COSI is spending less time inside its signature downtown building and more time out in the community, as the science center leans into mobile programming while wrestling with a tight budget and fewer staff. This week the museum is rolling out its multiday COSI Science Festival across central Ohio neighborhoods and kicking off a national roadshow that brings hands-on STEM lessons directly into schools in other cities, all while trying to close a budget gap and steady operations.
Budget squeeze and staff cuts
In January COSI cut about 15% of its workforce as it tried to match expenses with attendance and revenue trends. Internal filings showed roughly $25.4 million in revenue against about $26.8 million in expenses for 2024, figures the local public radio station reported. COSI said it is offering severance and other supports to affected employees as it works to stabilize operations, according to WOSU.
HIVE roadshow and corporate partners
To take more science on the road, COSI has launched the Human Innovation Experience, or HIVE, a 20-city, two-year program that delivers interactive STEM programming to schools and community sites beyond Columbus. The program debuted this week in Newark with industry partners and, as reported by Axios, Boeing contributed about $550,000 to make that stop possible while students at Liberty Middle School rotated through career-exploration stations. Frederic Bertley, COSI's president and CEO, told Axios the initiative is "absolutely intentional" as the center looks to take science "outside the building."
Big Science Celebration anchors the festival
The COSI Science Festival, the center's largest annual event, wraps up with the free Big Science Celebration along the Scioto Riverfront. Festival programming ranges from "Be a Scientist" pop-ups and Creative Sparks sessions for kids to an Adult Science track and hands-on demos with local partners, according to the festival site COSI Science Festival.
Funding and the math
Taking science on tour is not cheap. COSI's operating budget pushed toward roughly $27 million in 2024, and Axios reports that philanthropy from corporate and individual contributors has declined. Bertley told Axios that ticket sales are "not optimal but improving" in 2026 and that layoffs have "stabilized things for now" as the museum leans on sponsorships and offsite programs to broaden its revenue mix.
What to watch
For COSI, the big question is whether festival crowds, sponsorship deals and a national roadshow can make up for shrinking donations without triggering more staffing cuts. The strategy is unfolding as other Ohio cultural nonprofits also trim staff and rethink programming, part of a wider nonprofit job crunch explored on WOSU.
