Resources

Below is a list of community resources in Knox County and the surrounding areas that include outings, activities, and services for families with children. It includes places to go and things to do that are local and a bit closer than Columbus! If you have a suggestion, please let us know!
Listing here does not mean that SPI endorses it.

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Outings

Mount Vernon City Parks:

• Riverside Park
• Phillips Park
• Hiawatha Park and Pool
• Ariel-Foundation Park
• "The Square" in Mount Vernon

Nature/Preserve Areas:

• Wolf Run
• Honey Run (Danville)
• Brown Family Environmental Center (Gambier)

• Ramser Arboretum
• Mohican State Forest

Trail Features:

• The bike trail, including The Train (Gambier)
• Playground on the trail (Howard)
• "Upside-down" tree on Kenyon Campus behind admissions

Enriching indoor spaces:

• Knox County Public Libraries
• The Works (Newark)
• ​The Little Buckeye Children's Museum (Mansfield)

​Skating Rinks

• Roller skating (Sunbury)
• Ice Skating (Newark)

Enrichment Activities 

Recreation, Sports, Camps:

• YMCA
• The Spotlight (dance/gymnastics)
• Bradford Academy of Dance
• 4-H
• Boy Scouts
• Girl Scouts
• Salvation Army programs
• Knox County Solar Balloon Eclipse Project
• TaVaci
• ​MTVarts productions
• Mohican School for the Outdoors
• T-Ball
• ​Soft ball
• ​Youth Tennis
• Young Writer workshops (Kenyon Review/Paragraphs Bookstore)
• Summer Camps at MVNU
• Summer Camp at Gambier Childcare Center
• Summer Camps from SPI

Services

Parks, Childcare, Preschool:

• Headstart
• Gambier Childcare Center
• Knox County ESC preschools
• Mount Vernon City Preschool at New Hope
• ​Ester Jetter Preschool at MVNU
• St. Vincent de Paul (preschool)
• Salvation Army (after school/ summer)
• MV City Parks Hiawatha Park (summer parks program includes free lunch; free lunch also at Riverside Park)

Child Friendly shopping

• Paragraphs books
• Colonial Books
• Kroger (1 free fruit for your child to eat during your trip)