DISCLOSURE: The Pro Football Hall of Fame provided my family and I complimentary admission as well as a gift bag and a guided docent tour.  We also received a complimentary hotel stay at the Comfort Suites Hartville.

I am a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan and have enjoyed watching the NFL from an early age.  Even though I grew up in Cleveland about an hour from Canton (the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame), I had never been, so I was excited to visit with my family.

I gladly rock my Factory of Sadness shirt, even when I’m flying first class around the world

(SEE ALSO: Should you dress up while flying first class?)

We toured the Pro Football Hall of Fame on a Monday morning and there were a few things that I thought most folks would be interested in. Here are 8 things not to miss if you are also making a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio

The traveling exhibit – football cards

Right off of the lobby when you enter the HOF museum is a traveling exhibit.  The exhibit when we visited was one on football cards that was quite interesting.  There were the rookie cards for every HOFer (including one with Brett Favre’s name spelled wrong), rare cards going back to the 1880s, and an exhibit on grading cards and the different levels of quality of cards. My son who is interested in coin collecting was interested in the similarities between grading cards and coins.

Two movies included in your admission

There are two movies that are included in your admission.  One is a recap of the previous NFL season where you see the highlights of the regular season followed by the playoffs and Super Bowl.  My kids were somehow surprised / disappointed when the Eagles beat the Patriots (Super Bowl LII) and I was like “Ummm guys we already saw this game a few months ago!!?!?” 😀

The other one takes place inside a simulated locker room and has a hologram of Joe Namath sharing examples of different Hall of Famers showing the values of the HOF

The hall of busts

One of the big draws to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of busts.  At the time we visited (before the 2018 class was enshrined) there were 303 members of the Hall of Fame, and each of them has a bust in the HOF museum.  In this area, my kids were very enthralled with trying to touch these Hall of Fame rings which looked completely real but were actually holograms

I’m not going to lie, it was pretty cool even for adults :-).  We actually didn’t get to spend as much time in this area as I might have liked as we wanted to hurry and catch one of the movies (mentioned above)

Playing EA Sports

One of the areas that many kids (and adults) like is an area on the lower level of museum where they have a section involving EA Sports Madden football games, including areas where patrons can play Madden against each other.  My kids are not huge sports video games folks, but we played for a little bit (turns out the Browns always lose in video games too…) 🙂

Making your own Super Bowl ring

Another section of the Pro Football Museum that my kids enjoyed was the section on Super Bowl rings.  There is an exhibit with replicas of all 52 Super Bowl rings from I to LII as well as an interactive kiosk where you can design your OWN ring.  This is the closest the Browns are going to get to a Super Bowl ring any time soon…

The “practice field” outside the doors

Our family also enjoyed the practice field right outside the museum after our visit.  We ran around for quite awhile throwing the football, scoring touchdowns and just playing around on the 60 yard field that they have

Johnson Controls Hall of Fame village

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is actually undergoing a total overhaul that is titled Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village.  Over the next several years, the area around the Hall of Fame will include in addition to the museum and stadium that are already there, a hotel, other youth fields, a convention center as well as other areas.

Pro Football Hall of Fame location, cost and other tips

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located at 2121 George Halas Dr. NW, Canton, Ohio 44708, right off Exit 107 of I-77 in Canton.

Regular admission is $25 for adults, $21 for seniors (65 and over) and $18 for kids 6-12, with children under 6 free. There is also a $10 charge for parking.  Prices go up during what they call “Enshrinement Week”, and there are also discounts for military, AAA, local members (zip codes beginning with 442, 443, 446, or 447) First Responders, and a combined pass that gives admission both to the Pro Football HOF and Rock and Roll HOF (in nearby Cleveland)

I do have a Pro Football Hall of Fame coupon code good for $5 off admission if you purchase tickets through this link and use the coupon code POINTS (case-sensitive).  It will take $5 off each adult, senior or child ticket

Pro Football Hall of Fame hours are 9am-8pm between Memorial Day and Labor Day and 9am-5pm in the fall and winter.  They are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

Is the Pro Football Hall of Fame good for kids?

Many people wonder if the Pro Football Hall of Fame is good for kids?  I think that most kids with even a tangential knowledge of football will enjoy a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  My kids are not huge football fans (turns out it’s hard to encourage kids to root for a team that always loses 😀 ), but I’d say they had a good time on our visit

We got there just after the Pro Football HOF museum opened at 9 a.m. and we stayed until about 1:30 p.m. (so just over 4 hours) and not once did I hear my kids talk about being bored.  I felt like the Football HOF did a good job of balancing football history and lore with interactive exhibits that kept us entertained

Have you been to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio?  Leave your experience in the comments!

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