The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

Three generations of Indianapolis residents have grown up with the Children's Museum. Founded in 1925, and established at its current location in the 1970s, Indy's favorite kids' spot is an oasis for the whole family.

The museum's 11 major galleries are easily accessible by wheelchair, making the 12 permanent exhibits, 2 traveling exhibits, planetarium and theater available to disabled and senior family members, as well.

The museum's collections focus around three general categories: the natural world, the cultural world and the American experience. Whatever the category, the draw of the Children's Museum is each exhibit's interactivity and playfulness. Kids and adults alike can climb through and under the nooks and crannies of certain displays, explore computer stations with games and puzzles based on the information found around the exhibit, and talk to paleontologists and other experts about the subjects that fascinate them.

The Natural World

• Dinosphere - What used to be the CineDome, a huge circular IMAX theater, has been converted into a dinosaur investigation. The domed screen is still in place, providing a very impressive place to stage sunsets, starry nights and even a thunderstorm over a battle between two T. Rexes and a Triceratops. Dinosphere gives dino-hunters the chance to dig for bones, make a dino nest, and even conduct a sniff test of prehistoric scents. Beware! One of the smells is a duckbill dinosaur. Ew.
• Playscape - This exhibit allows the museum's youngest patrons to explore the natural world in the way they love best - by playing in it. Preschoolers can manipulate sand, water, balls, toy flowers, blocks and more while parents and grandparents sit on the many benches and take a little break. Of course, the adults can play with the sand and water, too.
• ScienceWorks - The science gallery on the top floor of the museum features dozens of exhibits that allow visitors to test out scientific principles. Create a boat to sail along a waterway. Go underground to crawl through your backyard. Build an archway with foam to understand the building blocks of architecture.
• Biotech Learning Center - Focusing on plant biotechnology, this exhibit within the ScienceWorks gallery lets patrons discover the science behind a grilled cheese sandwich, and much more.
• Health House - Learn about healthy lifestyles for families and kids in this section of ScienceWorks.
• SpaceQuest Planetarium - Do some star-gazing in the middle of the day. The planetarium features programs about the Indiana night sky, Native American celestial legends, and the connections between winter holidays and astronomy.

The Cultural World

• Fireworks of Glass - Dale Chihuly is an artist in glass, and this is his largest permanent display. The twisting tower of rainbow-colored glass shapes stretches up through the atrium. Be sure to see the display from the lower level. You can lie back on a revolving chair and find shapes in the glassy ceiling.
• All Aboard - With the Reuben Wells engine and a couple of real passenger cars, hundreds of model trains, and a play train station, rail-lovers can get their fix.
• What if ...? - Though this exhibit begins with an underwater exploration and some very cool dinosaur storytelling, the bulk of the exhibit is about the mummy that is housed at the museum. Walk through part of a pyramid to discover the secrets of mummification, examine this particular mummy's sarcophagus and burial items, and get a peek at how contemporary scientists think she might have looked.
• infoZone - Sponsored by the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library, the infoZone is a library inside the museum where patrons can check out books and even play computer games.
• Passport to the World - Explore what life is like for boys and girls all over the world by seeing how they live, what they eat, what they wear, and how they celebrate special days. You can even get a glimpse of yourself in the traditional clothes of other lands.
• Story Avenue - Stories of the African American community from Indy's past and present are heart-warmingly shared through soft sculpture puppets in a neighborhood vignette that includes a barber shop, a home and a chapel. Hear tales of the Civil Rights Movement and the lives it touched, and be touched by these lives yourself.
• Carousel Wishes and Dreams - The turn of the 20^th century carousel is covered by a canopy of twinkling lights in this whimsical gallery. A town of playhouses and a maze of mirrors make this a delightful destination within the museum.
• Lily Theater - Offering historical and cultural plays that span the scope of the museum's collections, the theater also provides opportunities for patrons to see dance, music, jugglers and animal acts.

The American Experience

Items from this collection can be found throughout the museum, intermixed with the other collections.

Must See Icons

These items have been staples of the Children's Museum, some since the 1960s. When you come to museum, make sure you get to spend some time with these Indy traditions.

• Polar Bear
• Carousel
• Reuben Wells train engine
• Mastodon skeleton
• Water Clock
• SuperCroc

Whatever your interests, whatever your age, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis has something fun for you to see, do and experience.

Plan a Visit:

Children's Museum of Indianapolis

3000 N. Meridian St.

Indianapolis, IN 46208

317-334-3322

www.childrensmuseum.org