Birding, Adventures, and more at Grange Insurance Audubon Center

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.

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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

Every other Saturday, December 21-February 15
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.

Register at the link here.

Winter Solstice Celebration: A Free Event for the Whole Family

Saturday, December 21, 2024 from 5:30p-8pm

Enjoy an evening of seasonal activities including painting, guided lantern walks, poetry reading by the indoor fire, hot chocolate bar/cookies, live music by the Worthington Chamber Orchestra Quartet, and winter/nature themed crafts to make and take.

Event is free, but some activities require separate registration or fee. See details and register for event here. 

Buckeye Birding Series

November 9th, December 14th, January 11th, February 8th, March 8th, and April 12th 11:00am-12:30pm.

Anatomy & Plumage for Better Identification

Saturday, January 11, 2024 from 11 am – 12:30 pm.
Understanding anatomy and plumage is a useful skill for identifying birds. This class explores anatomical structures for which many birds are named (White-crowned Sparrow, Red-vented Bulbul, Red-naped Sapsucker, etc.). It also looks at the confusing world of plumages and how feathers may differentiate sexes, ages, and seasons.

Tickets are free for members; $10 for nonmembers. Register here. 

Cup Stacking Workshops with Elijah the Cup Guy

Saturday January 18 and Sunday February 16, 2024 from 2p-4p

Join Elijah The Cup Guy at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center and enter the world of cup stacking! Hear about Elijah’s journey into this unique medium and how the art has developed over the last 14 years and gone to higher and higher heights.

Through the ever-present thread of creativity, a simple household object takes on new forms by way of repetition, orientation, and incorporation of other elements (light, animation, audio, and more!). After some tips from a cup stacking expert, you’ll have the chance to experiment with stacking thousands of cups before ending with a group knockdown of a massive sculpture stacked by the Cup Guy himself. Hope to see you there!”

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.

Migrating Waterfowl & Winter Birds of NE Ohio

January 28, 2025. Doors Open 6:30 pm
Distinguished guest speaker Matt Valencic will discuss Migrating Waterfowl & Winter Birds of NE Ohio. Arrive at 6:30pm to participate in the bird quiz, draw a door prize ticket, and enjoy refreshments. Monthly Program begins at 7:00pm with a Conservation Spotlight by Joshua Bates who will discuss Tallgrass Prairie along the Olentangy River. The Featured Presentation will begin immediately following the Conservation Spotlight. Winners for the door prize and bird quiz will be announced after the presentations.

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.

Past events at Grange; tba for 2024

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.

Native Plant Backyard Garden Tour 2024

August 25, 2024 from 11am-2pm

Community members are opening up their native garden spaces for you all to visit and learn about, as well as connect with other local native plant gardeners and enthusiasts!

Touring participants will be able to visit 5 different local gardens on a come-and-go basis during the allotted timeframe. Details.

Monarch Watch

September 3, 10, 17, 2024 from 9 am – 11 am. The Monarch Watch Tagging Program is a large-scale community science project that was initiated in 1992 to help understand the dynamics of the monarch’s spectacular fall migration through mark and recapture.

Join them for capturing, tagging, and releasing monarch butterflies in Scioto Audubon Metro Park. Register here. 

Good Trees for Birds

September 14, 2024 at 11 am. While many non-native trees can beautify our landscape, and some may provide limited wildlife services, nothing compares to our native trees and shrubs when it comes to providing food and cover for our feathered friends. This program will identify native Ohio trees that are particularly attractive to local and migratory birds.

After a short indoor presentation, participants will visit some native trees of value to birds on the grounds of the Audubon Center. These trees will have new signage that identifies them and describes their benefits to birds. Registration. 

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!

More details here.