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.

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.

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.

A friend wanted to celebrate her birthday here taking ridiculous photos with friends after not…read morebeing with groups of people for the first few years of the Coronavirus pandemic. Not enough people RSVP'd for an actual party that night so we all bought our own tickets (adult tickets are $15 Thursdays, $25 other days) and met up there. Street parking is available but watch for signs to make sure you aren't parking somewhere that needs a pass. If you can't parallel park, maybe have someone drive who is comfortable doing it. In total, 10 people showed up including a child in a wheelchair. Our tickets were for an hour but I believe we took about 2 hours; there were maybe 4 other people we saw during that time so the owner didn't rush us out. The business has around a dozen themes and several walls with fun graphics and lights. It was easy to start our way in the back and work towards the front. Or you could start on the left or right and work your way around the U shape. It was a really fun way for us to be silly, take photos, and make good memories.

This place is so much fun!!! We took a group of 12 year olds on a Friday evening for some birthday…read morefun and they all thought it was so cool. My husband and I had fun too taking some pics. There are 20 areas plus they have some selfie lights around that you can also use. Parking is on the street but we didn't have any trouble finding spots. We reserved our tickets ahead of time by emailing with the business. Highly recommend!

We live in Pittsburgh, but love going to Columbus to visit its many family-friendly experiences…read more The Cosi is always on our list. Each of the attractions are so engaging and unique from one another. I love the town of Progress and the water play area with Poseidon. We ate at the cafeteria on our last visit and the food was better than expected. It's much better to go when it's not crowded as it can be a bit overwhelming when it's busy.

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.

What a great house and interesting tour. The tour guide had been there for almost 25 years and knew…read moreeverything there was to know about anything we asked. She even was giving us recent insights about some of the people who had been at the property they'd gotten from descendants. A great hour spent in Columbus. I hope to visit again. It sounds like they have special events throughout the year that honor birthdays and anniversaries and give you a little different flavor than the primary tour.

We stopped in during an open house and really enjoyed our visit! The staff was very friendly and…read moreknowledgeable and knew how to customize their information to their visitors. The house itself is in good condition and it was really neat to learn more about the family, who lived in the house for over 120 years, particularly the final Kelton to reside here, who had connections to the White House. The Kelton belongings make up the majority of what's on display, and the staff knows exactly which items were not part of the collection. It was neat to see the demonstrations on some of the antique items like music devices and clocks. This was a stop on the underground railroad, and there is a display and information available in the lower level. The back garden is lovely, and they had the carriage house all decked out for the holidays. Very neat!

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!

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!

What an AMAZING museum! Highly recommend going and be sure to set aside a good length of time,…read morebecause I wished I could have stayed longer - I was there for 2.5hrs and it was not enough. The exhibit was done very well: laid out in chronological order and provided great historical commentary. Would I go back? Yes!

AMAZING An incredible collection of aviation history…read more Definitely takes 4-6 hours to really take it all in. Highly recommend.

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.

Fantastic restoration, classic design by FLW. Excellent docent lead tour with only five of us which…read morefelt very personal. Highly recommend

This is a living museum. Hands on for sure. A gem of a home that has undergone a multimillion…read moredollar makeover to its original state. The building was once chopped up into several units after the original owners. Everything invites you to touch and feel unlike most Wright museums. The furniture is sparse and reproductions. The guide invites us to sit and feel the experience. We learned lots of insider info from our knowledgeable host. Go and see this living gem.