Add some STEAM to Your Next Event with These 6 Great Venues at COSI

Since it opened in 1964, COSI has been opening the minds of adults and children alike with creative exhibits that teach visitors about a variety of topics. But the 320,000-square-foot facility in Columbus offers more than interactive educational experiences. COSI’s desirable downtown location offers a vibrant setting for hosting events, and its selection of rentable rooms can be made to work for any occasion, from corporate meetings to festive gatherings. For those interested in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, COSI offers spaces that allow attendees to explore and engage in these topics, creating a memorable meeting experience.

Atrium
Located on the first floor, this space is frequently utilized for large-scale, after-hours events. With a three-story ceiling, the lobby is an ideal location for gatherings that require accommodations for many guests. The reception capacity can accommodate 700 people, making it one of the larger rental spaces at COSI. For events that require a banquet-style configuration, there can be 250 guests. This space offers a stage set-up as well, making it an excellent location for banquets and receptions.

Progress Classic Exhibit
At COSI, guests can travel to a Gilded Age-style American street with a modernized 1960s version of it just around the corner. Located on the second level, the Progress Exhibit is one of the classic COSI exhibits. “It ties in the old with the new as far as history and technology is concerned,” Corrine Zee, director of event sales at COSI says. “The sciences reach to the masses when it comes to age groups and all the different companies that we work with.” The exhibit can accommodate 150 guests for receptions and 80 for banquet-style, all while keeping the same accommodations as the more classic meeting areas.

Planetarium
Distinguished from any other event spot, the starry ambience of this space brings its own engaging elements that provide an awe-inspiring experience for meeting-goers at COSI. “I’ve done events where [people] just want to show their own video that they have and they utilize our AV team and our techs to be able to format it to a planetarium setting so that they can see this even more immersive film that’s not just on your average, everyday screen,” Zee says. Along with its specialized audio-visual accommodations, the Planetarium has its own lighting and sound system, making events held here into a true cinematic experience.

Oceans Classic Exhibit
Oceans is known for not only being a nostalgic exhibit at COSI, but it is also a fan favorite for its intentional design and bright colors. The grandiose setting features a larger-than-life statue of Poseidon and is surrounded by water throughout the exhibit. “A lot of folks who have been here for a while ... it brings back a nostalgic feeling of what that was to them,” Zee said. The space can hold 180 visitors and invites guests to interact with the exhibit through the water pump station or by climbing into the submarine for a look at an underwater experience.

American Museum of Natural History Dinosaur Exhibit
Taking up roughly one third of the first floor, the American Museum of Natural History Dinosaur Gallery gives guests an opportunity to see Mesozoic fossils up close. The area includes a full-size cast of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a model of a Oviraptor nest that guests can climb into. This space is exempt from catering accommodations, but guests are able to have food in different spaces before venturing into the exhibit with their group.

English Plaza
For an outdoor meeting option, book the English Plaza. This space is accentuated by the Columbus city skyline and the Scioto River and is ideal for larger gatherings. With a capacity size of 800 reception style and roughly 600 banquet style, this is the most spacious of outdoor options.

Educational Enhancements
Add some STEAM to your event with these great additions that will make your event nothing short of memorable.

Open to the public as well as for after-hours events, take a ride on the high wire unicycle. Glide across COSI’s atrium to experience the science center from 17 feet in the air.

COSI’s scavenger hunt options are customizable and are sure to engage the entire group while encouraging participation from the guests. Use this exciting team-building opportunity to follow clue and complete the hunt together.

The fan-favorite rat basketball is a popular enhancement for events, encouraging interation and even some friendly competition. Animal encounters at COSI can also add a little bit of wild side to your next event.

Other educational add-ons include the static electricity show, a hands-on lesson that shows participants an experiment on how static travels through the body, while the liquid nitrogen demonstration allows experimentation with the science behind the substance. “It’s just a way for them to experience the everyday education within their own event,” Zee said. “Something that they can see and be hands-on for.”

For more information about COSI and event rentals, visit cosi.org