Tours

Essay Contest



The 2020 contest is now closed. To learn more about the annual scholarship contest, please contact program manager, Ben Becker at 216-593-057

We offer three types of tours which are open to the public. Private adult tours & student group tours can be booked by filling out this tour request form.

Scheduled Tours

Hour long tours are guided by a knowledgeable volunteer docent. Reservations required 24 hours in advance. Please check our calendar for upcoming dates.

Every Tuesday:
2:00 pm Interactive Biography! Speak with Holocaust survivor Stanley Bernath, A.I.

Every Thursday:
2:00 pm Interactive Biography! Speak with civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., A.I.

Every Sunday:
1:00 pm Docent lead tour of The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto
2:00 pm Interactive Biography! Speak with civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., A.I.


Student Tours

Join us for a group tour! Object-based learning sparks every student’s natural curiosity. Trained docents invite students to participate in answering the questions, “What do we see? What do we know? What do we wonder?” This process of lifting history out of books and into real life, stimulates content-rich classroom discussions during one-hour long group tours.



The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto

October 25 – April 28, 2024
Upon liberation in 1945, a diary was found by a Russian doctor in the ruins of a destroyed crematorium at Auschwitz Birkenau Killing Center. After decades in storage, the diary was translated from Polish to English, almost 70 years after it was written. The story that unfolded was a personal, coming-of-age testimonial of a 14-year-old, Jewish girl named Rywka Lipszyc, who lived in the Lodz Ghetto between October 1943 and April 1944. Rywka’s diary gives us a window into the experiences of Nazi occupation in Lodz.

On this tour, students will interact with entries from Rywka’s diary, in addition to historic documents, artifacts, and photographs, to engage in group discussion that will:

  • Examine the Holocaust through the lens of a 14-year-old girl living in the Lodz Ghetto.
  • Use Rywka’s documented experiences in Lodz to interpret the nuances, complexities, and realities of ghetto life during the Holocaust.
  • Examine the importance writing had for Rywka while living in the ghetto.
  • Describe the impact state-sponsored violence has on the lives of young people to provide deeper understanding of the conditions and complexities of the Holocaust.
  • Critically think about diary writing as a response to the Holocaust, and as a form of resistance, resilience, and self-preservation.
  • Identify how Rywka’s story relates to a larger understanding of the Holocaust and its relevancy to our own lives.

Educator Resources:

Holocaust Education: Lessons of the Holocaust

The Holocaust stands as a defining moment of the 20th century. Key concepts covered on this tour include:

  • The rise of modern antisemitism and history of hatred against Jews
  • How global economic depression, nationalism, and militarism made state-sponsored mass murder possible
  • The tactics and psychology of propaganda
  • The behavior of individuals under extreme conditions

Speak with a Survivor

Students can hear a Holocaust survivor’s personal story and ask questions, which is one of the most meaningful ways to learn about history. We recommend pairing this with your tour or you can book as a standalone experience.


Anti-Bias Education: Stop the Hate®

Hate has known many forms throughout human history. Key concepts covered on this tour include:

  • Contextualizing the terms upstander, bystander, & perpetrator using objects, artifacts, and photographs from our gallery
  • Examining how destructive forces can affect a group of people socially, economically, and politically
  • Identifying possible solutions for advancing inclusivity

Book a Free classroom Workshop

The Stop The Hate ® program includes the group tour free classroom workshops, and the Stop the Hate scholarship contest. Working with teaching artists, students reflect on bias they’ve experienced in their own lives and share their ideas and actions as upstanders in their community.


Interactive Biographies: You can learn history from people who were there

Personal stories lift history out of books and into real life, giving students the opportunity to ask questions about the past and get answers directly from a primary source.

  • Speak with civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., A.I.
    Using arificial intelligence (A.I.) the Maltz Museum has captured the life story of one of the foremost leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. As a young man Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr. made the decision to dedicate his life to fighting for equality, becoming a close friend and colleague of Martin Luther King Jr. Today, he holds the distinguished title of Pastor Emeritus at Olivet Baptist Church in Cleveland. Rev. Moss was filmed answering thousands of questions, so that you can hear his story, ask about his life as a civil rights activist, and learn about history directly from someone who was there through A.I.
     
  • Speak with Holocaust survivor Stanley Bernath, A.I.
    Using artificial intelligence (A.I.), the Maltz Museum has captured the life story of an ordinary man who survived extraordinary circumstances as a child survivor of the Holocaust. Stanely Bernath lost everything but he never gave up hope, eventually building a new life in Cleveland. For over 40 years Stanley shared his story with audiences across Ohio. Stanley Bernath was filmed answering thousands of questions, so that you can hear his story, ask questions about what life was like during the Holocaust, and learn about history directly from someone who was there through A.I.


Planning your visit

Adult Group Tour Information:

  • Group tours and speaker programs are 1 hour each and can be combined.
  • We offer discounted rates for adult groups. $10 per person for your first group experience. An additional $5 per person for each add on experience.
  • 1 group leader admitted free with every group.
  • Group tours are offered during regular museum hours.
  • Tours can be customized and additional times can be arranged. Additional fees may apply. Please call for more information.
  • Group tours cost a minimum of $100. A minimum group tour size of 10 people is suggested. If you have fewer than 10 people you can either may pay $100.00 for a guided tour OR you may pay general admission rates and take a self-guided tour.

Senior (60+) and College Student Group Tour Information:

  • Group tours and speaker programs are 1 hour each and can be combined.
  • We offer discounted rates for senior and college student groups. $8 per person for your first group experience. An additional $2 per person for each add on experience.
  • 1 group leader admitted free with every group, $5 for each additional adult.
  • Group tours are offered during regular museum hours.
  • Tours can be customized and additional times can be arranged. Additional fees may apply. Please call for more information.
  • Senior and college student group tours cost a minimum of $80. A minimum group tour size of 10 people is suggested. If you have fewer than 10 people you can either pay $80.00 for a guided tour OR you may pay general admission rates and take a self-guided tour.

K-12 Student Group Tour Information:

  • Group tours and speaker programs are 1 hour each and can be combined.
  • We offer discounted rates for student groups. $3 per student for your first group experience. An additional $2 per student for each add on experience.
  • 1 teacher or chaperone is admitted free with every 10 students, $5 for each additional adult.
  • Student group tours are offered Tuesday – Sunday. Additional times can be arranged. Please call for more information.
    Tuesday – Friday, 9:30am – 3:30pm
    Wednesday, 9:30am – 7:30pm
    Saturday & Sunday, 11:30am – 3:30pm
  • Note: all Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) schools are admitted at no cost, with pre-registration.
  • Please schedule at least 2 weeks in advance: pre-registration is required.



Maltz Museum