Explore Buckeye Roots at the Ohio History Center

Explore a 1950s house made of porcelain-enameled steel, see a massive mastodon skeleton, behold 160-year-old-plus battle flags and more at the Ohio History Center, located in Columbus.

“The Ohio History Connection’s mission is to spark discovery of Ohio stories. And with that, we have a tagline: We embrace the present, share the past and transform the future,” says Neil Thompson, marketing department manager for the Ohio History Connection. “The Ohio History Center is doing all those things.”

As the Ohio History Connection’s flagship museum, the Ohio History Center is housed in a five-story building that opened in 1970. It presents visitors with exhibits that tell the story of Ohio — from the works of ancient Indigenous people to its more recent history.

“We’re looking to tell the history of not only Columbus … but it’s to tell the story of the entire state,” Thompson says. “Everything that has to do with weaving together that tapestry of history.”

Encounter the Conway mastodon, which was discovered in 1887 in a swamp between Ohio’s Champaign and Clark counties. It introduces visitors to the “Nature of Ohio” exhibit — featuring taxidermy animals, natural features of Ohio and more.

“You can see animals that are native to the state of Ohio, animals that might not be prevalent here anymore or are very rare, like a black bear,” Thompson says.

The “Follow the Flag” exhibit, next door, displays historic flags owned by the Ohio National Guard.

“Some of them were actually battle flags that were carried with certain regiments as they progressed through the different theaters of the Civil War,” Thompson says.

The next exhibit, “1950s — Building the American Dream,” features a full prefabricated Lustron house, minus only the roof, that visitors can explore to understand more about life in Ohio during the era. See a corded rotary-style phone, record player and black-and-white TV.

“They built Lustron homes from 1947 to 1950, right here in Columbus,” Thompson says. “People can touch and interact with everything.”

Continue to “Indigenous Wonders of Our World: The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks” to learn more about massive, ancient earthworks built by Indigenous people who lived in Ohio 2,000 years ago. See scale models, artifacts, banners portraying walls of the earthworks, diagrams and depictions of the eight locations of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks — collectively Ohio’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“We also wanted to … tell people in this section, How were the earthworks built? And basically, it was by hand, one basketful of Earth at a time, with basic tools like picks, like sharpened sticks, maybe some clamshell hoes,” Thompson says.

Don’t miss the Ohio Village, a living history museum slated to re-open for a limited first look, after renovations, during the Ohio State Fair July 29 through Aug. 9 and for events in October and December. Ohio Village will open for its next full season in spring 2027.

Visiting the Ohio History Center allows you to add a stamp to the Ohio History Connection Passport, a program that guides visitors through all 58 Ohio History Connection sites and museums that tell the story of the Buckeye State. They receive a stamp or do a pencil rubbing for each visit. After they complete all site visits in each of the five regions, they can collect regional pins at checkpoint sites, such as Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve in Oregonia, Campus Martius Museum in Marietta and Schoenbrunn Village in New Philadelphia.

“History is an amazing thing,” Thompson says. “If we’re learning about where we’ve been, we can understand a little bit more about where we are right now. If we get those perspectives, then we understand where we’re going.”

800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, 614-297-2300, ohiohistory.org