PCN Tours

PCN Tours celebrates its' 25th anniversary of being on-air this year! Come take a behind the scenes tour and learn more about what makes this Commonwealth a great place to live and work with PCN Tours. Each tour is led by a representative of the facility, allowing the viewer to experience television unscripted!

If you would like to suggest a PA manufacturer or museum, contact us. PCN does not charge or receive payment for producing a walking tour.

PCN Tours Diamondback Covers, February 9th at 6pm - DiamondBack makes metal covers for the beds of pick-up trucks.  Some have a hinge in the middle allowing the driver to use half of the truck bed as a tool box and the other half to store everything else.  Other covers allow division of a truck bed into three compartments.  All cover variations emphasize easy […]

PCN Tours Agworks at Commonwealth Charter Academy, February 16th at 6pm - Agworks at Commonwealth Charter Academy is a public educational aquaponics facility located in Harrisburg, PA. On this episode of PCN Tours, you will learn about this living laboratory. Students have the opportunity to grow and harvest organic fruits, vegetables and herbs and will have the opportunity to raise and maintain tilapia, koi and prawn, which […]

PCN Tours the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center, February 16th at 6pm - Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home of the world-famous groundhog weather forecaster, is also known as “The Weather Capital of the World.”  That makes the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center the ultimate destination to learn how the science and folklore of weather prediction collide. The exhibits are interactive so you become part of the exhibit, and that makes it loads of […]

PCN Tours the Coolspring Power Museum, February 23 at 6pm - Coolspring Power Museum presents an illuminating history of the evolution of the internal combustion engine.  The museum's collection includes hundreds of stationary engines housed in more than 35 buildings, and on outdoor display. Engines in the museum's collection range in power from less than one horsepower up to six-hundred horsepower. Stationary gas hit-and-miss engines, throttle […]

Weekly PCN Tours Schedule

Putting Together PCN Tours

By: Larry Kaspar, Senior Producer and Host

“Assembly required” are words some people dread reading.  Often there’s a cartoon next to them to soften the blow that shows a hapless guy with crumpled instructions scratching his head and a bike with the handlebars where the seat should be.

Me, they make my heart sing.  I run for the toolbox.  I actually take inventory of the parts before I dive in.  Who does that? 

Anyone who’s seen and enjoyed PCN Tours knows what I mean.  The series shows how things are made in Pennsylvania.   

Back in 1995, Harley-Davidson in York was a logical place to start.  Their motorcycles inspire a unique brand of loyalty.  We asked them to do the narration as the bikes went down the production line.   That’s it.  No professional voice-over, no script, strictly spontaneous.  That simple, durable formula endures to this day. 

Ever see a wad of Silly Putty as large as your sofa? 

At the factory, the Silly Putty ingredients are put into a re-purposed dough kneader to mix them together.  You know how when you kneaded Silly Putty in your fingers, the air bubbles made little cracking sounds?    Well, the popping sounds at the factory might send you running for cover.  They sound like gunshots.   No kidding.    

Take Martin Guitars in Nazereth.  If you play acoustic guitar, this place is mecca.  When you see the craftsmanship here, you gain an appreciation for guitars, whether or not you’re a musician. 

These older episodes are a glimpse into the past, but viewers still stay in touch by giving us tips for new shows. Next time you’re intimidated by an assembly job, here’s a tip:  don’t do it on a deadline.  Then take a deep breath, take the plunge, and create.

PCN Tours airs on cable on Sundays at 7 PM, and streams on your device with the PCN Select streaming service.