Nothing is better than spending time with my favorite family and having my kids experience our lively city. Saturday consisted of lunch at the North Market and a trip to COSI, and both were buzzing with people and activity. I was invited by COSI for a blogger event to check out their Mindbender Mansion exhibit and see the movie “Flight of the Butterflies.” Since we were on our way downtown and love ethnic food, the North Market was a perfect choice for eats.
A little word to the wise – don’t head downtown for lunch on a Saturday when there is an expo in town at the Columbus Convention Center, unless you can deal with crowds. Parking can be kind of hectic because the market lot fills up and meters are hard to come by. Lucky for us, a sweet gal let us know she was leaving a meter AND she left us over two and half hours. We paid it forward (good kharma…and, I’ve been accused of being nice). The North Market also had their coffee event going on, so it was a double whammy. BUT, I found that most people were kind and accommodating. 
We had small lines for food and easily found a place to sit. Sometimes I wish I had a great food idea for space at the North Market – it always has such positive energy and the food is good.
Our bellies were full and we headed off to COSI for a movie and Mindbender Mansion. I was nervous about watching “Flight of the Butterflies,” because my son does not like going to the movies. The screen scares him and he doesn’t like sitting in the dark for lengthy periods of time. He sat through it, and I am not surprised because it was lovely. The movie was about the migration patterns of monarch butterflies and the scientist who researched them for years. My girl’s school studies and tags monarchs and grows a butterfly garden, so she was totally into it. The movie was done in 3D, and many times I felt as if I could reach out and let a delicate butterfly land on my finger. And, don’t make fun, but I was fighting back tears at the end.
Onto exploring. We headed out to bend our minds, but first we needed to make a little stop animation film. If I wasn’t with them, I think hubby and the crew could have made little plastic astronauts dance on the moon for hours. After much prodding, I got them up to the second floor to test their mad math and puzzle skills. That is what Mindbender Mansion is all about – solving puzzles and brainteasers. We loved the challenge and competing with each other. COSI had it set up to do a series of challenges to accumulate passwords which earned a “Hall of Fame” certificate. There was also mazes for littles and bigs, all fun, interesting, and challenging. A great way to spend an afternoon with the people you love!
North Market
59 Spruce Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 463-9664
COSI
33 W. Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 228-2674
Plan your day:
- We didn’t get started until around 11 a.m., but get started earlier if you want to do more exploring at COSI. We had just enough time for the film, stop animation, and the Mindbender Mansion exhibit.
- COSI has a cafeteria with decent food choices or bring your own.
- If you are worried about crowds, try going on a weekday or check the Columbus Convention Center website and North Market’s site to see if they are hosting an event.
- Bring cash for parking.
- Get your parking ticket validated from a vendor in the North Market to save on parking.
- The North Market has ramps and elevators if you bring a stroller or have someone in a wheel chair.
**Disclosure: Special thanks to COSI for parking, admission, movie tickets, and goody bag. We had a great time!**
