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.

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.

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.

The kids kept asking to come here, so we finally did. Good…read moreplace for families, and it was pretty busy when we went. The lighting made me a little dizzy afterward, but the kids had a good time.

While visiting the Columbus a group of us decided to come by to check out Otherworld and it did not…read moredisappoint! The place was in a shopping center that seemed pretty empty but once we got inside it was like we entered another world. The place wasn't too packed and there was one worker at the front who was really sweet and patient with our group. They also allowed me to do a tour of the game area which I appreciated. There was a little something for everyone, adults and kids included. From the time we walked in we were met with room after room filled with interactive exhibits which we enjoyed. I don't want to give too much away as I don't want to ruin the surprise but I definitely recommend checking it out! The tickets were a bit pricey but after seeing everything inside I didn't feel too bad about paying so much. If you find yourself in the area, you should definitely make your way out to see them!

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.

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!

A lovely little museum on the OSU campus. It's totally free and you don't need to spend much time…read morethere, but you will learn a lot. They have a great display of fossils and gems found locally, in the US, and around the world. I also loved that they give you information about how the science of geology and paleontology has evolved in recent years, how scientists put together dinosaur skeletons, and even how to distinguish a fossil from a non-fossil. I enjoyed my time there! Parking is limited, so make sure you check signs before walking away from your car.

Located on the Oval at The Ohio State University, Orton Hall Geological Museum is the second oldest…read morebuilding (1893) on the campus. It houses a museum, library, The Din-O- Store shop, offices and laboratories. The museum holds 54,000 specimens and a research facility which has been visited by those in the Earth Science field from around the globe. The Hall is of the (Richardsonian Romanesque style) and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Geological Museum is part of the School of Earth Sciences. It's founder Edward Orton was the first president of the University and Professor of Geology. Research, teaching and outreach is conducted here. During the hours of 8am-5pm, there is usually someone in the museum that will identify a rock, mineral or fossil that you bring to the museum. Many of the specimens were discovered in Ohio. Today, Ohio is situated at 40 degrees North but at one time it was 20 degrees south of the Equator about where Australia is today. Consequently, Ohio has outcroppings that date from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras which contain exotic fauna and flora. A special note, the museum has a bell tower and plays chimes which I always enjoyed except at 8 am in the morning.

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!

What a cute area in Ohio! I stumbled upon this area when searching for things to do on Yelp. When I…read morewas planning to visit, I did not have any particular place in mind to visit; I just planning to stroll and pop into places if they looked enticing. We had our dog with us so we did not do an abundance of walking around. From what I saw, there were no places that welcomed pets in the businesses. It makes sense and it was no biggie, I just did not spend as much time as I would have if pets were welcome. I stopped into what I thought was a deli but more like a restaurant with a counter, hoping to purchase goodies for home. There are several stores for shopping, which were fun to browse. I only purchased some chocolates in a candy store, which apparently were made in house. I definitely want to visit here again with more research.

This is a lovely historic neighborhood just a couple miles south of downtown Columbus. If you have…read morea free afternoon and the weather is nice, it's well worth a visit to Schiller Park (dog-friendly with benches) which has a garden and statue dedicated to the German poet Schiller. I took COTA Bus #5 from downtown Columbus (Ohio Statehouse) and explored the area just north of the park. The brick houses and cobblestone alleyways provide a glimpse of life in the 1880s and early 1900s when this area became a central hub for the German-American community. I don't think there are too many kid-friendly activities or museums nearby - but it makes a pleasant excursion if you're stuck at the Convention Center for a conference in downtown Columbus. Street parking looked a bit challenging. If Bus #5 is running slow on your return trip from the German Village back to the downtown area (it can be up to a 30 minute wait if you just missed the last bus), consider taking an Uber/Lyft taxi instead.