The waning days of summer might motivate you to take one last road trip for the season. If you find yourself with that travel bug, we have just the list for you. This itinerary takes you down the east coast of the US to popular destinations that are not only fun to visit, but also connect people with important economic, cultural and ecological insights. These places elevate the notion of a vacation from one that is purely indulgent to one with a larger purpose. Each of the institutions listed below has their own unique and noble mission and when we visit them, we partake in something much more than a vacation: we strengthen and support efforts to make the world a better place. So, grab the road snacks and add these stops to your trip list. We call dibs on a window seat!

Expedition Blue: An Economy Fueled by Ecology

Start your trip at New England’s vacation hot-spot, Cape Cod. The curved arm of Massachusetts attracts visitors from around the world who flock to its abundant beaches and dunes, whale- and seal-watching photo ops, upscale resorts and golf courses, and quintessential coastal villages. It’s easy to spend a long weekend exploring all the towns along Routes 6 and 28, and even easier with curated waypoints to guide your journey.

These waypoints, together known as Expedition Blue, are part of the Blue Economy project launched by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce to highlight the unique aspects of the Cape that are often overlooked by visitors. While most people know Cape Cod to be a vacation wonderland, the region is fueled by a robust maritime-focused economy of marine research and technology, sustainable aquaculture, and vital nature preserves. Each of the Expedition Blue waypoints highlights a site-specific feature of the region’s economy, ecology or history. The range of waypoint typologies that CambridgeSeven designed are customized for each location to simultaneously provide information, shade, seating, or a specific frame of view for visitors. As a physical representation of the Blue Economy Project, Expedition Blue aims to bring greater awareness to the area’s water-related resources and support all of the industries that make Cape Cod a beloved place for people around the world.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Where Legends Live On

Head west on I-90 to Central Massachusetts and satisfy your inner sports fanatic at the Basketball Hall of Fame, which has received an entire top-down renovation and remake of all its exhibits along with new galleries, including The Vault – a limited-run exhibition dedicated entirely to the legacy of the Boston Celtics. As this exhibit will only be on view temporarily, it’s the perfect excuse for a final summer excursion.

It’s easy to spend a whole day at this museum. Enjoy towering, high-def environmental graphics and hyper-real AR interactives. Go head-to-head against family and friends with exciting games that test both skill and knowledge of the game. Pay tribute to the greats in the Hall of Honor. Before getting back in the car, test your jump shot on the full-size court.

National Aquarium: A Waterfront Icon

Driving south on I- 95, be sure to stop in Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium. Perched on the waterfront and easily identified by its unique, jewel-like pyramids resembling sails above the harbor, the National Aquarium was CambridgeSeven’s contribution to the revival of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in the 1980s.

The National Aquarium was an early example of successfully marrying architecture with exhibits, where a building is not simply a box in which galleries are placed, but rather supports one’s experience of exhibits through curated circulation, a blurring of indoor-outdoor definitions, and moments where the building becomes the canvas for custom artwork.

Over the next several decades, our team would revisit the aquarium for various modernizations and upgrades, including the dramatic conversion of the ray exhibit poolinto a coral-rich replica of the Great Barrier Reef. Forty-three years after its opening, the National Aquarium draws in over a million visitors each year.

North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island: Animal Care on Display

Continuing south you’ll discover that the North Carolina Aquarium Society has four attraction locations that you can choose to visit. CambridgeSeven has completed work at each location, but the most extensive project was at the Roanoke Island location in Manteo, NC.

This facility underwent extensive, phased renovations that dramatically transformed it from simply an educational attraction into an exciting, immersive exploration of North Carolina’s ecological and maritime history. Exhibits showcase local habitats, storied shipwrecks, and aquatic conservation; visitors are encouraged to observe the aquarium’s animal care facility and Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) practices. Visitors can also explore the grounds surrounding the aquarium, where interpretive wayfinding guides them to important points of interest around the 16-acre campus.

Dalton Discovery Center: Resiliency in the Everglades

This summer road trip itinerary concludes in Naples, Florida, where the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s 21-acre campus welcomes visitors to their collection of indoor and outdoor exhibits. CambridgeSeven originally completed the master plan and the first wing of exhibits at the Dalton Discovery Center to showcase the unique flow of water and life between the various local biomes of the Everglades, mangroves, beaches, uplands, and ocean. We returned to design an expansion that highlights the impacts of invasive species, methods for protecting wildlife, and the effects of climate change on southern Florida’s ecosystems.

Here, visitors are fully immersed in the wonders of nature with hands-on exhibits that include games, mock lab environments, vivariums, digital interactives, and interpretive environmental graphics. Outside, informative wayfinding guides visitors along walking paths through the Conservancy’s expansive landscape. The only way to get closer to nature is by jumping into the wetlands themselves!

Check out more vacation worthy spots below!