Columbus has a lot of businesses with activities and classes that are geared towards older children but chances are you aren’t familiar with some of them. I’ve compiled a list of fun things for teens and tweens to do in Columbus. Out of the house adventures are good for everyone! *Many of these places require waivers and have special rules that need to be followed for minors. Be sure to visit each site directly for updated information and policies.*
Indoor Ideas for Teens and Tweens
- Go rock climbing in a wonderful indoor facility.
- Vertical Adventures
- Play Cbus in Worthington
- Test out some parkour or ninja warrior skills with a class or open gym time.
- Ninja Citi has 12 ninja courses, 5 warped walls, parkour area, rock wall, trampolines and an arcade.
- Movement Lab Ohio
- Open Gym times for youth and family open gym
- Happy Hour Open Gym times for teens and adults (13+)
Movement Lab Ohio
- Run around and play laser tag.
- Lazer Kraze located in Gahanna offersa additional things to do besides laser tag. Check out the specials at Lazer Kraze and our review.
- Ten Pin Alley (a two-story arena with an underwater theme.)
- Head to Dreamscape at Easton and step into a VR experience like no other! This is really cool!
- Play glow-in-the-dark miniature golf.
- Glow Putt in Gahanna is safari-themed.
- Miner 49er near Grandview resembles an old west mining town.
- Scene75 has a bit of everything including indoor mini-golf.
- Hit golf balls at Top Golf.
The bays are temperature controlled with an opening so the balls land outside. In cold weather, you will want to wear a jacket. Guests under 16, or under 18 by 9 p.m. must be supervised by an adult.- Prices increase throughout the day. For a limited time, Tuesdays are half price. Unlimited play is offered for $15 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – noon.
Top Golf
- Prices increase throughout the day. For a limited time, Tuesdays are half price. Unlimited play is offered for $15 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – noon.
- Go swimming.
Many community centers have day passes available to purchase.- The Worthington Community Center has a great pool with a lazy river, waterslide (smaller waterslide in the kiddie area) and lap pool. Be sure to check the open swim hours. In addition, there is open gym during certain hours and another room has ping pong tables available to use. The Westerville Community Center has a new pool with water slides, lazy river, and separate heated pool as well!
- Show off your artistic skills.
- There are lots of paint-your-own pottery places around Columbus. Here are a few suggestions: Color Me Mine in Dublin, Clay Cafe in Clintonville or Grandview and uPaint Pottery Studio in Polaris.
- Aprons and Easels in Hilliard and Marysville Art League have classes and events.
- Creative Art Bar in Hilliard offers walk-in and create times (check the calendar) and specialized crafting events. Be sure to check out the AR Workshop in Worthington as well for an unlimited amount of DIY projects.
- Art with Anna in Bexley offers a variety of options and so does Canvas Creations for You in Delaware.
- Jump around at a trampoline park.
- Big Bounce in Grove City offers Saturday Night Teen from 9 p.m. – 11 p.m.
- Get Air has an evening geared towards fun for the older crowd. Club Air is on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. – 11 p.m.
- Urban Air has a ropes course, climbing walls, battle beam and of course trampolines! Located in Dublin and Reynoldsburg.
- Rockin’ Jump in Westerville and a newer location in Dublin has a dodgeball area, slam dunk zone, ninja course, climbing wall and lots of jumping space.
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Rockin’ Jump
- Lace up the skates and hit the ice.
- Ohio Health Chiller has a few locations with public skate- Dublin, Easton, Lewis Center and the Ice Haus at Nationwide Arena.
- Check out the new outdoor ice rink near Dublin Bridge Park!
- Go bowling.
- During the summer months, be sure to sign up for the Kids Bowl Free program. It’s an awesome deal!
- There are lots of places to bowl around Columbus. Some of them are more old-school like Plain City Lanes (be sure to order the pizza or head next door to Der Dutchman for a pastry) and others are state of the art like Ten Pin Alley or Star Lanes and offer even more than bowling. AMF Sawmill is a nice traditional bowling alley.
- Head to Pins Mechanical (Easton, Dublin, and Downtown) for duck pin bowling! (There are time restrictions on when kids can be there, so double check the location.)
- Take a spin around the roller rink.
- Skate Zone 71 has lots of special events and specials and so does United Skates of America.
- Register for a Game Night at GameU (Virtual) in Dublin. Read more details about Minecraft Night from one of our contributors who took her son. There are also lots of after-school programs and camps at both the Dublin and Hilliard location that teach coding, game design, robotics and more.
- Learn AND have fun at either the Hilliard or Powell Code Ninja locations for a drop-in learning session. Drop the kids off at a Parent’s Night Out program (ages 7-14) or camp and enjoy some time to yourself.
- Get out of the house and play some board games.
- Kingmakers in the Short North is one option. Check out their FAQ page so you know what to expect before you go. Currently virtual board game experiences!
- At TableTop Game Cafe in Clintonville, games are free if you spend $6 or more on menu items. Kids under 13 are included with an adult.
- Head to an arcade.
- Dave & Buster’s offers many weekday specials including half-price gameday on Wednesday.
- 16-Bit Bar + Arcade is geared towards adults but children are allowed in the establishment until 8 p.m. with adult supervision. The Dublin location offers an indoor walkway between Pins Mechanical and 16-Bit Bar. There are some signs in the bathroom stalls that reference movies, so you may want to check those out before your kids read them.
- Rule 3 has an arcade and several other activities such as bowling, escape rooms and volleyball.
16 Bit Bar + Arcade in Dublin
- Throw axes at targets at Dueling Axes. Read their FAQ for rules, details and pricing for children.
- Practice your swing at a batting cage.
- Strike Zone (Canal Winchester)
- D-Bat Columbus (Gahanna)
- Mannino’s Grand Slam USA (Dublin)
- Attend a hockey game. It’s fun to be a fan in the stands at both the Blue Jackets and Ohio State games.
- Visit a museum.
- Columbus Museum of Art (free on Sundays!)
- COSI
- National Veterans Memorial and Museum (across the street from COSI).
- Ohio History Connection (there is a large indoor museum and seasonally the historic village is open outside)
- Zip around on a skateboard, bike, scooter or blades at Skate Naked.
- See the Ohio Roller Derby team in action at one of their home games.
- Make a customized scented candle at Penn & Beach Candle Co. (formerly The Candle Lab.)
- Try and get out in one of these escape rooms.
- Breakout Columbus (under 14 must be accompanied by a parent)
- eXcape Columbus (no age restriction, but it is recommended that those under 12 be in a privately reserved room)
- Pop into an Open Play session held at some gymnastics studios, gyms and rec centers. See our Open Gym and Open Play post for more details.
- See a movie.
- AMC Easton offers a dine-in option.
- Marcus Crosswoods Cinema offers money-saving movies such as $5 Movie Tuesdays and $6 Student Thursdays to students of all ages and facility that show ID. See the deals here: Super Saver Program
- Learn to cook.
- Take a class at Young Chefs Academy. (Read: 7 Mom-Approved Reasons to Send Your Child to Cooking Camp at Young Chefs Academy)
- Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table have occasional cooking classes for juniors in their stores.
- Decorate a custom cupcake or sugar cookie at the cupcake bar at Our CupCakery in Dublin. In addition, they offer classes and special events.
- Hang out in the teen lounge at the Dublin Rec Center. This space is for students in grades 6-12 and is free. Hours are Thursday and Friday from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 2-8 p.m.
- Put the pedal to the metal and race around at an indoor go-kart track.
- Buckeye Raceway has junior racing for kids 8 and older and over 48″ tall. To go on an adult kart you must be over 12 years of age and at least 56″ tall.
- Scene75 also offers an indoor track and lots of other attractions.
- Check out a free class offered at one of the branches of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Use the events tab on their website to filter the age group, location and date(s) of activities to find a class of interest. There are tons of options and they are FREE! Many of the libraries also have teen zones.
- Learn to sew at Sew to Speak in Worthington.
- Play with fire (safely) and take a class at Glass Axis.
- Stretch and let your mind relax with a yoga class.
- Yoga on High is a yoga studio that has classes for teens.
- The Yoga Loft has a tween and teen yoga series for ages 9-14.
