Waking Up to New Kellogg’s Tour

The Kellogg Co. factory tours are back after an absence of 12 years--albeit simulated, but with more Snap!, Crackle! and Pop!

The free tours, which drew about 400,000 annually to the cereal mill in Battle Creek, Mich., about 117 miles west of Detroit, ran for eight decades, until 1986. On Monday, an $18-million facility, Kellogg’s Cereal City U.S.A., designed purely for tourists, will open in downtown Battle Creek (about a mile from the still-operating factory), offering a re-created cereal production line and other attractions.

Visitors can view a simulated cooking room, flaking rolls and toasting ovens, and--as in the old tours--get a free sample at the end. Three multimedia theaters--one designed as a giant breakfast table in a Michigan farmhouse--serve up histories of the cereal industry and Battle Creek. There are restaurants and shops, plus a 50-foot-tall bell tower clock with moving figures of Snap!, Crackle! and Pop! and Tony the Tiger.

The red-brick complex, at 171 W. Michigan Ave., opposite Kellogg headquarters, is open daily. Admission is $6.50 adults, $4.50 children age 3 to 12. For information, call (616) 962-6230.