Some of the exhibits might be showing their age, but it's always quiet and climate controlled and a…read moregreat place to bring out of town guests for a little overview of Ohio and the opportunity to hang out in a Lustron House. There are often activities and presentations on the weekends, which add an extra bit of fun to your visit. As with most things, membership is an excellent value - you'll get free admission to 50+ sites around the state with the basic level and can upgrade for free event tickets and NARM reciprocity.

We started the morning visiting the Ohio state capital, and then we decided to learn more about…read moreOhio. The Ohio history center is located a few miles north of downtown Columbus. We started walking through the nature of Ohio and then moved on to the galleries. We ended up walking the galleries in the wrong order but the galleries were not really connected. We learned some great Ohio history. They had cool things on display like a mastodon skeleton and a Lustron house. We sent about 2 hours walking around the museum. The one negative I found with the museum, a lot of the information was older. Like some of the information panels only went up to the early 2000s. They have a village exhibit outside but it was closed when we visited. They also had a gift shop that was closed the Saturday we visited. Also they have a small cafe on the top floor but it didn't have many options for actual food, just some snacks.

If you enjoy art then you will enjoy spending time at the Columbus Museum of Art. They have…read morerotating exhibits plus a large collection of modern art. The staff is warm and welcoming. As a family level member of the Cincinnati Museum of Art my wife and I were able to get in free. Sundays are free to everyone I believe. They do charge $10 for parking but if you make a purchase in their gift shop or cafe the parking fee is reduced to $5. It was a great way to spend the morning and a membership not only saves you money but also supports the arts.

You know, I was never a fan of being dragged to the art museum as a kid. It was boring! Who wants…read moreto stand around looking at pictures all day? But I think if the museum had been like it is now, I would have loved it. Even as an adult, it adds so much to the experience to have the themed activities in nearly every gallery. There are games, writing and drawing prompts, books to read, and more to really connect people of all ages with the artwork and keep you coming back. The free admission on Sundays and $5 Thursday nights are great, too! Whether you're local or visiting, it really is worth your time to spend a few hours at one of the most accessible museums in town.

I'm sad to say that I've lived in Columbus almost 30 years and this is the first time we've visited…read morethe Ohio Railway Museum. The museum is only open from March through October AND ONLY on Sunday from noon until 4pm. My grandkids were in town from Colorado and we were looking for fun things to do. The museum certainly meet the need. The grandkids had a great time exploring the exhibits and going for a trolley ride (twice). The trolley runs at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 and makes about a 2 mile run. The museum's website says that their primary goal is PERSERVATION and not RESTORATION - although it's apparent they do some restoration of their rolling stock. Everyone associated with the museum is a VOLUNTEER and there are NO paid employees. All proceeds from ticket sales and concessions goes back into the museum's mission. They have a 4-6-2 steam locomotive that is open to the public, along with a passenger car, a railway mail car, and a streetcar. And, there is the interurban trolley used for the 2-mail excursions. Most of the rest of their stock is in various states of perservation or restoration. With 4 and 6-year grandkids in tow, we spent almost 2 hours at the museum. As someone noted - this is a nice small train museum that's well worth a visit but probably not a place for repeat visits.

I'm not a big train person, but many in my family are or were (dad, brother, wife, daughter.)…read more We've thought about coming here for awhile, and today worked out. Very limited hours (Sunday 12-4.) The train rides are every hour, at the half hour, so 1230, 130, 230, 330. We came just as one was leaving. It's one car, an old streetcar, and a very cool, short ride. Goofy jokes from the engineer, info and sightseeing comments from the conductor, lots of whistle blows. Baby K loved it. There are other streetcars and trains in the yard, some of which you can climb in, many others awaiting restoration. It's very clearly an all-volunteer labor of love. The volunteers were very friendly and helpful, especially of the kids. It's not a fancy place, and you have to be careful on the tracks and gravel, etc., but it is great fun for kids. For this non-train-guy history buff, it was very cool. There are some displays in the station, and a few toys for the kids (a train set to play on, and some to buy.) They do Halloween and Christmas events, so we'll probably be back for those or just so Baby K (and maybe even Sweetie) can ride the train.

Why have I lived in Columbus my whole life and never known this existed until my nephew visiting…read morefrom out of town suggested it?? We went yesterday just in time to see the 'best of 2026' show and we loved it! It is indeed more that just crafts, it was also kinds of works of art done by craftspeople and there were lots of beautiful pieces to look at. Loved that we were also able to interact with voting for our favorite, and also a scavenger hunt (with stickers as prizes). Such great things in the gift shop and loved the silent auction section too. I know for sure I'll be back every time they have a new show- it's free to enter, walk around and see great art. And the employee working was so friendly and told us all about it and gave us lots of helpful info and attention. Highly recommend, we were there about an hour, lovely way to spend some time during a hot afternoon.

On a whim I reserved a spot for an autumnal crown making event. It was wonderful! Lots of fun,…read morecreativity, snacks, and laughter. The instructor was great and other participants even shared supplies. I look forward to another event!

Whoever said you can see everything here in 45 minutes to an hour didn't have my level of…read morefanaticism as I whiled away two hours here soaking everything in. And that's with the library portion closed and only the museum open on account of New Year's Eve. I could pick a bone with them as I called in advance seeing Google said NYE may affect their usual 1-5 hours and the lady on the other end assuring me they were open. Neither of us was specific about it being the museum or the library and I figured it was just a package deal. As you can see from the five star rating I'm not marking them down for it but that was a bit of a bummer. I had planned on being here for their entire four hours open on this day and I'm sure I would have if that library was open. As it was I had a grand time (as my grandmother used to say) and I ended up making great use of that precious little late December daylight elsewhere on some Calvin and Hobbesesque exploring so everything worked out. The museum is upstairs on the second floor but I already knew I was in the right place when I saw a Garfield statue in the middle of a park bench against the wall of the bright airy first floor atrium. Admission is free, another reason why I shouldn't harp too much on the library being shuttered on the last day of 2024. There is a donation box and I did drop some currency into it. There's also some cabinets you can stick your coats or other belongings in by the front door. You can just take the key with you as you wander the three or four galleries of the museum. (One gallery is partially bisected by a wall and I'm not sure if it counts as one or two rooms.) They have you sign in on a tablet at the front desk and you have to provide an email. Definitely not a problem for me. I don't know when I'll be down in Buckeye territory again but the main exhibits change every six months and I'm curious to see what's on tap in the future. So if you're coming from afar, be it the Wolverine State or not, you might want to stay abreast of the exhibit schedule or give them a ring to make sure they're not between shows as they do shut down for a time to take down the old exhibits and install the new ones. The exhibits at the tail end of 2024 were dedicated to Edward Koren, a quirky artist with a philosophical bent known for his many published works in the New Yorker. His style is very distinctive and I'd seen it in passing but it was cool to do a deep dive to really appreciate him. And despite the library being closed there was a single stack of Edward Koren collections on an end table between two comfortable chairs. I read one cover to cover after poring over everything on the walls and glass cases in that gallery. The other special exhibit was dedicated to Larry Ivie, a comic book artist active in the superhero and horror genres in the mid 20th century. Besides being a great comic book artist in his own right, Ivie was also a huge fan and collector, something he carried over from his youth into his old age. So in addition to his own works this gallery also presented highlights from material Ivie had collected as well as his correspondence with other creators. They even had some superhero costumes he and his mates had put together and donned, long before anyone had coined the term cosplay. The glass cases in this gallery had pop culture ephemera like lunchboxes, board games and fan club collectibles in addition to a slew of comic books and original art. The last gallery - or two - covered a variety of artists and material so I'm sure how much, if any, that rotates. One wall was dedicated to Ohio native Bill Watterson, creator of the venerable, beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. No matter how big of a Michigander you are, you can't hate on Bill Watterson! Despite having already seen every Calvin and Hobbes strip they had original art for framed on the walls multiple times I still found myself cackling in hilarity. Always feels good to laugh. The Edward Koren work was humorous in nature, too, but it was more like smirk and nod at how wry and wise it was, not LOL funny. The miscellaneous gallery also had sliding drawers that come out from a section of the wall - the one that possibly counts as a room divider - and from underneath two glass cases. These are rather ingenious as they allow for a lot more work to be displayed in the limited space they have. It does get a little tedious sliding them open and shut after awhile but when there's some wondrous new surprise behind door number two or three or twenty or thirty it makes it worthwhile. And worthwhile is a good way to describe this place if you're at all a fan of comics or cartoons. There's stuff going all the way back to the 1800s in the gallery of many sliding drawers. Spring-Heeled Jack was an inspiration for Batman? I never knew! They even had a couple hand crafted quilts and winter caps on display. I could get lost all over again here once their displays change over.

I saw this online a day before going to Columbus. It was the last thing we did before meeting…read morefriends for dinner who live in the area. Located on the second floor of Sullivan Hall on the campus of The Ohio State University it is free and open from 1-5 pm. OK, you have to pay for parking. The most convenient parking garage was the South Garage that is listed as a tenth of a mile away from the museum. We were there about an hour and parking cost us $6. Apparently it was pre-enrollment day at Sullivan Hall and was packed with people so we had to navigate through the crowd to get to the museum. Although we weren't familiar with some of the artists/comic strips it was still an interesting museum especially the Calvin and Hobbs comic strips. Certainly well worth a look if you're in the area.

Pros: Able to book tickets in advance…read more Amazing choreography Show rolls in loop in case you miss anything Cons: Not much general seating; need to sit on the ground High prices Parking can be a challenge Pro tip: Don't need to get the set cushion or poster. Save your money.

We got tickets to this for my MIL's bday and it was really cool. She enjoyed it and overall it was…read morea great time. It's basically a huge room with Van Gogh's artwork splayed on the walls by a projector in an animated form. We enjoyed sitting in different positions to view alternative perspectives. There was also a lot of information about Van Gogh's life and family shared during the experience which was really interesting. Those are the pros. And here are the cons. After seeing some of Van Gogh's artwork in museums and attending other immersive art experiences, there could have been more to it for the price per person. Including fees it was a little over $50 per person which seems high considering we waited in line for our reservation for 30 minutes which was about the same as the loop ran. The prices in the gift shop were also pretty outrageous. Logistically where the building is located is also kind of a mess which isn't the fault of them per say but waiting to safety leave onto Polaris Parkway without a traffic light also added another 30 minutes to our evening plus the waiting for our reservation to start wasn't ideal. Having said all that, my MIL loved it which was the entire point of the evening. I also probably would have had FOMO had we not gone while it was here. I would recommend checking it out, but make sure to leave extra time in your night as well as tempering your expectations a bit.

An amazing museum. I'm not into glass, but can appreciate the art and craft, well displayed here…read more Lots of different types of glass, from various eras, perfectly preserved and shown in well lit cases. Some knockoffs and more recent production, especially in the basement under the historic house. Another basement room is for meetings but also has artifacts from the factory and explains the glassmaking process. Staff are friendly and helpful. There's a gift shop with actual Heisey glass for sale, plus souvenirs and books. Parking out front, with this in the middle of the museum complex and park. Well worth a visit for anyone interested in local history, industry, art, and decor.

This is another "hidden gem" of an attraction. We went to Newark specifically to visti the…read moreNational Heisey Glass Museum but it was much much more than we expected. This is an amazing look at the history of glass and the incredible run of the Heisey Glass Company. The collections are organized into various eras - clearly labled - that show the development of Heisey Glass over the years. Other collections are based on the type of glass - i.e. the introduction of different colors and styles. There are also exhibits illustrating Heisey's "animal glass". The staff is not only VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE but also EXTREMELY PRSONALBE and VERY WILLING (EAGER) to talk about the collections. There is a very informative (approximatley 20 minute) video that you shouldn't miss. Having spent 4 summers working in a glass plant while working my work through college, seeing and hearing the stories behind the Heisey glass was especailly fasicnating. The gift shop is loaded with pieces of "original Heisey glass" for sale at very resonable prices.

I am a member of the Holden arboretum and Cleveland botanical. And while in Columbus I decided to…read morestop and visit their botanical garden. And I inquired if a discount is given if I am a member of Cleveland. And they informed me they do reciprocal. So I was able to attend with my membership for no additional charge. I must admit that this place is currently under construction. But that just means more great botanical fun is heading there way. I am excited to see it when it opens in 2027 fall. My time here today was great. I had a ton of fun here. I was pretty excited to see their train garden. Where they have many different models of trains going through a garden. There are so many different things to see and do. They have many hands on experiences for children as well. You need to get here and bring those kids to have fun.

We love this place!…read more We've been members forever so that gives us flexibility. The latest butterfly exhibit is 5* Excellent staff....as always.