Special Events
Special Events
Cincinnati Museum Center celebrates curiosity, exploration and discovery throughout the community all year.
Come to one of our regular special events and take a deep dive into a fascinating regional history or science topic.
Upcoming Special Events
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Select Friday Evenings
Union Terminal
Cincinnati Museum Center is keeping the lights on a little later on select Fridays. From 5 to 8 p.m. the Museum of Natural History & Science and the Cincinnati History Museum will both remain open so you can visit some of your favorite exhibits on your time.
HERITAGE PROGRAMS
Select Dates
Union Terminal
For more than 30 years, the docents of Cincinnati Museum Center Heritage Programs have enjoyed sharing their passion for history through audio-visual presentations, walking and motor coach tours.
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Select Dates
Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio
Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio Classes
Some of the best conversations happen around food, and we know some great learning comes from food and cooking, too. Pull up a seat, roll up your sleeves and join us as we cook up the science, history, culture and community of food.
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Select Dates
Eulett Center, Edge of Appalachia Preserve
Eulett Center After Hours Series
Join The Edge of Appalachia Preserve for free public talks about interesting things in Adams County. Don’t go right home after work. Grab a friend and come to the museum’s Eulett Center and enjoy an hour of something new and interesting.
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Select Dates
Union Terminal
Interpreters from Cincinnati State’s Interpreter Training Program (ITP) will be partnering with Cincinnati Museum Center for ASL interpreted tours. Please join us if you are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or just interested in learning more sign language!
AFTER HOURS
Select Thursday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m.
Union Terminal
Join us after hours for a quarterly event series exclusively for our 21+ crowd. Explore a museum, enjoy themed food, drinks, and programming as you experience the museum in a whole new way. After Hours combines your childhood nostalgia with a sprinkle of A Night at the Museum.
SPECIAL EVENT
Friday, October 30 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
History in the Making Classroom, Union Terminal
Have you ever wanted to know the difference between moths and butterflies, or between bees and wasps? Are all bugs insects or is a bug a different thing entirely? How do you even identify insects anyway? And how do museums preserve all those cool insects in their collection? All these questions and more will be answered by one of Cincinnati's resident entomologists! Come learn how to identify insects, where to find them, how to preserve them for yourself and go home with several different specimens to display in your home. Bring your own pictures or insects to identify and pin as well if you have them.
All materials and supplies will be provided.
SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday, October 31 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Union Terminal
It's all treats and no tricks during a family-friendly day of spooky fun. Go mad in the lab with our scientists and dance the Monster Mash. Costumes encouraged!
SPECIAL EVENT
Friday, November 6, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Union Terminal
Join us for Layers of the Unknown and toast to mystery, inspiration and wonder during an adults-only night at the museum. We are excited to host an evening filled with light bites from local restaurants, creative cocktails, explosive programming and exclusive access to CMC’s world-class exhibits.
All proceeds from the event support the general operating of Cincinnati Museum Center.
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Select Dates at 7:30 p.m.
Rotunda, Union Terminal
One of Cincinnati’s best kept secrets, the 1929 Grand E.M. Skinner Symphonic Concert Organ sits quietly near the entrance to the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater for guests to admire. Many visitors walk by the console in its case and think it is simply a relic. Little do they know the magical music it can make!
The 1929 Grand E.M. Skinner Symphonic Concert Organ is the centerpiece for Music in the Museum, a concert series hosted three times a year at Cincinnati Museum Center. We look forward to sharing the glorious sounds of the organ with you at the Music in the Museum series.
HERITAGE PROGRAMS
Select Tuesday Evenings
Reakirt Auditorium, Union Terminal
History Sessions and Mini Tours
Hear stories about the glory days of Cincinnati's Entertainment History from the Frontier Days to the 20th Century. Cincinnati Heritage Programs will present talks on six consecutive Tuesday evenings in Reakirt Auditorium beginning at 7 p.m.
SPECIAL EVENT
Friday, October 23 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio, Union Terminal
250 Years of Suds: Cincinnati Beer Innovations and Heritage (21+)
Join us for an exciting journey through Cincinnati's Beer History. From early recipes to our beer barons and the lagering tunnel legacy they left behind. Engage with Aaron Deininger, Executive Director of our Brewing Heritage Tail; Bret Kollman-Baker, Cofounder and Head Brewer of Urban Artifact; and Alan Wight, Author of Cincinnati's Foodshed: An Art Atlas. The trio will lead an engaging discussion through the history of our City’s contributions to beer, brewing and American Culture.
SPECIAL EVENT
Thursday, October 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Reakirt Auditorium inside Union Terminal
Since 2017, an unruly gang of feral raconteurs and defrocked historians known as the Mixchevious Jongleurs have mounted regular assaults on the canned history foisted upon us by the minions of the myth-making machinery through an entertaining and often hilarious series called Stand-Up History. On this night they are taking their wit, jollity and the authentic inside dope on historical curiosities of Cincinnati and the universe.
SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday, April 25, 2026 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Union Terminal
Celebrate Earth Day with programs to help you protect, learn about and responsibly enjoy the natural world around you.
EDGE OF APPALACHIA PRESERVE SYSTEM
Select Dates
Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System
Calling all naturalists, teachers, science educators and nature enthusiasts! Join us for a new workshop series at The Edge of Appalachia Preserve System exploring how things in nature work, specifically life found in the eastern forest.
SPECIAL EVENT
Friday, January 23, 2026 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Union Terminal
Join us for a dome-cooked meal. Inspired by some of our favorite OMNIMAX® films, we’re curating themed three-course menus and guiding you with the tools and skills to cook through it together. It’s our immersive take on dinner and a movie.
SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday, August 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Union Terminal
Travel back in time at 1940s Day
Transport yourself to the era of big band music, chrome-fendered cars, pin curls and Zoot suits. 1940s Day is an immersive celebration of the pivotal decade, including the music, fashion, vehicles and people who shaped it.
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Select Dates from Noon to 5 p.m.
KidSPACE
Join us monthly as we help you find your inner artist! Aspiring Artists, supported by ArtsWave, connects guests with the talents, creativity and artistic processes of some of the city’s best local artists. As artists guide aspiring prodigies through different styles and mediums, guests will have an opportunity to hone or uncover their own styles and abilities.
SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday, January 17, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Union Terminal
Celebrate Black Empowerment Day
Gather together in a celebration of Black excellence and empowerment alongside community partners, performers, speakers, Black-owned businesses and more. This daylong event is an opportunity to share, connect, learn, grown and strengthen as we Celebrate Black Empowerment.
HERITAGE PROGRAMS
Select Dates in December
Union Terminal
Heritage Programs invites you to visit Union Terminal’s Tower A, the command center for the daily 216 trains that brought thousands of travelers safely in and out of Union Terminal. Today, the room overlooks the active intermodal yard which brings cargo containers to our region.
SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday, May 3, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Union Terminal
Join us as we explore all things 1950s at Union Terminal! Travel back in time to the era of sock hops, poodle skirts, greasers and muscle cars.
SPECIAL EVENT
Select Friday evenings
Union Terminal
Kick start your weekend with a night at the museum and see what happens after dark with extended hours for POMPEII: The Exhibition and the OMNIMAX® Theater.
SPECIAL EVENT SERIES
Weekends in October
Union Terminal
When October hits, your ghost or goblin is looking for any opportunity to show off their costume. We’re giving you a chance to scare up some fun this Halloween season. While there won’t be trick-or-treating, there will be plenty of entertainment throughout the museums and themed treats available to purchase at Cup & Pint and the Coffee Cart. From dancing the Monster Mash and costume parades to creepy crawlies and science experiments, Weekends at the BOO!seum are all treats and no tricks.
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