Arts Lovers
Morning: Start your day on the campus of the Ohio State University (www.osu.edu/visitors). Park in the Ohio Union South Garage (1759 N. High St.) and take a leisurely stroll across OSU's central quad, "The Oval," to Hopkins Hall. Inside, you'll find exhibitions by visiting artists and graduate students of the university's College of Art. Shows this fall include: "houseWARNING," featuring 21 German and American artists, through Oct. 7; and a solo exhibition, "Gene Friley: Garden Delights," Oct. 12-28. Free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 128 N. Oval Mall; (614) 292-5171.
Next, cross back over the Oval to the Wexner Center for the Arts. Before entering, pause to admire the building's modern architecture with its unconventional collection of angles, curves and grids in brick and glass. The Wexner Center is an internationally-recognized venue for presenting and supporting visual arts, as well as music, dance, theater, film and video. Performances and screenings take place throughout the year; listings can be found on the center's web site.
This fall, the Wex’s four galleries will be filled with two exhibitions. Abstract paintings by Mark Bradford, a MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, will be on view through Oct. 10. “Six Solos,” Nov. 9 through Feb. 13, will feature independent exhibitions of the work of six rising international artists, in a wide range of media, including LED lights, stainless steel and foam. Cost is $5. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 1871 N. High St., (614) 292-3535, www.wexarts.org.
Afternoon: After viewing the galleries, browse through the Wexner Center's bookstore and grab a bite to eat at the cafe. Or, cross High Street to South Campus Gateway (www. southcampusgateway.com), an urban neighborhood recently revitalized through a university and city partnership, and eat lunch at one of the local or chain restaurants.
Next, drive a mile or so south on High Street toward downtown. You'll know you've arrived in the Short North District (www.shortnorth.org) when you drive under the first of 17 metal arches that span the street. The Short North is home to small galleries, antique stores, funky shops, and trendy bars and restaurants. You can easily spend the afternoon on foot, dipping in and out of galleries and shops.
Evening: If you're staying late, eat dinner in the Short North before catching a show at one of Columbus' downtown theaters. Consider seeing a performance by the city's resident professional ballet company, BalletMet (www.balletmet.org), or professional orchestra, the Columbus Symphony (columbussymphony.com). CATCO, central Ohio's professional Equity theatre company, will start its season on Sept. 29 (catco.org). National shows are regularly presented in eight downtown theaters by the nonprofit arts promotion group CAPA (www.capa.com).
Sports
Enthusiasts
Morning: Golf lovers should start their day at the Jack Nicklaus Museum, on Ohio State's campus. The museum dedicates 24,000 square feet to celebrating the Columbus native's career as well as the wider history of golf. Numerous Nicklaus artifacts are on display, including clubs, trophies and scorecards, and visitors can wind their way through galleries about major championships, the Memorial Tournament, golf course design, and even a re-creation of part of the Nicklaus family home in Florida. Cost is $10. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; limited hours on home game days; 2355 Olentangy River Road; (614) 247-5959; www.nicklausmuseum.org.
After the museum, Buckeye fans should stop by the nearby Woody Hayes Athletic Center (2491 Olentangy River Road). Inside, members of the public can gawk at displays of Ohio State history, including Big Ten and national championship team displays, Heisman trophies and photos of All-Americans. (Free. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.)
Afternoon: For lunch, try either the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe at 1421 Olentangy River Road, (614) 291-CAFE, which is packed to the gills with Buckeye sports memorabilia, or the Varsity Club at 278 W. Lane Ave., (614) 299-6269, a student favorite, located near Ohio Stadium.
Afterwards, take a drive by "The Shoe" (411 Woody Hayes Drive) and pay homage to the structure that has housed Ohio State football fans since 1922. Private tours available; call (614) 292-7687.
Next, head to the Schottenstein Center, home to Ohio State men's and women's basketball and men's ice hockey teams. Prebook an hour-long tour of the facility and get an inside look at locker rooms, weight rooms and suites. With or without a tour, you can visit a Buckeye Hall of Fame display — artifacts include one of Archie Griffin's Heisman trophies — and admire some of artist Alexis Smith's massive terrazzo floorscapes, depicting hockey, basketball and baseball players. Call (614) 292-3231 to schedule a tour; cost is a minimum of $30, but groups of 15 or more can pay $2 a person; normal business hours; 555 Borror Drive, www.schottensteincenter.com.
Take a break from all the scarlet and gray fever and drive downtown to the city's Arena District (www.arenadistrict.com), home to Columbus' only professional sports team, the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets. If you're there on a late Friday afternoon, put on some skates yourself and glide around the Blue Jackets' practice facility, the Dispatch Ice Haus. Cost is $8; call (614) 246-3380 for schedule; 200 W. Nationwide Blvd.
Evening: Enjoy dinner at one of the many bars and restaurants in the Arena District, all within spitting distance of Nationwide Arena and the city's new minor league baseball stadium, Huntington Park. Visit on a game night and join the crowds in the arena. The Blue Jackets' first home game is Sept. 22, but the season carries on through April. 200 W. Nationwide Blvd.; (800) NHS-COLS; bluejackets.nhl.com
Families
Morning: Start your day of fun in Columbus at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell. This 90-acre zoo is home to more than 700 wildlife species housed in seven regions, including an African Forest, Australia and the Islands of Southeast Asia. Watch polar bears and Alaskan brown bears swim, as well as the activities of four arctic foxes, in the new Polar Frontier region that opened in May. The zoo also recently welcomed four young manatees, rescued from the wild. A highlight of any visit is looking for "Colo," who was born at the zoo in 1956 and was the first great ape born in captivity. Cost is $7.99 for ages 2-9 and ages 60 and older, $12.99 for ages 10-59. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. September and October, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November and December. 4850 West Powell Road, Powell; (614) 645-3550, www.columbuszoo.org.
Afternoon: Grab lunch at one of the numerous zoo eateries and pile into the car to head toward downtown Columbus. COSI, Columbus's science center for kids, will be the afternoon's big draw, but consider a couple of side trips along the way.
Kids will enjoy letting off some steam while discovering the 54 topiary people that populate the Topiary Park. They may not be familiar with the artist George Seurat, whose painting "A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte" is the park's inspiration, but children and adults will likely never forget wandering among the super-sized shrubbery, not to mention seeing a pond with eight topiary boats. Free. Open sunrise to sunset. 480 East Town St., www.topiarygarden.org.
Columbus has given a nod to its namesake, Christopher Columbus, by mooring a replica of his flagship, the Santa Maria, in the Scioto River. Give the kids a living history lesson by taking a 45-minute tour of the ship. In full view of downtown sky scrapers, the tours aim to give kids a sense of what life was like for a sailor on the 15th century ship. Cost is $2.50 for ages 5-17, $4 for adults. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Oct. 24; Battelle Riverfront Park at 25 Marconi Blvd.; (614) 645-0351, www.santamaria.org.
Spend the rest of your afternoon exploring the more than 300 interactive exhibitions at COSI science center. In 2008, Parents Magazine named COSI the No. 1 science center in the country for families. See if your kids agree after they’ve watched trained rats play basketball, taken a spin on the country’s only high-wire unicycle, and had their hair stand up on end at an Electrostatic Generator Show. On Oct. 2, “Adventure: In the Valley of Unknown,” a 10,000-square-foot exhibition that sets visitors to work solving the mystery of a remarkable archaeological find, will re-open. If the kids get tired, take a break by watching one of the adventurous films presented on Ohio’s largest movie screen. Cost is $8.75 for ages 2-12 and ages 60 and older; $13.75 for ages 13-59. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sundays; 333 W. Broad St.; (888) 819-2674, www.cosi.org.
Evening: If you've managed to fit in all of the activities above, it's probably best to drive back to Dayton and put the kids to bed. But, if you'd like to grab dinner on the way out of town, be sure to visit www.kidseatout.com first. It's a central Ohio website that offers kid-friendly suggestions for dinner.
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