COSI

The Ocean exhibit is divided into two realms. Accessed via an underwater cave through a crashed shipwreck, the cavern path splits as guests pass to the right or left. The pathway to the right leads to a docked submarine laboratory where hands-on exhibits explore the realities of ocean research, submersibles, SCUBA, water pressure, and remote-operated vehicles. Lilypad Lab focuses on drainage basin and Central Ohio wildlife. The path forking left from the shipwreck leads to the Temple of Poseidon, an ancient stone chamber built around a 30-foot tall statue of Poseidon with waterfalls, fountains, and water jets. This second realm focuses not on the study of water but on the properties of water and the stories it inspires – laminar flow, whirlpools, erosion, water bells, and mythology.

Energy Explorers, which opened in 2013, allows visitors to choose an avatar character that follows the guest to the Home Zone, Transportation Zone, and Product Zone of a town, making decisions via computer kiosks to balance energy efficiency and cost.

The Space exhibit area features a replica space station pod to tour, a recreation of John Glenn's Friendship 7 spacecraft from the Mercury-Atlas 6, remote-operated vehicles, balance tests, and other hands-on experiments that deal with space flight trajectory, gravitational pull, and simulated rover landings. Space was originally located on Level 2 in its own enclosed atrium exhibit area, entered via a "black hole" spinning funhouse hallway meant to disorient guests. The exhibit itself – like Ocean or Adventure – was in a dark, immersive, themed area, stylized after the 1969 moon landing of Apollo 11. Under starry skies, guests interacted with "retro" stylized monitors and exhibits with a matching wood-panel / brushed metal motif that was reminiscent of the era and united in style. The exhibit even included a 1960s living room (including shag carpeting) where guests could watch the recorded landing.

When the south end of COSI's building was closed due to lost levies in 2004, the Space exhibit was cut off. As such, it was relocated from Level 2 to an empty gallery on Level 1. In 2012, that area underwent construction to become Energy Explorers, necessitating yet another location switch. Some of the Space exhibit's displays moved to the Mezzanine Level while much remained in storage. With the re-opening of COSI's Planetarium in November 2014, the location of Space on the Mezzanine leading toward the Planetarium's lobby was reinforced by the return and refurbishment of the rest of Space's exhibits. However, Space still remains the only one of COSI's seven learning worlds to not have its own dedicated, theatrical, immersive atrium, instead being located on the bright Mezzanine bridge, open to the Atrium and entryway. The original home of Space is now Gallery 3, available for traveling exhibits and special event rentals. Gallery 3 still contains the Galaxy Theater, fittingly still painted with murals of planets and stars leftover from its time as a live theater for Space.

The Progress exhibit (modeled after the Streets of Yesteryear exhibit at COSI's original location) traces the hopes and fears of a small town called Progress in 1898, just as electricity, horseless carriages, and canned food become available. The recreated town (specifically, the shops, homes, and restaurants at the corner of Hope Street and Fear Street) includes a telegraph office, livery, stable, grocer, apothecary, and clothiers. After visitors walk through Progress in 1898, they turn the corner enter the same intersection of the same town 64 years later in 1962, where a new set of hopes and fears have arisen.

In 1962, the town of Progress includes an appliance store, a working TV studio, a radio station (where the telegraph office was), department store, diner, and gas station (replacing the livery). At the exit, the exhibit challenges guests to consider how the streets of the village of Progress might look today, and to question why the concept of progress deserves as much weight in the scientific study as that of oceans, space, or energy.

The Gadgets exhibit area contains many classic science museum hands-on experiments, such as pulleys, wind tunnels, plasmaglobes, magnets, light bulbs, engines, and counterweights. As well, Gadgets contains the Gadgets Café, where families are seated and given a menu with quick science experiments to choose from. A take-apart menu allows visitors to disassemble donated phones, computers, clocks, and other electronic devices, which are recycled afterward.

Life explores humanity through three separate areas dedicated to the mind, body, and spirit. The Mind area contains optical illusions, physical illusions, an anechoic chamber, and a posable zoetrope. Spirit discusses the concept of birth and death and how human cultures understand them. Body features interactive health stations where visitors can record their weight, flexibility, and heart rate, then compare their statistics to that of COSI visitors and national averages. Life also contains the Labs in Life, three working medical research pods staffed by OSU Health & Medicine students and staff.

On November 19 of 2017, COSI, in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, opened a permanent Dinosaur Gallery. In addition, a traveling special exhibition gallery opened in Spring of 2018. Together, they occupy 22,000 square feet on the first floor.[8]

The building also contains an interactive "little kidspace" area designed for children up through first grade, the National Geographic Giant Screen Theater (the largest digital screen in Ohio), and an outdoor Big Science Park. On November 22, 2014, COSI reopened its 60-foot diameter, 220-seat Planetarium (Ohio's largest) with all new digital projection. In addition, there is a History of COSI exhibit.

The building also includes three large galleries for traveling exhibits and special event hosting, a Dive Theater in Ocean, the Galaxy Theater in Gallery 3 (its name a remnant of when Gallery 3 was once the Space exhibit), the Gadgets Stage, the Atomic Cafe, the Science2Go! retail store, and five meeting rooms utilizing refurbished areas within the former Central High School, which the new COSI location was built around.

On May 1-4, 2019, COSI, joined by Battelle, NASA, businesses, organizations, universities and STEM leaders, hosted over one hundred community events showcasing science across Central Ohio as part of the inaugural COSI Science Festival. The 2019 COSI Science Festival was among the largest science events in Ohio history, and included four days of events at central Ohio businesses, community centers, libraries, schools, and more. As part of the COSI Science Festival, COSI, Battelle, NASA, and other Central Ohio STEM leaders formed an unprecedented partnership that impacted 40,000 people. In May 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an all-digital COSI Science Festival garnered 118,990 total online views of 39 separate virtual science events.