The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology

This is a cute little museum featuring exhibits, shows, and interactive stations related to science, history, technology, and more. There is a very nice little planetarium (the Scidome), and viewing a show is included in the price of admission. We saw "From Earth to the Universe," which provided a crash course on astronomy throughout history and a look at our galaxy and the universe. The first floor of the space features a lot of interactive and hands-on activities, such as building a circuit, learning about your body, building and racing cars from objects like Legos, plus a 6-and-under play area. The hot shop is also located in this area, and it was very interesting to watch them work with the hot glass (and a very pleasant space to be in on such a cold day!) Upstairs is a wealth of local and regional historical information for Newark and Licking County and its citizens and discoveries. A giant mastadon skull greets you as you come up the stairs, as the Burning Tree Mastadon was found in the county. The Jerrie Mock exhibit, complete with a flight simulator and a replica of her airplane, the Spirit of Columbus, was extremely popular with the kids. (Jerrie Mock, a Newark native, was the first woman to fly solo around the world). A little historic village, complete with cash registers, scales, and games is also available to walk through on this level.Given the weather, we didn't spend as much time out in the courtyard as we probably would have otherwise, but we definitely made it over to the building housing the interurban railway car, the back end of which you can walk in and look around the interior of. There's also a really well done mural on the topic out by the parking lot. Staff was friendly and welcoming, and the museum was clean and comfortable. There is plentiful parking outside. A small gift shop, including items made in the hot shop, is available near the entrance.

Fun place if you have children. It's like a small Cosi. The cost is like Cosi also. If you don't have children it's not worth it. However during black history month they have some great free programs that are well worth it.

This place was SO COOL! I spent several years in Newark as a child in the 90s and boy do I wish we'd had this place back then. I absolutely loved the little historical village. My kids adored the planetarium and the train car outside. They had something for everyone here. Little engineers, biologists, historians, etc. I'm a little sad my kids are quickly growing too old for this, because I don't know that we'll ever have a chance to return.

A great mid-sized museum, bigger and better than I expected. We came for the Jerrie Mock display (first woman to fly around the world solo; she was from Newark.) It was great, with a partial replica of her plane, and many artifacts, maps, etc. The rest of the museum is chock-full of local history, interactive science exhibits for kids, and special exhibits (this time of pottery.) There are some science exhibits outside, an interurban rail car in a shelter, a glassworking shop, a small "village" inside, etc. Like COSI but smaller, and with more local history. We would be there all the time if we lived in Newark, and will bring Baby K. back when she is a bit older and we want to beat the crowds at COSI.

The wife and I decided ro scope out the place as a potential road trip with the grandkids Kaylee 8, and Dane 5. At first glance I knew right away they will love it. This olace is so interacrive it's crazy. I especially liked the glass blowing demonstration they had with Japanese artist Kazuki Takizawa, he was very personable with the crowd. He answered the few quesrions he was asked. Apparently he has a show on the 13th of April. The place over all is like a mini COSI the cost for admittance is 10$ and a AAA and senior discounts available I'm not sure about military discounts but I would think they do offer them.

A jewel in the middle of a small town!The Works provides family entertainment mixed with education!My two girls ages 6 and 8 loved the hands on science discoveries. We spent over and hour playing. We could have stayed longer and still would not have exhausted all the exhibits.We will make certain to have another day at the Works very soon!

I want to start off by saying I am NOT a science junkie...in fact I pretty much hate science. My brain just doesn't think that way. I have come to terms that I will never understand how anything works, why things freeze, blah blah blah, and I am 100% ok with that.I signed up to help out on my son's field trip not knowing that The Works was a science museum, or trust me I would not have volunteered, BUT I actually had a pretty good time. There were lots of things for kids of all ages to do and look at. On the 1st floor the kids enjoyed doing some exercised on the WII. They were doing yoga, aerobics and jogging together.They had a huge play area where kids do play kitchen, trains, read books, and a ton of other stuff.Upstairs the children liked to look at the old Indian artifacts and the rooms that showed what items people used to have in their household decades ago. They also put on a fabulous science experiment for the children that they all were fascinated with. They really taught them in a way they could understand.I don't know that I would go out of my way to come here but I did enjoy the experience.

Great spot to take the kids. They have a spot for little ones and older kids. Most of the upstairs is museum documenting local history. Done very well. My kids love to go there.

The Glass blowing is my favorite. Lots of hands on for kids (and adult). It is a birthday treat for my grand-kids. The History section is amazing. I am so glad i bought a membership. A once a month get away for me + one.