If the kids are craving a cold treat, take them to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (714 N. High St.) at the North Market (59 Spruce St.). While you browse for fresh-picked produce, they can choose from a variety of flavors that change with the seasons. Local bakers, butchers, chocolatiers, farmers, fishmongers and florists sell their wares at the indoor market Tues.-Sat. 9-7 and Sun.-Mon. 10-5.
Even if your little ones aren't familiar with Georges Seurat's pointillism masterpiece “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” that inspired The Topiary Park (480 E. Town St.), they will certainly think the many topiaries representing the figures from the painting are pretty cool. Ducks—always popular with kids—hang out by the water. This a great picnic locale.
At the Ohio State Fair , held from late July through early August at Ohio Expo Center (717 E. 17th Ave.), kids will be amazed after touching exotic animals at the free petting zoo and riding with their parents on Kiddieland rides. See agriculture and creative arts exhibits, witness livestock competitions, ride a few of the more than 70 thrilling midway rides and work up an appetite for some of the hundreds of fair foods, including 30 types of food on a stick.
Teens
Teens will be thrilled zipping around town on a Segway tour while learning about many of the city’s popular sites. Guides at SegAway Tours of Columbus (400 N. High St.) provide instructional/practice sessions before leading a guided tour.Easton Town Center (160 Easton Station) is an open-air shopping mall with nearly 200 dining, shopping and entertainment venues, including a 30-screen AMC & IMAX theater. After shopping at favorites like American Eagle, Hollister and PacSun, nosh on a burger and fries at Flip Side (3945 Easton Station.).
Have a couple hours? Try one of the several zipline experiences offered at ZipZone Canopy Tours (7925 N. High St.). You'll soar above 20 acres of central Ohio's forests.
Graeter’s Ice Cream (2555 Bethel Rd.) boasts that it has the world’s best ice cream; fussy foodies and persnickety teens will agree. The craft ice cream and gelato will tempt your taste buds. This dense ice cream is created in spinning French Pot freezers.
Can’t wait for St. Patrick’s Day? Teens can don green garb and head to Dublin for the Dublin Irish Festival (5200 Emerald Pkwy.) held in August; it offers more than 20 activities, games and inflatables as well as Highland sports competitions and energetic Celtic dancing and music. Fun contests include the most freckles, greenest eyes and reddest hair.
All Ages
Demonstrations, exhibits, movies, a planetarium and live shows at COSI Columbus (333 W. Broad St.) teach science concepts and take the mystery out of technological advancements. Build a bridge, control waves in a tank, dissect computers, lift a car using a lever, maneuver a rover on a Mars-like landscape and split a laser beam. Daredevils can ride a unicycle on a wire suspended 17 feet above ground.German Village (588 S. 3rd St.) has enough small-town charm to captivate the entire family. Take a self-guiding tour past parks, residences, restaurants and shops along the red-brick paved, tree-lined streets and you might glimpse fossils in the limestone stoops and foundations. Dine on hearty German fare at Schmidt’s Sausage Haus (240 E. Kossuth St.).