I received my undergrad from The Ohio State University and have fond memories of my time there, so I was excited when my buddy Rachel over at Hounds in the Kitchen suggested we take the kids down to Orton Hall to see the fossils. We ended up not only enjoying the fossils, but took the kids on a tour of the campus. It was a great outing on a sunny day in Central Ohio.
We parked in the Ohio Union South parking garage for $2/hour (they take cash and credit to pay) and were on our way. Orton Hall has always been on of my favorite campus buildings, mainly because of the folklore surrounding it. Rumor has it that Orton was into witchcraft, the dark kind, hence all the gargoyles and faces carved into the stone work around the building. Who really knows…but, the fossils are cool.
Before we went in, our seven little children were instructed not to touch anything and to keep their voices down. Afterall, this was classroom building and not a children’s museum. The children followed our directions, thankfully, and seemed to enjoy looking at dinosaur bones, rocks, and fossils. There were a couple of huge dino bones: a sloth-type creature (please don’t ask me for the scientific name), a T-Rex skull, and something with a large shell that resembled an enormous
turtle. Children can get up close and personal with these bones, which is part of the reason we had the talk about not touching *before* we went in.
The room itself was not huge, but jammed pack with information, fossils, displays, cool rocks, and even glow-in-the dark minerals that could be viewed behind closed curtains. Since it is a small area, I would not bring a huge group of people. There were four mommies and seven children in our group, and that was probably about enough people to keep hushed. The kids loved it for about twenty minutes, and then we were on our way.
We took them to Mirror Lake and then walked across campus behind Baker Systems and let them play on the numbers, and then onto Taste of Belgium for lunch at the Wexner Center. I was so impressed by how welcoming the Wexner Center was to us with our entourage of children. And, seriously, how do they make those waffles?? YUM.
It was a fun low-cost way to spend the morning with our kids.
The address for the parking garage at the Union is below, and here’s a map of the campus so you know where you are going: MAP. Maps are also posted all over campus to help guide you.
Parking Garage: Ohio Union South
Building 162
1759 N High St
Columbus, OH 43210
A few tips:
- We went on a Friday, which seemed to be a great day. Also, maybe think summer quarter when most of the students have gone home. 1.) students are rushing to class and they should have the right-of-way, and 2.) less crowded and you can let your child roam a bit more.
- Strollers would be okay, you just may need to take another entrance to the building. I am sure it is has a wheelchair entrance, I just didn’t see where it was. May want to leave the stroller outside or plan to wear your baby.
- Bring water and snacks with you. Little legs get tired trekking across campus.
Thanks for the shoutout even though I didn’t get to go with you that day.
I also have taken my Lil to the new library on campus. She loved all the glass stairs, looking through huge stacks of books, and the various art exhibits throughout the library. I wrote about it with a few pictures on Ohio Moms Blog – http://svmomblog.typepad.com/ohio_moms_blog/2010/05/take-your-preschooler-to-college.html