Indianapolis Children's Museum

Indianapolis Children's Museum
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/
3000 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
(317) 334-3322

In the world of Children's Museums, Indianapolis has a reputation that is second to none. I have known about the Indianapolis Children's Museum since my early involvement with the Peoria PlayHouse Project, but never had a reason to visit. On a whim, Brett and I decided late Thursday night that we wanted to take a weekend road trip to Indy to visit the world-renowned Indianapolis Children's Museum. We are so happy that we did.

Pulling into the museum is an experience in an of itself with a five story dinosaur that scales the side of the building in an attempt to get inside. It is impressive and engaging to say the least. As soon as Lydia saw it from the car, she started clapping and repeating "yay! Yay! yay!" over and over. There was ample parking, both in an adjacent lot and parking deck that are offered free of charge to guests. The only downside of the entire experience was the $16.50 that adults are charged for admission. Lydia was still free, but once she turns 2, the fee is a little over $11.00. I will say that although the admission fee was a little more than we would have liked to have paid, it was well worth the money.

The Five Floors of exhibit space offered galleries to fit all learning styles, needs, and interests. We began our museum experience at about 11:30 with the dinosaur area. There was ample activities going on in each of the galleries, with museum staff providing educational programming. We were able to witness one of these experiences in the space early on. We continued our journey through a train exhibit that featured a full size caboose and several model trains. Lydia loved watching the "Chooo Choos" go around and around on the track. A highlight was being able to go "inside" the train track in an observation bubble with daddy to see the trains up close.
The other exhibits that we enjoyed included the wishes and dreams gallery, in which we got to ride on a carousel. We also liked to walk the runway at the Barbie exhibit, and play with Dora and Diego in their adventure exhibit. Lydia also loved the scienceworks exhibit in which she was able to pretend to be a worm and burrow underground only to come down a giant slide with daddy. This was a very cool gallery, but Lydia was a little small for many of the experiences, so there will be lots of things for her to "grow into." Her favorite gallery was the Preschool gallery. This gallery was home to a "Lydia-Sized" Sand table, water table, coloring station, and gym mats. It was by far the most engaging for her. We probably could have spent all 5 1/2 hours in that space.



All in all, We had a fantastic time. Lydia was a trooper and didn't nap the entire afternoon, although she fell asleep in the car before we even left the parking deck.

Toddler Fun Factor: 5/5: The Indianapolis Children's Museum was worth the drive. There were some exhibits that were too 'mature' for Lydia, but there were ample opportunities and experiences that were developmentally appropriate for her. She was able to get something out of every gallery, although some were more geared for her age group then others. I loved knowing that we will be able to visit this museum for years to come and she will get something different and new out of it each time. There was a specific gallery designed for toddlers.

Parent Pleasers: 4.5/5: There was a fantastic food court with toddler specific meals (mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, mandarin oranges) and some adult food. There were ample bathroom facilities. The museum gift shop was immense and had a large selection. There was appropriate parking. The only downsides that we experienced were the cost of admission and the neighborhood immediately surrounding the museum that we ended up driving through on our way out. I wouldn't want to be there after dark.

Carseat Curb Appeal: 5/5: Lydia was geared up and ready to go after pulling up and seeing the giant dinosaurs. She was thrilled to run through the skywalk and see the giant ticketing area with a robot in the center.

Overall Impact: 5/5 This was a impromptu weekend get-a-way that I am glad we took and hope to repeat in future years. It was well worth our drive, in particular since we are planning on pairing the trip with the zoo. It is marketed at the world's largest children's museum and worth the trip!