10 Great Geek Getaways For Summer

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(Image: Milan Stojanovic/iStockphoto)

With the long, cold winter finally behind us, it's time to turn our attention to long weekends and more adventurous, far-flung summer vacations.

For the geek traveler inside us, though, relaxing by the ocean or a pool might seem less thrilling than a tour of CERN or NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Aside from site-specific locations that we find particular alluring for their high level of nerd appeal, we've also highlighted some cities that, although well-known and popular destinations in their own right, also play host to a variety of museums and other attractions that we think you'll find particularly appealing.

Did you know that Chicago is home to the International Museum of Surgical Sciences? Did you know that you could strap yourself to a glass wall on the 96th floor of the city's John Hancock Center and have yourself tilted 30 degrees out over the street 1,000 feet below? You do now.

[Read about hot summer tech.]

While we can't guarantee that every entry on this list is going to spark your particular geek fancy, you might know someone else who's looking for a vacation destination that lines up nicely with the locations we've provided here.

As always, we encourage you to leave us your comments and let us know what your favorite geek destinations are -- and the ones we missed.

Here's to a summer that has fun, sun, and maybe even a guided tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. You're gonna wanna go ahead and book that one now, though -- you're not the only geek planning a nerd-tastic vacation this summer.

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