Things to Do in Cosi (Center of Science and Industry)

High-Wire Unicycle

You buckle in and pedal a single wheel 17 feet above the ground. Six hundred pounds of concrete counter your weight. Your knees wobble. The view down the central atrium flips your stomach. Kids point and shriek. Cable hums softly against your earbuds. Up there it's peaceful. Slow-motion tightrope with a harness.

Rat Basketball

Rescued lab rats dart across a pint-size court. They nose a foam ball through hoops. A trainer clicks a reward chip. Squeaks bounce off marble walls. Sweet alfalfa scent drifts from waist pouches. You laugh when they spin mid-court.

Planetarium Cosmic Concert

Lean back under the 60-foot dome. Orion-native indie tracks sync with nebula visuals. Bass rumbles through the bench. Upholstery smells sanitized. Shooting starss streak past as cymbals crash.

Progress Exhibit Time-Travel Carousel

Step from an 1898 kitchen into a 1962 living room in six paces. Floorboards creak differently under each era's shoes. Scent shifts from coal smoke to TV-dinner plastic. The rotary phone feels heavy. Lifting a dumbbell.

Ocean Touch Tank

Roll up your sleeve. Let epaulette sharks slide under your palm. Skin feels like 200-grit sandpaper. Water holds at 72°F. Briny scent reminds you you're landlocked in Ohio. Staff keep paper towels ready for the splash.

Scioto Mile: hotels in converted brick warehouses. Breakfast smells of roasted coffee drift from First Avenue cafés.

Arena District: walk to COSI in seven minutes. Bar crowds spill onto Nationwide Boulevard after hockey games.

German Village: brick streets and bookshops. Air is thick with yeasty Schmidt's pretzels at dusk.

Short North: art galleries above tattoo parlors. Weekend rates jump. Street parking frees up after 10pm.

University District: budget-friendly student inns. Expect bass thump from house parties until 2am.

Dublin suburb: chain-hotel clusters by the zoo. Twenty-minute drive. Quiet enough to hear crickets.