Since 1975, this famous calf has been on display at the Ohio History Center. This calf was born in April of 1915 near Tipp City in Miami County. Unfortunately, it died at birth and was then prepared by a local taxidermist. You can see it on display in Gallery 3 along with other remnants of Ohio's past like Ohio's first Miss America's outfits.
Show kids what music was like before streaming! Our 1950s Jutebox sits the left of the entrance of our 1950s Building the American Dream Exhibit. While you can't pop in a dime in it today, you can see it along side more artifacts from the 1950s such as Roy Rogers toys and decorations, a bomb shelter hatch, 1950s television news and programs and a combination clothes and dishwasher!
Flippo the King of Clowns drew fans around their TV sets to giggle and sniggle at his on-air gags. Flippo debuted in 1953 on the afternoon children's show, Tip Top Bandwagon and his popularity soared during the 1970s run of The Early Show. You can see Flippo's trademark clown suit on display as well as his shoes and make up right outside of Gallery 2.
Leading right into the entrance of our 1950s Building the American Dream exhibit sits our gleaming bronze Chevrolet Bel Air. Chevrolet Bel Air made by General Motors in Norwood, Ohio, in 1957. Our Bel Air is attached to an airstream trailer, which was also made in Ohio. You can see this gas guzzler along with other artifacts from the 1950s such as Roy Rogers toys and decorations, a bomb shelter hatch, 1950s television news and programs and a combination clothes and dishwasher!
Advance tickets are available online but not required. Walk-up admission is available anytime during open hours at the Ohio History Center front desk. Members who wish to reserve tickets in advance can do so by calling 614-297-2300 during business hours.
Qualified families can now use their Ohio ACE funds to purchase general admission tickets to the Ohio History Center, Ohio History Connection Household level memberships and homeschool subscriptions for the Ohio as America curriculum. For more information, please visit aceohio.org. Note that the program will be ending in September 2025- all ACE-qualifying visits or purchases must occur by August 30, 2025 and all reimbursement submissions must be made by September 1, 2025.
Explore Ohio’s rich natural history through the themes of plants, animals, geology, geography and climate. In this exhibit you will find artefacts ranging from rocks and minerals to taxidermy mounts of locally extinct animals. Look for the massive Conway, a reconstructed Ice age mastodon skeleton, at the entrance of the exhibit!
View conserved battle flags carried by Ohioans during the Civil War and learn more about the conflict that split the country apart from 1861-1865. Artefacts you will also see in this exhibit include photographs, weapons and other items carried by soldiers during the war.
Fully immerse yourself in mid-century American life! 1950s – Building the American Dream features a fully furnished, reconstructed Lustron home that you can explore and investigate. When you are done exploring the Lustron house you can learn more about the 1950s through videos and panels featuring the recollections of Ohioans who grew up in the era.
Historic preservation is about protecting, promoting and using historic places. It's also about the power of place—places that matter because they help tell the story of our state and our nation, of who we are and where we come from. Learn the history of the preservation movement in the United States and Ohio, and how the State Historic Preservation Office works with people throughout our state to identify and protect Ohio’s historic places.
Learn more about some of Ohio’s extensive history in this varied gallery. Collections in Ohio Through Time include an open storage display of kitchenware items, early transportation and farming in the state, a World War I era collections display and Creative Ohio, an exhibit dedicated to four different Ohio artists.
Gallery 2 presents a stunning visual display of beautifully crafted furniture and unique pottery and glassware pieces. These artefacts are arranged in an open storage setting, which allows visitors to see more of the collection compared to a typical museum exhibit!
It's not an exhibit—it's an experiment! Traditional museum exhibits only display a small portion of a museum’s collection. In our Great Collections Experiment we're trying out new ways of displaying and sharing more of the amazing and sometimes quirky objects in our vast collection. While conventional exhibits usually tell a story about an event or a time period, this gallery focuses on displaying beautiful and intriguing objects and leave the storytelling up to you.
Discover some of the vast earthworks that American Indian people built 2,000 years ago. Our new exhibit, Indigenous Wonders of Our World—The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, explores eight ancient earthworks in Ohio that are Ohio's first World Heritage Sites on the United Nations’ World Heritage List, a list of the world’s greatest wonders.
In this interactive exhibit, learn how ancient American Indians employed astronomy and geometry to align the earthworks with cycles of the sun and moon, see 2,000-year old artifacts that suggest what people did at these sacred sites and leave with a new appreciation for eight extraordinary landmarks in our midst.
Download the Ohio History Center Map or click the dots on the graphic to explore what you can find at the Ohio History Center.
Our new exhibit, Indigenous Wonders of Our World, focus on Ohio's only UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.
See what's happening this weekend at the Ohio History Center!
Wondering about your family tree? Make an appointment for the research room, and learn more about our genealogy, print, audio and video resources.
Check out our resources for preserving homes and communities at our State Historic Preservation Office.
Hey, educators! Interested in bringing your class to the Ohio History Center or Ohio Village? Field trips to the Ohio History Center are offered year-round, with seasonal offerings for Ohio Village.
The Ohio History Connection and the media frequently take photos/videos of visitors which may be used by the Ohio History Connection and/or its designees in future promotional materials in any media (such as websites, brochures, flyers, blogs, and social media sites). If you are photographed, the photo may be used without your prior consent and without compensation. If you do not want your image used, please avoid the photographer or inform them that you do not wish to be photographed.
The Ohio History Connection is committed to providing our visitors, volunteers and staff an environment free from intimidation, harassment, and discrimination with respect to admission and access to our sites, programs and activities. The Ohio History Connection does not permit harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or partnership status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship status or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law. The Ohio History Connection is committed to maintaining a non-discriminatory environment free from intimidation, harassment or bias based on these grounds.
The Ohio History Connection welcomes all to discover Ohio’s stories. We strive to create a safe, accessible and friendly environment to explore our sites and collections. Our core value of inclusivity challenges us to constantly seek out and remove barriers to participation, empower underserved audiences and improve how we deliver our services. Learn more about our Accessibility efforts.
