Columbus After Dark: Where to Go for Late-Night Fun

24-hour Bowling

Columbus Square Bowling Palace has been open all day, every day-save for Christmas Eve night-since developer William H. Hadler built the bowling alley in his Northeast shopping center in 1983. "We get blue collar, white collar, some families, people just out having a good time, the night owls," manager Jamie West says of late-night hours at the 64-lane alley. Bonus: Insomniacs can get three hours of unlimited bowling for $6 per person between2 and 8 a.m. palacelanes.com

Late-Night Laughs

Columbus has multiple venues where you can get your comedy fix. The beloved Wednesday open mic night at the now-shuttered Surly Girl Saloon (hosted by local comedy stalwart Sean Somerville) has moved down to Barrel on High. Campy burlesque takes center stage at Bossy Grrl's every Monday at 10 p.m., and open mic comedy stars throughout the week. And at Shadowbox Live, you'll find comedy shows in the Backstage Bistro-go Wednesday at 8 p.m. to see #Hashtag Improv. barrelonhigh.com, bossygrrlspinupjoint.com, shadowboxlive.org

COSI After Dark

This program, held on the first Thursday of every month, is for science geeks (or otherwise interested parties) of legal drinking age. Listen to lectures and explore the museum as you sip on local brews from the cash bar. Coming up are themes of Space (Sept. 3), Sci-Fi Science (Oct. 1) and Tasty Science (Nov. 5). Tickets are $14 in advance, $16 at the door and $10 for members. cosi.org

Midnight Movies

Late-night entertainment veteran Fritz the Nite Owl hosts midnight movies once a month at the Gateway Film Center, complete with vintage commercial breaks. Studio 35 regularly hosts the so-bad-it's-good Bad Movie Nite, and the Drexel Theatre in Bexley shows cult unintentional comedy "The Room" at midnight on the second Saturday of each month. gatewayfilmcenter.org, studio35.com, drexel.net