Columbus’ children’s museum kidscommons is commemorating its 20th anniversary this month, planned this Friday with a night of family-friendly fun.
The 20th anniversary block party begins at 5:30 p.m. outside the kidscommons museum at 309 Washington St. and will last until 8 p.m. Admission is free for all families and museum entry is included as part of the celebration.
The kidscommons that kids know today opened to the public on Oct. 1, 2005, but its history goes back further than that. According to kidscommons Executive Director Whitney Hartwell, kidscommons began as a pilot museum in The Commons Centre in 1998 and was created by community members who wanted a place where kids could learn through play.
Following the overwhelming positive response of that space, kidscommons moved into its permanent home at 309 Washington St., which was five times bigger than its original location, Hartwell said. The current kidscommons location features three floors of interactive exhibits.
“Some of the signature exhibits are our ExploraHouse, which houses the giant toilet slide, Our House Japan, most recently we installed camp kidscommons,” Hartwell said. “We’ve evolved a lot of our programming, so the five minute programming, outreaches, collaborations with the school corporation and a lot of our community collaborations.”
According to kidscommons Marketing and Development Officer Taylen Lane, Friday’s celebration will feature live music from Grammy-winning Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, a family-friendly hip-hop artist, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on a kidscommons’ outdoor stage.
Then from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m., international STEM advocate Jay Flores will share his passion for making science exciting and accessible for kids in a presentation. Flores will also give away 250 free STEM kits to the first 250 children attending his program.
A community timeline exhibit, curated by Diane Robbins, Bonnie Boatright and Janice Montgomery, will showcase kidscommons two decades of history. Marilyn Brackney will lead a special art program, and Bridget Steele will lead a science program during the night, both of whom were educators at the original museum, Hartwell said.
Dozens of local nonprofits and organizations will be offering interactive activities and booths in a community partner fair, and Lemonade Bros, Dorothy’s Playhouse and Cookie Paradise will serve family-friendly refreshments, Lane said.
The night will also see appearances from children’s book mascots Clifford, Madeline and Skippyjon Jones. A fire truck, police car, ambulance and Toyota forklift will be stationed on Washington Street for families to explore for Touch-a-Truck opportunities.
Two hundred limited edition 3D printed ExploraHouse toilet key chains, created by Propeller, will be available by donation. Columbus Rocks Climbing and Fitness will also be accepting $1 donations for kids to climb on the rock wall, which has been closed since 2020. They will be running a campaign that night to reopen the rock wall permanently, Hartwell said.
“We are so excited to be celebrating 20 years of collaborations with our community,” Hartwell said. “This is a milestone for us and we’re excited to celebrate with the community… the children’s museum is built for the community by the community and so now in 2025, celebrating 20 years in the home downtown and two decades of sparking imagination, laughter in our community, we’re just so excited to be celebrating with all of you.”
