COSI

COSI
West facade and Dorrian Green
Map
Established1964 (1964)
LocationColumbus, Ohio
Coordinates39°57′34.880″N 83°0′24.811″W / 39.95968889°N 83.00689194°W / 39.95968889; -83.00689194
TypeScience museum
FounderSanford N. Hallock II
CEOFrederic Bertley
ChairpersonTom Dailey
Public transit accessLocal transit Central Ohio Transit Authority 10, 12
Bike transport CoGo
Websitewww.cosi.org

COSI (/ˈks/), officially the Center of Science and Industry, is a science museum and research center in Columbus, Ohio. COSI was opened to the public on 29 March 1964 and remained there for 35 years. In 1999, COSI was moved to a 320,000-square-foot (30,000 m2) facility, designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki along a bend in the Scioto River in the Franklinton neighborhood. COSI features more than 300 interactive exhibits throughout themed exhibition areas.[1]

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, COSI operated the largest outreach education program of any science museum in the United States. Anchored by COSI on Wheels – a whole-school outreach program traveling throughout Ohio and the surrounding Midwest – as well as local COSI on Wheels Workshops, Camp COSI on Wheels, and Interactive Videoconference programs reaching 350,000 learners each year outside of the museum at their peak.[2]

As a non-profit organization, COSI is supported by ticket sales, a network of community and statewide partnerships (including relationships with a variety of donors and sponsors), a volunteer program supported by 10,000 volunteers annually, and nearly 20,000 member households.[3] In 2008, COSI was named the #1 science center in the United States for families by Parent Magazine.[4] In 2020, it was named the #1 Science Museum in the United States by USA Today.[5]

  1. ^ "About - COSI". cosi.org. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "COSI - COSI". cosi.org. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Volunteer & Employment". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  4. ^ "10 Best Science Centers". Parents.
  5. ^ "Best Science Museum (2022) - USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards". 10Best. March 25, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2024.