Super neat & quirky little museum to venture to on a rainy day! Lots of fun & interesting things to…read moreread about. My kids really enjoyed trying out the rotary telephones. They had never used one until then! Kids these days...

I work for the railroad, and I have been by this building 500 times in the last 17 years. I never…read moreknew that it was here, but some friends were doing Atlas Obscura day trips and this was one of the stops. It is really cool to see all the old popcorn machines, Marion, history, and Ohio history, all under one building. We're bringing some Swiss friends next time!

This is a cute little museum featuring exhibits, shows, and interactive stations related to…read morescience, history, technology, and more. There is a very nice little planetarium (the Scidome), and viewing a show is included in the price of admission. We saw "From Earth to the Universe," which provided a crash course on astronomy throughout history and a look at our galaxy and the universe. The first floor of the space features a lot of interactive and hands-on activities, such as building a circuit, learning about your body, building and racing cars from objects like Legos, plus a 6-and-under play area. The hot shop is also located in this area, and it was very interesting to watch them work with the hot glass (and a very pleasant space to be in on such a cold day!) Upstairs is a wealth of local and regional historical information for Newark and Licking County and its citizens and discoveries. A giant mastadon skull greets you as you come up the stairs, as the Burning Tree Mastadon was found in the county. The Jerrie Mock exhibit, complete with a flight simulator and a replica of her airplane, the Spirit of Columbus, was extremely popular with the kids. (Jerrie Mock, a Newark native, was the first woman to fly solo around the world). A little historic village, complete with cash registers, scales, and games is also available to walk through on this level. Given the weather, we didn't spend as much time out in the courtyard as we probably would have otherwise, but we definitely made it over to the building housing the interurban railway car, the back end of which you can walk in and look around the interior of. There's also a really well done mural on the topic out by the parking lot. Staff was friendly and welcoming, and the museum was clean and comfortable. There is plentiful parking outside. A small gift shop, including items made in the hot shop, is available near the entrance.

My niece loves to go to another children's museum in a nearby city. Unfortunately, it's a little…read morepricey for what it has to offer beyond your 1st visit & there is very little for adults to interact with & engage. We recently went to Cosi 1 weekend instead. The Works is hands down a better experience than the other children's museum. This is now her favorite of the 3 places we've been. Unfortunately, the glass blowing was closed for routine maintenance & we have plans to return when open again. The bottom floor houses the small planetarium & hands on exhibits & play areas for kids & upstairs is more informative displays of the local area, the Works history & a brief technology over view. I've heard there's a café associated with the museum across the outdoor area but we didn't look into that the day we were there. 10/10 recommend a visit if you're in the area & looking for something new, fun & educational for kids to do.

Came on a weekday during Christmas break. Packed with kids, so maybe try an off time…read more Medium-sized children's/science museum, loads of activities and displays. Aimed at single-digits ages, and Kid K felt a little old I think. She found stuff to do, but a quieter day with not so many little kids would have been more fun for her. Still, she did some of the science things, and we went to the indoor zoo- very cool, very cute, very clean. They had a few scheduled special activities during the day but we missed them. There were a lot of staff around helping and keeping an eye on things, which is always good. Multiple discounts, so check for those. Prices are reasonable even without them. Parking was packed on a busy day, but we found a spot. It's in a big park so no other crowded places nearby. A great draw for the area.

I haven't been here in years! We used to bring the kids here for the playground but the entire…read moremuseum is super cool. Lots of spaces to wander thru, lots of eye catching displays to keep you entertained and elevate use of your brain. The waterway is one of may favorite parts of the museum and glad it's still up and running 20+ years later. We actually went to watch the Mesmerica 360 show in the dome theater. That was rather mundane to me but that's not the fault of the museum. My biggest peeve of the visit was seeing the us flag was still being masted when it is in tatters. I posted in my 'check in' and I will post again here in my review that it's time to retire this flag and replace with a fresh replacement. Whomever is in charge of the grounds here should be embarrassed. Please do better.

I can't believe we've been wasting our time at Cosi lol, this is so much more spacious and my 2…read moreyear old can literally touch every thing. Everyone was so nice as well, both patrons and staff. I'm also glad they make you keep your shoes on unlike momiland which smells like feet. I love how clean everything was as well. We drove 40 minutes and we will be back! I wonder if they have memberships?? I have never seen her so upset to leave somewhere before. I love that the water table was her height level too, at cosi the kids her age have to stand on stools which isn't very safe for the kids or relaxing for mom.

COSI too far? Too expensive? Just need a safe place for your kiddo to play indoors and stretch…read moretheir legs and imaginations? This is for you! This place is essentially like the kids space at COSI. Different areas for them to play and get creative. Dress up, read, sing on the little stage, climb on the construction equipment, pretend to grocery shop, play on the splash table and build a pipe line for the water to travel through, and much more. My sister and I took our little ones here on a rainy day, and they definitely enjoyed themselves. We (unfortunately) went on a day when a HUGE daycare or playgroup was also visiting, so about 15 mins after arriving, this swarm of over 50 adults and kids came in and it just got insane. I overheard another mom say that she's never seen so many people in there, so it reassured me that it's not always like this. This place isn't super fancy, and I did wonder about their sanitation procedures because I didn't see any buckets or bins for toys to go in if a kid had put it in their mouth. My LO being under a year, and my nephew being 18 months, you know everything goes in the mouth. They had a little "plop zone" which is the sacred safe space for babies under 2 to not get trampled. My daughter liked it, and liked chewing every toy, which takes me back to the germs... Butbi tried to let it go. The one thing I truly disliked about this place is that you have to pay to get in, even as an adult. $8 for me to supervise my own kid? Okay... Luckily my daughter was free because she was under 1, but I thought it was kind of ridiculous that adults have to pay for their child and themselves. It would make me think twice about coming here regularly once she's over 12 months because I don't think $16 is worth it. As of right now, all she can do is sit in the little baby plop zone. So if you really need something to do on a rainy day, definitely come here. It's safe and the kids for sure have fun. But if it's not a rainy day or you have a lot of kiddos, weigh out all your options, lol.

The other reviewer covered the basics, so I'll tell you what makes this museum unique in my…read moreopinion. While at first glance it may be mistaken for just your average railroad station museum, the reality is it has a very unique reputation for having one of the finest collections of items specifically related to the once ubiquitous Railroad interlocking tower. Specifically, it has one of the largest collections of preserved interlocking tower manipulation boards in the county on display, all from Ohio and many of which come from towers that were torn down decades ago. They also have a better than average gift shop for the railroad enthusiast, With the ability to purchase actual historic railroad passenger time tables, paperwork and other items that are surplus to the collection, as well as back issues of many of the most popular Railway magazines, including Trains, Railfan and Railroad and others. In short, if your into rail history and want to see some truly unique items, you won't be disappointed.

There is no entrance fee but donations are requested. A nice little collection of Erie related…read moreartifacts plus a number of switch boards from some interlocking towers. These folks have done a great job getting the station so that it is presentable. Outside, the station is surrounded on two sides by 8 crossing diamonds and one can sit on the benches and watch the freight just pass. This is a VERY unique railfan site.

It was my first time going to the Central Ohio Fire Museum and learned a lot about the the former…read morefirehouse with the history of firefighting and how to be safe from a fire. The tour guide was a firefighter himself and gave a great knowledge about fighting fires. I got to ring the bell. I would recommend going to The Central Ohio Fire Museum to learn more of the history of firefighting and staying safe from a fire.

My 4 year old LOVES all things firefighters. We stopped in on a Saturday morning when we had a…read morespare 2 hours and were met with enthusiasm from all the staff and one firefighter staff gave us a detailed tour. She made the museum exciting and engaging for our kiddo. The play area was so fun for him and we had to drag him away or he could have been there all day. He got a helmet and sticker on the way out and wore the helmet all the way home (on the airplane). Highly recommend for littles or bigs that love firefighters and history!

Located in Marion and free to visit if you're an Ohio History Connection member. There is a…read morevisitors center that has a gift shop and a small museum. The tour took us through his home which had a lot of history and has been kept in wonderful condition. We loved being on the porch where he campaigned and learning about how the property was set up during that time. You can also stop by the monument where he and his wife are buried since it's only a mile away.

This is not only home of a presidential library, it is also the site of the home of William…read moreHarding, the 29th President of the United States. This is a compound that consist of the Harding Presidential Library and Museum, Harding's Home, a horse shoe pit where you can threw a few shoes, a sentry guard house, a press house and Christian house (Harding's neighbors). President Harding was a long time resident of Marion, so it is only fitting that the city is where the President's Museum and Library is located. As you would expect, the grounds are immaculate and well maintained. There is a huge private parking lot to park and some benches on the grounds to sit. The Harding house was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The museum/library and houses were all closed during my visit, but I was able to freely walk around the campus and check things out. There are a bunch of informational placards around the grounds. I suggest making sure your check the library/museum operating hours if you plan on going into the buildings. I also suggest coupling this trip with a visit to the Harding Memorial which is about a mile and a half away.

The Harding Presidential Sites includes the Harding Home and the Harding Presidential Library and…read moreMuseum. The Ohio Historical Society recently completed a complete renovation of the house - spending over $1,000,000 on the renovation. The Library and Museum opened in 2020. This site is about 1.5 miles from the Harding Memorial (aka the Harding Tomb). There are guided tours of the house (hourly at the top of hour). The website indicates you can make reservations for a tour but on the day we were here - reservations were not needed. In fact, my wife and I were the only two on the 11am tour. John, our tour guide, was fantastic. He gave an excellent narration and intrepratation of how life was in the 1920's - including the political environment of the day and Harding's "porch campaign". The house is well preserved and well maintained (it is managed by the Ohio Historical Connection). Also on the grounds are the "press house" - a "kit hhouse" that was build in two days to house the media covering the campaign and the Harding Presidential Library and Museum. The Library and Museum offers self-guided tours and has a wealth of exhibits chronicling the Harding campaign and his brief time in office.

We came to Ohio to visit 4 presidential libraries, including this one. The building and grounds…read moreare very nice. You can tour the museum and the house or just the museum. We decided to just tour the museum. The staff working there were very nice and helpful. The museum starts with a short movie about Harding's life and presidency. It was very informative. We then went through the exhibits and displays on the first floor. There is also a nice gift shop.

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.