Midwest · Ohio

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library, Columbus

Comics & Manga Half day difficulty: Easy with kids: yes

At Ohio State University, in Columbus, the world's largest collection of comic strips and cartoons is kept: millions of originals, from Snoopy to Calvin and Hobbes. Its exhibition halls rotate drawing treasures rarely seen in public, with free admission.

The pop wink

Here lives the largest collection of comic art on the planet: originals of strips your kids have seen in newspapers and books, drawn in pencil and ink by their authors' own hands.

With kids

See up close the original strips hand-drawn by their authors
Compare the pencil sketch with the final inked panel
Look for the comic-strip characters they already know from books
Discover how people drew before computers existed

Accessibility: 6+ to enjoy the panels; free admission

With family

Walk the free exhibition that changes every few months
Learn how a newspaper comic strip is produced day by day
Talk about the favorite comics of parents and kids alike
Stroll afterward through the huge, tree-lined university campus

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