Best Museum: COSI

When you take your kids to COSI, they probably have no idea they're in a museum. They just think it's a great place to play and learn new things.

From little tykes on up, the Broad Street science museum has great opportunities for hands-on science.

Little ones can have blast in "little kidspace," where they can fill and empty containers on the water table, dress up like doctors and examine x-rays, and construct a house with large blocks.

In the rest of the building, older kids can explore pulleys and other mechanical parts, climb into a submarine, and see and hear loud explosions.

Runners-up: Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio Historical Center