries of today with breathtaking skyscrapers touching its skies. Of course, we visit Mecca and learn about the Hajj, the pilgrammage every Muslim must make once in their life.
Next, we’ll take a road trip to the nearby island country of Bahrain, famously known as “The Las Vegas of the Middle East” and “The Pearl City” for its relaxed and liberal society, which is a contrast to Saudi Arabia, and forms an archipelago of fifty small natural islands.
Tour highlights include:
Saudi Arabia
- Customs & traditions
- Saudi clothing & foods
- Glimpse into the royal family
- Islamic Shariah laws practiced in the kingdom
- Mecca and the Hajj
- Riyadh – The capital city
- Camel festival
Bahrain
- Geographical features
- Pearl trade history
- Qalat Al Bahrain
- Tree of life
Senegal and the Slave Trade
The island of Gorée lies off the coast of Senegal, opposite Dakar. Pastel-colored houses sit along quiet cobbled streets, and there are no cars to shatter the calm. This beautiful setting belies the dark history here. From the 15th to the 19th century, it was the largest slave-trading center on the African coast with about 20 million enslaved Africans brought here on their last stop before being shipped to the Americas.
On this virtual tour, we will visit various sites related to the slave trade era, including the House of Slaves where enslaved Africans were marched through the Door of No Return to board the ships that would take them away from their native lands forever. We also visit various landmarks on the island, such as the former governor’s palace and the Fort d’ Estrées. We also hear about the island today, see some art forms that are prevalent on the island, and learn about a prominent girls school on the island.
Please note: though it may go without saying, this virtual tour covers some very serious and disturbing topics. While everyone will learn a great deal, it’s an emotional journey.
Tour highlights include:
- House of Slaves
- Former Governor’s Palace
- Fort d’Estrées
- Former Military Hospital
- Maison D’Education Mariama
- Slave Liberation Statue
- African Renaissance Monument
Virtual Civil Rights: Memphis and Nashville Experience
Immerse your students into the rich and complex civil rights history within two iconic Southern Cities: Memphis and Nashville. Understand the impact of the Mississippi River upon economics and enslaved people, and take a ride along a Mississippi Riverboat. Channel the fears and hopes of enslaved people seeking a way of escape when we visit the Slave Haven Museum. Learn how the sanitation workers strike parallels today’s protest movement and activism and wander into Clayborn Temple. Explore the impact of college students affecting change at lunch counter sit-ins. Discover art in Nashville that resonates with the energy and sacrifice of civil rights. Visit the National Civil Rights Museum and put all that history together.
Sites visited:
- Slave Haven Museum
- Clayborn Temple
- Woolworth on 5th
- National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel
- Stax Records and WDIA
- Beale Street
- Witness Walls
Topics Discussed:
- Slave trade on the Mississippi
- Sanitation Workers Strike (I Am A Man)
- Dr. Martin Luther King’s last speech and assassination
- Lunch counter sit-ins and the student movement
- Music of the Black south
Take the journey through Tennessee Civil Rights history with us!
Virtual New Orleans Experience (BLM Series)
Come and chill with us in the Big Easy – one of our most popular tours! On our virtual tour of New Orleans, we will walk the streets of the French Quarter and check out some of its famous busker activities. You’ll start feeling your stomach grumble as we discuss the city’s famous cuisine, with dishes like crawfish, gumbo, po’ boys, and of course, beignets. Learn what wards are and how New Orleanians identify themselves based on what part of the city they’re from. Along the way, we’ll hit a second line and learn about this famous New Orleans tradition. NOLA is famous for its music, and you’ll learn about famous jazz artists like Louis Armstrong and also some hip-hop legends from the city. We check out some of the colleges in the area so students will have an idea of the options they have in this incredible city. Of course, no tour of New Orleans would be complete without talking about Mardi Gras – we take you out of the French Quarter and learn about how the city’s natives celebrate.
Tour highlights include:
- French Quarter
- New Orleans Cuisine
- Hurricane Katrina
- Music of the Big Easy
- Wards
- NOLA festivals
- Mardi Gras
- Southern University, Xavier, Dillard, and Loyola.
- Studio BE art studio
Virtual Black History Museums Experience
Let’s take a virtual trip with us around the southeast US and tour 4 important museums dedicated to black history.
First, we will visit one of Nashville’s newest museums: the National Museum of African American Music, the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. Then we head down to Montgomery, Alabama, and the National Memorial of Peace and Justice. According to its website, this is “the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people, people terrorized by lynching.” Next, it’s off to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis where we trace Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final steps and learn about some important movements in Civil Rights history. Finally, we finish our educational journey at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC. There, we take a walk through time, starting with slavery and ending with great accomplishments made by African Americans in many different fields.
Tour highlights:
- National Museum of African American Music – Nashville, TN
- National Memorial of Peace and Justice – Montgomery, AL
- National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, TN
- National Museum of African American History & Culture – Washington, DC
South of the Black South
Together we’ll take a musical journey around the South, taking in the sounds and history of African American southern soul music of the United States.
We’ll start in Memphis, TN, the cradle of American SOUTHERN soul where we will learn about how companies like Stax Records and WDIA helped develop and share southern soul with the masses. We’ll head over to Nashville and learn the role that spirituals played in the development of many different musical genres. Then we head over to New Orleans for a lesson on jazz and learn about some of the jazz greats. Then it’s over to the Mississippi Delta to talk about Blues, its history, and its contribution to rock n’ roll. We end our journey in Muscle Shoals, AL where an incredible number of artists have recorded incredible hit records – from Aretha to the Rolling Stones to Alicia Keys.
Tour Highlights:
- Stax Records
- WDIA
- Memphis Rock ‘n Soul Museum
- Fisk Jubilee Singers
- New Orleans Jazz Museum
- BB King Museum
- Fame Recording Studios
- The sounds of Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Tina & Ike Turner, BB King, and many, many more.
For over 25 years, CE Tours has traveled with hundreds of students to Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country. We’re continuing that tradition by taking your students via the virtual road. Let us show you why Trio and Gear Up programs nationwide say we offer THE BEST online experiences in the industry!
While our in-person tours are unbeatable, we use similar techniques to bring schools to life, virtually. Students will tour universities with a live CE Tours guide, learn the schools’ culture, requirements, campus life, and more.
Here is a list of the schools your students will visit during this virtual tour:
Maryland, D.C., and Virginia
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- Howard University
- Hampton University
- Morgan State University
- Norfolk State University
The Carolinas
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- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
- North Carolina Central University
- Winston-Salem State University
- Claflin University
Florida & Georgia
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- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Spelman College
- Morehouse College
- Bethune-Cookman University
Tennessee and Alabama
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- Fisk University
- Alabama State University
- Tuskegee University
- Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
Louisiana and Texas
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- Southern University
- Prairie View A&M University
- Xavier University
- Grambling University
Mississippi and Arkansas
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- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
- Philander-Smith College
- Alcorn State University
- Jackson State University
Get ready and “Turn-up”!
Virtual New York Adventure
Take your students on a tour of the Big Apple, where they will get a feel for the energy and culture of one of the greatest cities in the world.
We take a quick trip around the 5 boroughs before visiting some of New York’s most iconic sites. We get inside the Statue of Liberty and go to the top of the Empire State building. We take ferry and subway rides and visit one of the city’s most important universities, NYU. And what’s a visit to NYC without talking pizza and bagels and other delicious food? You’ll learn about the diversity of the city, the history of hip hop, and hear some New York City accents.
Your students still get to take a trip around New York – and their feet won’t hurt at the end of it. Win-win.
Sites visited are:
- The Statue of Liberty
- 9/11 Museum and Memorial
- NYU
- Empire State Building
- Rockefeller Center and the famous Christmas Tree
- Times Square
We can’t wait to take you to the city that never sleeps!
Virtual Cuba Experience
Our virtual tour of Cuba will fascinate educators and students alike – everyone learns so much about this place that can seem so mysterious to U.S. Americans. Walk the streets of several major cities and learn about their history and people. Find out the challenges Cubans face doing something we take for granted every day – using the internet! Learn what the education system is like for Cuban students. Hear the sounds of a few of the 26 unique Cuban rhythms born on the island and see a performance of Tumba Francesa – which was created by enslaved Africans and is now on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage list. Learn about US-Cuban relations, the embargo, and the effect on the Cuban people.
Tour highlights:
- Havana
- Guantanamo City
- Cuban music and Tumba Francesa
- Education in Cuba
- Corals of Jardines de la Reina
- Cienfuegos
- Santiago de Cuba
- US-Cuban relations and the embargo
- Santiago de Cuba
- Cuban economy and jobs
Virtual London Experience
Take a flight across the pond to explore one of the most dynamic cities in the world – London, baby!
Celebrate His Majesty’s birthday by watching the Trooping of the Color ceremony, followed by a quick trip around his official London residence – Buckingham Palace. Stroll around London and check out Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, and Trafalgar Square. Head into beautiful Westminster Abbey and get a view of London from the top of the London Eye. Keep calm and carry on as we learn the history of the Great Fire of London and the Blitz. Take a ride on the London Underground, also known as “the Tube,’ the oldest subway system in the world. Get worked up about football, or soccer, and listen to some Grime.
Sites visited:
- The London Eye (exterior)
- Big Ben
- Piccadilly Circus
- Trafalgar Square
- The Tube (London Subway)
- Tower Bridge
- Buckingham Palace
- Westminster Abbey
London has so much to offer. Let’s explore it together!
