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Early Television Museum

4.5 (13 reviews)
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British TV
Sandy W.

This museum was amazing with so many early TV's and other electronic devices! The TV sets range from the early 1920's and go through the 1950's with a few sets from the 1960's. I was impressed on how many different TV set designs there were. Also a great amount of history throughout the museum of the early years of TV's! There was plenty to see and the cost of admission is $5 donation. I believe they are only opened on the weekends.

Curt R.

Talk about a hidden gem... I was expecting a small room with a few vintage televisions. I was pleasantly surprised to find room after room of unique and historical televisions. Who knew there were mechanical televisions??

You can turn on some of the TVs!
Susie R.

I'm giving this museum 4 stars with a big caveat: if you go, don't expect it to be about television *programming*. It's strictly about TV equipment. The rooms seem to be organized roughly by era. There are some prewar TVs, a few that look like midcentury pieces. Mainly cabinet-style TVs. You can turn some of them on temporarily, but only one sort-of got a picture that I tried. I really liked the room that had the recording equipment. There was a news van you could peek into (maybe go up into, I didn't ask), some big vintage TV cameras and consoles. It felt like being in a movie. I also really liked the signs. Suggested donation is $5 and it's in a really neat little part of Old Hilliard. Parking is ample and the man at the front desk was really sweet. If you want to have a blast from the past (because for real, didn't your grandparents have that big ol' TV cabinet? I know mine did), it's a quick trip with some interesting items.

The picture tubes were so long, they had to be mounted upright, hence the mirror.
Nate M.

This place was really cool. There are TV's here long before I thought they were invented. It was absolutely fascinating. There were American and European TV's going all the way back to the late 1920's with mechanical TV's. In the 1928 tv's, there was a spinning disc and a magnifying glass. I don't know how it worked but I'm going to research it. There were a lot from the late 1930's and the 40's and 50's. They're all in great condition and some of them even turn on (but don't try). There are really big ones and really small, all very decorative. You can see how they were designed like a piece of furniture, and how the styles changed through the decades. There are even big TV cameras from the 50's and a big TV truck with a portable studio booth inside. There are picture tubes of all sizes, TV's of all sizes. It was interesting to see massive appliances just to hold a tiny screen smaller than my laptop screen. There was even one ancient portable tv that had a screen smaller than my cell phone. This place was a treat and I will probably go back. This is a nice, little known, out of the way place in old Hilliard that I wish more people knew about it. I'd love to see it thrive. It's a must for any history buff. The guy that was there doesn't know much about it but the owner does and if you call and make an appointment, he'll take you on a tour. Here is an album of the pictures I took: http://picasaweb.google.com/Stinkysdaddy/EarlyTelevisionMuseum?feat=directlink

Brian N.

If you like early televisions/antiques then you should really check it out. This place is awesome! They have about a dozen rooms FULL of early televisions and related items. Rooms are divided up into foreign/US models and by era. All of them have information with them which includes the model, a short writeup of it's history, year manufactured, and original price (assuming they know it). Several of the televisions are in working order and have a switch to turn them on so you can see what their picture looked like. They're all fed by old TV shows. It's amazing to see all the variations in sets thru the years. They also have a section with TV production equipment including early cameras and one of the first mobile production trucks. What I thought would amount to a quick walk-thru ended up being a little over an hour and I really could have spent longer. I wish I had more time and would love to go back again some time for a closer look. Amazingly this place is FREE, although they suggest (rightfully so) a donation of $5 adults, $3 kids. Well worth it. I ended up donating and becoming a member of the museum.

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5 years ago

Our greeting was less of a welcome and more of a "I'll take your money now" statement. It felt a bit awkward. Interesting items inside.

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Review Highlights - Early Television Museum

Rooms are divided up into foreign/US models and by era.

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Cosi- Center Of Science And Industry

Cosi- Center Of Science And Industry

3.9(333 reviews)
9.7 miDowntown

Once we got past a little bit of the sticker shock for tickets (we were only visiting for two hours…read moremax), we thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. Our only regret was not having more time to see all of the wings and exhibits COSI has to offer. I was surprised that for the ticket price they didn't include the Behind the Science of Pixar exhibit. Parking can easily be found in their underground garage that is nearly connected. We explored the museum with our two and four year olds- making our way between the engineering/innovators exhibit, young kiddo play area, and caught a science show on the main stage (they seem to keep it fairly booked with various topics throughout the day). They also offer a gift shop and a movie theatre for documentaries like a piece on Ohio's wildlife. Overall, a positive experience and I look forward to visiting again with more time.

Great day for the kids. Pretty interesting for adults, too. The permanent exhibits are fascinating,…read moreand they have some rotating exhibits included with general admission. It's irritating that the special exhibits have extra entry fees, but I guess that's how things are these days. Everything has an upcharge. The food in the cafe tastes good, is overpriced, and is unforgivably stingy. The chicken salad sandwich would probably be good if they actually put chicken salad in it, and for the price, they damn well should. The exhibits are dusty and could use a cleaning. This, to me, was ridiculous, and took away from the experience. The kids probably didn't care, but when you're a parent throwing money at a place, hand over fist, you at least would like it clean. Good lord, the gift shop... handfuls of target and dollar store crap your kids will bawl their eyes out for. Be prepared. You've seen everything there at half the price.

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Cosi- Center Of Science And Industry - Learning the science of hot air ballons

Learning the science of hot air ballons

Cosi- Center Of Science And Industry
Cosi- Center Of Science And Industry

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Ohio History Center & Ohio Village

Ohio History Center & Ohio Village

4.3(55 reviews)
9.4 miLinden

My family and I absolutely love this museum. It has a lot of different galleries and areas to look…read moreat and explore. They have a great discovery area for kids to explore which is really a hands on experience for the kids to interact with. They have a really cool 1950s house that is really neat to go into and explore. It's also a hands on experience for people to interact with. They have some really cool skeletons in some of the exhibits. Other exhibits have artwork and flags, some have military items, and other historical artifacts you won't see anywhere else. This museum is definitely a must see and experience. The have a small cafe up on the 2nd floor which has a few food items you can enjoy while your in the cafe area and it has some good drink options as well. Nothing huge but enough to have a snack and relax while you look at the airplanes around the cafe. Staff and Services: The staff were very friendly and welcoming, they were also very informative when we was asking questions about different things about the museum. Prices: Entry $ Giftshop $-$$ Cafe $ Cleanliness: Super clean in the exhibits, the walkways were clean and clear, and the bathrooms were very clean Ombiance: quaint and quiet Overall Experience: Amazing Rating: 10/10 Recommendation: I absolutely recommend everyone to come and visit this museum there is something for everyone to enjoy. Family Friendly: Absolutely Stroller/Wheelchair Friendly: Yes it's very stroller/wagon friendly and it's very wheelchair friendly they have an elevator to get to the other floor to make it more accessible for those who can't use stairs

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.

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Ohio History Center & Ohio Village
Ohio History Center & Ohio Village
Ohio History Center & Ohio Village - Bike shoo

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Bike shoo

Ohio Railway Museum - Closeup of locomotive

Ohio Railway Museum

3.7(15 reviews)
9.3 mi

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.

they are going been there line south soon! have gone here…read more for many many years , i am diehard railroad fan!

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Ohio Railway Museum - RR signal

RR signal

Ohio Railway Museum - RR signal

RR signal

Ohio Railway Museum - Station

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Station

Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Columbus

Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Columbus

2.5(53 reviews)
11.9 miPolaris

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.

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Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Columbus - Floor seats

Floor seats

Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Columbus - Inside the exhibit

Inside the exhibit

Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Columbus - Starry Night

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Starry Night

National Heisey Glass Museum

National Heisey Glass Museum

4.3(3 reviews)
39.8 mi

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.

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.

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National Heisey Glass Museum
National Heisey Glass Museum
National Heisey Glass Museum

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Northwest Franklin County Historical Society

Northwest Franklin County Historical Society

3.0(3 reviews)
0.4 mi

I'm not sure what to call this place. Sign says Northwest Historical Village. The Hilliard…read moreHistorical Society is here, or nearby. The museum has its own name. But the sign says "village." It's on the Franklin County fairgrounds. Gates are open; follow your GPS. It's a small collection of historical buildings, giving the flavor of a village. Reproduction covered bridge, the rest are relocated: church, school, voting trailer, etc. All well maintained. Nothing open, on a weekday, and I can't find info for when it is. Maybe during the fair? A nice addition to local history. Wish it were more well known (I'm a history buff and just heard about it last year; somehow missed it during fair visits.) A few benches and tables, so it would be a nice place for lunch. Cool old railroad station. A little garage with old cars. An old tombstone. I'll be back someday.

I cannot actually give a review for this, so I made it neutral. It's supposed to be a replica of…read morelife in the 1800s in Ohio. The buildings in the park have either been saved and brought from another location or, like the cabin, pieces of wood and stone were used from elsewhere but locally. On the premises is a log cabin, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, a depot and caboose, a covered bridge, a gazebo, and a museum. There's nothing that says when the museum is open. However, on their Web site it says to call 614 876 4376 to arrange tours. When I get a chance to tour it, I will give an update.

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Northwest Franklin County Historical Society
Northwest Franklin County Historical Society
Northwest Franklin County Historical Society

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Early Television Museum - museums - Updated May 2026

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