Time to start your Family Friendly Summer Bucket List!

It’s almost that time — SUMMER BREAK! While I was a nanny, I LOVED starting our bucket list as soon as the weather started getting nice outside. Brainstorming with the kids all the adventures we were going to have was almost as fun as actually having the adventures. Plus, it got us through the last few weeks of school (that feel as if they will never end….)

Columbus has so much to do – we already know that, right? But, did you know — you can probably fill your ENTIRE summer up with FREE events & spots throughout the city? Yep, that’s right. FREE. With three girls the same age, that’s the price I am looking for. Ha.

While I may be a bit out of the loop with the newest events for the kiddos (I haven’t nannied in two years), these were some of my favorite things we did + a few new ideas I’ve come across.

1. My most favorite FREE activity my nanny kiddos and I used to do was visit our Metro Parks. Some weeks we went 2 to 3 times! Not only are not only beautiful to hike and picnic at, they offer a TON OF FREE events. Check back on May 1st for the list. You’ll find daily events ranging from story times to creek adventures to tram rides to puppet shows to learning all about the animals living in the parks.
2. Head to the Columbus Commons on Friday from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Give the carousel a whirl or hit the bounce houses free of charge. They’ve got something for kids of all ages with demonstrations, Imagination Playground, crafts, and games.  
3. Enjoy a day of climbing, pretending and touching different kinds of vehicles at one of the many touch-a-truck events.
4. Take advantage of one of the incredible storytimes the Columbus libraries puts on weekly. Make sure to check for special events, too!
5. Enjoy street vendors, food carts, live entertainment, kids’ activities, extended hours in the Uptown shops and much more during the fourth Friday of each month in Westerville.
6. Grab your passport and follow the path on your trail guide through Historic Dublin to 10 different businesses to find tiny magical fairy doors. Find the name of each resident fairy, fill in your passport and return your completed passport to the Dublin Visitor & Information Center (9 S. High St.) for a FREE Fairy Doors of Dublin t-shirt.
7. Take a guided tour of the Ohio Statehouse.
8. Get a group of friends together and take a filled trip to Amys Donuts. Here is our trip from a few years ago!
9. Park your blanket or a chair on the lawn and take in a FREE movie under the stars at Columbus Commons.
10. Grab your blankets and dancing shoes and get ready for a morning of fun music in Powell at Lolli-Pops. First (second in July) Monday of each month.
11. First Wednesday of each month, Worthington comes be alive with activity! Shops will stay open late, and there will be live entertainment on Dewey’s plaza + special themed activities.
    
12. Visit Graeter’s brand new Scoops & Chutes indoor playground. perfect for rainy/super hot days – open 7 days a week!
13. Visit one of the many Splash Pads we have in and around Columbus. I have a super old list (2016) here. Working on a new post with opening dates for 2019!
14. Enjoy great movies, food, and fun activities right on Capital’s front lawn during Bexley’s Main Event on Friday nights.
15. Kids can bowl FREE all summer long at select bowling alleys with Kids Bowl Free. Gahanna Lanes, HP Lanes, RollHouse Entertainment-Columbus and Sequoia Pro Bowl all participate in this program.
16. The last Saturday of every month, Gateway Film Center hosts “Hoot: Films, Music & More.” They show kid-friendly short films from around the world, paired with music by the Shazzbots.
17. Check out one of these shaded playgrounds listed by Columbus Mom Blog!
18. Explore and chat with farmers at the many different Farmers’ Markets in and around Columbus.
19. Join the Summer Reading Program at the library and attend a few of their events. Plus, if you finishing the program – you usually get great coupons for FREE activities around Columbus.
20. Get creative and make a craft at Lakesore Learning at Polaris on Saturdays.
21. Explore the streets of Delaware during First Friday.
22. Visit Columbus Museum of Art or Pizzuti Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art and discover new adventures – free for all every Sunday – includes admission to the Wonder Room and exhibitions in the JPMorgan Chase Center for Creativity.
23. Cartoon & Comic fan? The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum houses the world’s largest collection of materials related to cartoons and comics, including original art, books, magazines, journals, comic books, archival materials, and newspaper comic strip pages and clippings – free to explore!
24. Explore the Topiary Park, a seven-acre park in downtown – most famous for its topiary interpretation of Georges Seurat’s famous Post-Impressionist painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grand Jatte. 
25. Whether you are looking for a great location to have a picnic, bird watch, fish, revel in the beauty of the trees, learn about gardening, or just sit on a bench and watch the world go by, Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens is the place for you. Make sure to download the Walking Tour App before going.
26. Enjoy FREE activities that inspire kiddos to explore their world with KidX at Polaris. “X” marks the spot for them to have fun, playful and educational experiences on Fridays in July and August.
27. Spend your Thursday evenings with free live music and food trucks in Hiliard during Celebration at the Station.
28. Watch planes fly and explore the new space at the OSU Airport.
29. From May 24 – August 15, Gateway Film Center will host “From Book to Film.” The series will feature a movie inspired by a great book every day, all summer long. Admission is free with a library card (up to 4 admissions).
30. Check out the The Arne Slettebak Planetarium, located on the campus of the Ohio State University. They offer really cool shows (including Q&A), put on by  presented by students and faculty in OSU Department of Astronomy or the planetarium director. Advance reservation of seats through Eventbrite is strongly encouraged for guaranteed seating.
31. Explore the Highbanks Nature Center.
32. Read five books and become a part of the Bucketeer Bookworm program at Rusty Bucket. When they finish five books, they earn a complimentary kid’s meal.
33. Enjoy listening to nature-based stories being read-aloud in the beautiful library and bird viewing room at Grange Insurance Audubon Center at 10am on Thursday and Saturday morning. After the stories, your kiddos can romp and play in the Forest Room, where they can dress up like birds, play with puppets and climb into the tree tops of our forest.
34. Enjoy a ton if different hands-on art activities at the Art Festival in June.
35. Join the worlds largest treasure hunt and search for over 1,784 geocaches around Columbus.
36. Every Saturday, Barnes & Noble puts on a storytime and it includes a craft!
37. After storytime at the Polaris Barnes & Noble, take advantage of the Polaris mini splash pad, animal themed indoor playground or “The Yard” – a new community gathering place and play area! It features traditional family-friendly outdoor games like tetherball and cornhole while introducing a new game, soccer pool, which features a large pool table with soccer balls! 
38. Take a roadtrip to just outside of Dayton and visit the National Museum of the US Air Force.
39. Take advantage of these restaurants who offer a “Kids Eat Free” night.
40. Check out the Ohio Craft Museum.
41. Dino slide + a splash pad all in one spot? Yep, Veterans Park Spray & Play in Delaware has just that! This is my blog post from when it FIRST opened. I haven’t been since then – but, am excited to eventually take the girls!
42. Visit Gallant Farm, a representation of a Depression-era farm, in Troy Township. You’ll come across a farmhouse with period furnishings, a barn with historic 1890s timbers, a granary, machine shed and barnyard, demonstration crop fields, vegetable garden, orchard, and pond. 
43. Need an indoor day? Play at Central Park Playland – a small, indoor playground at Westerville Christian Church.
44. Splash around in the 15,000 square foot Scioto Mile Fountain.
45. Explore The Rooms at Easton – a mysterious exhibit produced by COSI that engages your senses and allows you to investigate intriguing science concepts. 
46. Head to Comfest the last weekend of June for KiDSART. They have face painting, T-shirt tie-dyeing, sidewalk chalk, toddler space, recycled artwork, streamer making, painting, and musical instrument making and a scavenger hunt. Plus, they have two full days of kid friendly performance acts!
47. The Naz Playplace in Grove City Church of the Nazarene has a pretty big indoor play area (Ages 4-11) – open everyday.
48. Enjoy an afternoon of music in Goodale Park on Sundays in July & August with their Goodale Park Music Series.
49. Take a stroll through the beautiful Park of Roses in Clintonville, which has over 12,000 roses! There is a playground across the parking lot, too! If you’re lucky, the pond will be filled with ducks. 🙂
50. Get a free introductory flight through the Young Eagles program. (Ages 8-17)
51. Explore rocks, minerals and fossils from Ohio and around the world at the Orton Geological Museum on The Ohio State University campus.
52. Sign-up your kiddos (5-8 years of age) for the Blue Jackets Learn to Play program. They provide first time participants free head-to-toe equipment, age appropriate instruction and certified coaching, led by Blue Jackets Alum Andrew Cassels, in a fun and safe atmosphere.
53. Head back to the 1880s at Slate Run Living Historical Farm. Experience first-hand what life was like on an Ohio farm. Stroll through the gardens, barns and farmhouse + visit with pigs, geese, turkeys, Percheron horses and other heirloom animals can be seen.
54. Older kids who love the theater, check out Actors’ Theater outdoor productions at Schiller Park in German Village, Thursday – Sunday.

Next up, I think I need to make a baby bucket list. My favorite thing is watching the girls discover new things daily. I can not wait to watch them explore the city my husband and I love so much!

P.S. – I hope you have the BEST summer, yet!