The Grange Insurance Audubon Center offers fun events and activities for all ages to connect with nature. The Audubon Center is located in downtown Columbus, but you’ll feel like you are away from the city and immersed in nature along the Scioto River.
Grange Audubon Center offers STEAM-based programming for youth, birding and conservation experiences, as well as indoor and outdoor fun.
Upcoming Fun at Grange Insurance Audubon Center
Preschool Adventures
Each Thursday morning at 10:00 am kids enjoy nature-themed, read-alouds and maybe sing a song or two. Stay after to visit our ambassador animals, check out an adventure backpack or just enjoy our gardens and some outdoor play time in the surrounding Scioto Audubon Metro Park.
Registration is required, program is free.
Beginner Bird Hike
Most Saturday mornings through June (select Saturdays in Summer)
Take a guided hike with our Grange Insurance Audubon Center Educators or Columbus Audubon Volunteers to see what birds you can find in your Scioto Audubon Metro Park each Saturday at 10 am.
Guided hikes will give you the basics of birding and help you learn about areas in our park that are great for birdwatching! You can enjoy self-guided hikes in the park anytime during open hours.
So you want to be a beekeeper
Saturday August 10, 2024 from 11:30am-12:30pm
Learn from Nina Bagley who has been an urban beekeeper in Columbus, Ohio for 20 years. Nina worked with a master beekeeper for eight years, raising queens. She has several apiaries in the city, raising her own Queens, and has her own Ohio Queen Bee LLC business.
Nina has managed the Bee Pavilion at the Ohio State Fair for ten years, sponsored by the Ohio State Beekeepers Assoc. (OSBA). NIna also oversees the State House bees, the Franklin Park Conservatory bees, and the bee hives at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. She is currently the Franklin County Bee Inspector for Ohio.
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Current members are FREE, non-members are $10.00. Members, please make sure your membership is current.
Let’s Explore Native Plants
Saturday August 10, 2024 from 2:00p-3:30p
Come join Jared the Nature Guy once again at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center for a party… a Native Plant Party! Participants will play his card game of the same name, and then explore the grounds, finding native Ohio plants and meeting all the “party animals” they invite! Pollinators will be celebrated and participants will go home full of gratitude AND with proven ways to get others “partying” with native plants too!
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Current members are FREE, non-members are $10.00.
Columbus Audubon Monthly Program
Join Columbus Audubon each month for a free in-person series in partnership with and located at Grange Insurance Audubon Center. Events include speakers, conservation education and updates, prizes, and refreshments. Held of the 4th Tuesday of the month through May. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
Find future themes and register here.
Reserve a private playtime!
Small indoor play room with books, bird watching, costumes, climbing structure and cave.
Reserve your playtime! Have an adventure while engaging in imaginative play in the Grange Insurance Audubon Center Forest Room Playroom and Climbing Area with your family and/or playgroup. No more than 40 in the group (infants included).
Reservations are $25-$40. Birthday parties can add an additional party space with tables and chairs where you can have birthday treats and beverages for $100. See website for details and cancellation policies. Reserve your playtime here.
Grange Insurance Audubon Center
505 W Whittier St. Columbus OH 43215
614-545-5475
website | Facebook
Hours change seasonally; see details here.
Best of Columbus on the Cheap
Check out some of the most popular articles for Columbus on the CheapSubscribe to Columbus on the Cheap's email list
- Upcoming weekend events
- Nature walks and scenic hiking trails in Columbus
- Over 85 Indoor Play Places and Activities for kids around Columbus
- Huge List of Columbus Happy Hours
- Discounted and Free Museum Days in Columbus
- Over 20 Farmers Markets around Columbus
- Over 325 Central Ohio and Columbus Festivals
- Columbus Zoo Tickets, Discounts, and Free Days
- Kids Eat Free (or cheap) in Columbus
- Fun and Tasty Adventure Trails in Ohio
- 50+ Best Free and Cheap Date Ideas
- Fun Nights Out in Columbus
- Where to find the cheapest gas
- 50+ Best Free and Cheap Things to do today in Columbus
Past events at Grange; tba for 2024
Juneteenth/Summer Celebration at The Grange Insurance Audubon Center
Sunday, June 19, 2023 from 1 pm -7:30 pm
An entire day of nature, art, community, family, music & more!
First Friday’s Let’s Do Yoga Together
Start the evening with a yoga class intentionally welcoming of the LGBTQIA+ community and the people who support them. After yoga, join us for an optional bird walk around the center grounds and Scioto Audubon Metro Park.
The program will include 1 hour of yoga, led by Andy King, with the beautiful city skyline as a backdrop and a 45 minute bird walk by a Grange Insurance Audubon Center staff member or Columbus Audubon member, Sheila Fagan. Participants are asked to bring a mat or towel to use during the yoga class.
Use this registration for the following dates:
Registration is $5 per person. Email Allison Clark at allison.clark@audubon.org with registration questions. Check in at the front desk of the Grange Insurance Audubon Center starting at 6 pm the day of the event.
Fall Family Fest and Trunk or Tweet
Sunday, October 29, 2023 from 5-9pm
This FREE event will feature live entertainment/music, trunk or tweet, hay rides through the park, a self-guided scavenger hunt, Ohio Wildlife ambassador animals and more!
27th annual Great Backyard Bird Count
Saturday, February 17 at 10 am and 1 pm.
During each hike, participants will walk around the Scioto Audubon Metro Park to watch, learn about, and count all of the birds we can. After each hike, we will submit our count as a group using eBird.
Meet us inside the center at your selected hike time. Birders of all experience levels are welcome, and bringing binoculars is encouraged. If you don’t have binoculars, we have pairs that can be checked out with a valid ID at the center. Sign up here.
Birds, Brews, and Burgers
Friday, May 3, 2024 from 5:30 pm- 7:30 pm
COSI Science Festival event hosted by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. Take a bird walk throughout the Scioto Audubon Metro Park with our educators and learn how to use the Merlin Bird ID app to explore the world of birding!
After the bird hike, participate in a beer tasting experience sampling 5 Nocterra Brewing Company Beers and Hard Ciders while enjoying sliders. Bird trivia and games will also be featured. Participants must be 21+ years old.
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Current members are $30 each, non-members are $40 each.
Leave a Reply