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
Beginner Bird Hike
Every other Saturday, March 8 – May 31, 2025
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.
Bows For Birds
January 18-March 9, 2025
An outdoor winter challenge! Explore the Scioto Audubon Metro Park this winter while learning about and identifying six Ohio bird species.
Grab a scavenger hunt form inside Grange Insurance Audubon Center, find six handcrafted wooden birds throughout the park, then mark the location of each bird on your form and turn it back in for a chance to win a prize!
Buckeye Birding Series
November 9th, December 14th, January 11th, February 8th, March 8th, and April 12th 11:00am-12:30pm.
Saturday, February 8 from 11 am – 12:30 pm
Where and When to Look: Understanding Seasons, Habitats, and Diet
Saturday, March 8 from 11 am – 12:30 pm
Birding by Sound
Tickets are free for members; $10 for nonmembers. Register here.
Birds and Brews: Trivia Fundraiser
Saturday, March 22, 2025 from 6 pm – 8 pm at Nocterra Brewing Co. – Audubon, 516 Maier Pl
For the Birds! A fundraiser for Grange Insurance Audubon Center, sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited and Nocterra Audubon. With $15 ticket purchase, all attendees will receive one beer, a gift bag from Wild Birds Unlimited, a DIY birdhouse from Grange Insurance Audubon Center, and a chance to win more prizes!
There will be bird trivia, a bird ID quiz, and more fun-filled activities. REGISTRATION REQUIRED! There is a 40 person limit for this event. Please register here to reserve your ticket.
Relax. Paint. Reflect Spring Session
Saturdays. March 22nd, April 5th, May 3rd, 2025
A Monthly Mini Workshop: Painting Things in Nature. Designed for all skill levels, this session will focus on observing and capturing elements of the natural world such as flowers, leaves, landscapes, and wildlife.
Participants will leave with a completed painting and a deeper appreciation for nature’s artistry. Instructor MahLeah Cochran will guide you through your painting experience. All supplies are included. Guests can also sign up for Beginner Bird Walk held before this event to get inspiration for paintings.
Tickets are $20; purchase here.
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.
Women in Science
March 25, 2025. Doors Open 4 pm
Event starts with a special Vendor Market featuring local artists, writers, and entrepreneurs who will be showcasing work related to science, nature, and femininity.
Distinguished guest speaker Dr. Risa Pesapane will share insights about the changing landscape of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in the region and what this means for Ohio, particularly those who enjoy the outdoors. Starting at 6:30pm you can participate in the bird quiz, draw a door prize ticket, and enjoy refreshments.
The speakers will begin at 7:00pm with a Conservation Spotlight by Ningzhu Bai who will discuss the Ecological Interactions between Birds and Ticks. 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.
Greenspace in a Changing Climate
April 22, 2025. Doors open at 6:30 pm
Distinguished guest speaker Luke Messinger will discuss Greenspace in a Changing Climate. Arrive at 6:30pm to participate in the bird quiz, draw a door prize ticket, and enjoy refreshments.
Program begins at 7:00pm with a Conservation Spotlight by Tim Bischoff and Darlene Sillick. The Featured Presentation will begin immediately following the Conservation Spotlight. Winners for the door prize and bird quiz will be announced after the presentations.
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.
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Past events at Grange; tba for 2024
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.
Preschool Adventures
TBA 2025. 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.
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!
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.
28th annual Great Backyard Bird Count
Saturday, February 15 at 10 am
During the hike, participants will walk around the Scioto Audubon Metro Park to watch, learn about, and count all of the birds we can. All of the birds counted will be submitted on eBird to contribute to the GBBC!
Meet inside the center at 10am. 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.
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