The Children's Museum of Indianapolis facts for kids
.jpg){kind=logo} |
|
Welcome Center and Brachiosaurus, installed in 2009
|
|
| Established | 1925 |
|---|---|
| Location | 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46208-4716, U.S. |
| Type | Children's museum |
| Visitors | 1.3 million (2019) |
| Public transit access |   Red Line, 18, 28, 30 |
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the biggest children's museum in the world! It's located in Indianapolis, Indiana, at 3000 North Meridian Street. This amazing museum is huge, covering about 472,900 square feet (43,930 square meters). It has five floors filled with exciting exhibits.
More than one million people visit the museum every year. It has a collection of over 130,000 items. These items are split into two main groups: Arts & Humanities and Natural Sciences. You can see cool things like dinosaur habitats, a fun carousel, and even a real steam locomotive. One of its most famous features is the beautiful glass sculpture called Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling.
The museum is all about families learning together. Most exhibits are interactive, which means you can touch, play, and explore! It's designed for children and their families to have a hands-on experience.
The museum was started in 1925 by Mary Stewart Carey. She got help from leaders in Indianapolis. It's the fourth-oldest children's museum in the world! The museum moved to its current spot in 1946. The building you see today was built in 1976 and has grown a lot since then. The museum hosts many activities each year, like plays, classes, and special traveling exhibits.
Museum History
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis began in 1925. A wealthy woman named Mary Stewart Carey founded it. She got the idea after visiting another children's museum in 1924. Mary Carey worked with local leaders and teachers to open the museum.
It first opened in a small carriage house. School children helped by creating and donating the first exhibits. Mary Carey wanted a bigger space. In 1926, the museum moved to her own large house on Meridian Street. That same year, Arthur Carr became the first curator. He organized the exhibits and managed the museum. Early exhibits included marine life, Japanese culture, and nature.
Growing the Museum
After Mary Carey passed away in 1938, Arthur Carr became the director. The museum started offering tours for schools. They also created traveling exhibits that went to different schools. In 1942, Grace Golden became the new director. She helped the museum get money from big groups like the Lilly Endowment. This money allowed the museum to buy its own building.
Grace Golden also brought in new types of exhibits. She partnered with other museums to borrow items. For example, they showed Native American artifacts and dinosaur skeletons. A real mummy named Wenuhotep came to the museum in 1959. A log cabin from the 1800s was added in 1961. New exhibits focused on pioneer life and natural science.
Modernizing the Museum
Mildred Compton became director in 1964. She helped the museum become financially stable. She started a fund to ensure the museum would always have money. She also worked to get the museum officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums. New exhibits like the Physical Science Gallery and a model train gallery were added.
In 1973, the museum raised $8.7 million. This money helped build the current museum building. The new building opened in 1976. It had modern storage, classrooms, a theater, and much more exhibit space. New attractions like a carousel and a mastodon skeleton were added for the grand opening.
Peter Sterling took over as director in 1982. He continued to expand the museum. A restaurant and outdoor garden were added. In 1984, a huge collection of 50,000 folk art items was donated. This almost doubled the museum's collection! The museum also added a welcome center, a planetarium, and more exhibit halls.
In 1996, a large theater called the CineDome was built. Later, in 2004, the CineDome became the amazing Dinosphere exhibit. The museum continued to grow, reaching 472,900 square feet in 2009. In 2021, Jennifer Pace Robinson became the museum's new president and CEO.
How the Museum Works
The museum welcomes over one million visitors each year. Many school groups visit, bringing over 83,000 students in 2008. The museum has about 400 full-time and part-time employees. Plus, 1,500 volunteers help out every year!
The main building has five floors of exhibits. There are also other areas like Dinosphere and an outdoor sports park. The museum has a collection of over 130,000 items. These are divided into Arts & Humanities and Natural Science.
The museum always works to create new and exciting exhibits. They talk to experts to get ideas for new displays. The Children's Museum is known as a leader in its field. Both Child and Parents magazines have called it the best children's museum in the United States! It's known for being a "gold standard" for museums for kids.
The museum even has special QR codes you can scan with your phone. These codes link to Wikipedia articles about the exhibits. This lets you learn even more in your own language!
Exploring the Museum's Levels
The museum has a giant spiral ramp in the middle. This ramp lets everyone, including those with strollers or wheelchairs, easily reach all five levels. In 2006, artist Dale Chihuly created a huge glass sculpture here. It's called Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling. You can also see an exhibit about how Chihuly makes his glass art.
Lower Level Adventures
The "National Geographic: Treasures of the Earth" exhibit is on the Lower Level. It opened in 2011 and has three cool areas. One area shows ancient Egyptian items in a copy of a tomb. Another area lets you pretend to be an archaeologist. You can dig for items related to the first Emperor of China! The third area explores underwater archaeology. You can see cannons from Captain Kidd's shipwreck. There's even a working lab.
The "Beyond Spaceship Earth" gallery opened in 2016. It teaches you about technology and life on NASA's space stations. It also has a special wall honoring Indiana astronauts.
The "All Aboard!" Gallery features a huge 11,000-pound (5,000 kg) steam engine. This engine was designed in 1868 to climb a steep hill in Indiana. It's connected to a train car in the exhibit. The Lilly Theater is also on this level.
Main Floor Fun
On the main floor, you'll find the Welcome Center. Outside, you'll see large sculptures of Brachiosaur dinosaurs climbing into the building! These dinosaurs look very real. Outside, there's also the Seven Wonders of the World garden.
A cool feature on the ground level is North America's largest water clock. It was made by a French artist named Bernard Gitton. The main floor also has the museum's toy store and a food court.
Second Floor Discoveries
The museum has a branch of the Indianapolis Public Library called the InfoZone. It's on the second floor, connected to the skywalk from the parking garage.
The second level often hosts special temporary exhibits. One semi-permanent exhibit is the "Take Me There" gallery. This exhibit changes every few years to feature a different culture. It has shown cultures from Egypt, China, and Greece.
"Stories from our Community" is another display on this floor. It shares stories from people in the community. You can listen to or read these stories on touch-screen displays.
Third Floor Explorations
The third level has "The Power of Children: Making a Difference". This important exhibit tells the stories of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, Ryan White, and Malala Yousafzai. These children made a big difference in the world. The exhibit helps you understand prejudice and discrimination. It recreates places where these children lived. You can learn from actors, see real items, and interact with the displays.
Also on the third floor is Playscape. This is a special play area for children aged 5 and younger. It was updated in 2013. Playscape has a big sandbox, a water play area, and a section just for babies and toddlers.
Fourth Floor Wonders
One of the museum's most loved attractions is the Broad Ripple Park Carousel. It's in the Carousel Wishes and Dreams gallery on the fourth floor. This carousel has animal figures made by the Dentzel Carousel Company. It was first put in an amusement park in 1917. The museum restored it and brought it here in 1973. It's the biggest item the museum owns and is a National Historic Landmark. The music comes from a rare Wurlitzer band organ.
The fourth level also has "Science Works." This exhibit is all about exploring natural and physical science through building and activities. You can build toy boats, play in a construction zone, climb a rock wall, and explore tunnels. There's also a Biotech Lab to learn about DNA and chemistry.
Dinosphere: A Dinosaur Adventure
,_Kelsey_(Triceratops_fossil)_and_Stan_(T._rex_cast).jpg)
Dinosphere is a fantastic dinosaur exhibit. It used to be a movie theater! Now, it takes you back 65 million years to the late Cretaceous period. The exhibit uses sounds and lights to make it feel like a day in the dinosaur age. You can see three fossil scenes.
In the Dig Site, you can pretend to dig for fossils. In the Paleo Prep Lab, you can even touch a real Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone! You might even talk to real paleontologists (dinosaur scientists). There are games and touch-screen activities to learn more. Dinosphere has one of the largest collections of young and family dinosaur fossils in the U.S. You can see many types of dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Hypacrosaurus. You'll also see other ancient creatures like Sarcosuchus (a super croc).
Dinosphere was updated from 2021 to 2022. This project brought new exhibits about the Jurassic period. You can now see huge sauropod dinosaurs and marine reptiles like Baptanodon.
Outdoor Sports Experience
Opened in 2018, this outdoor exhibit offers many different sports activities. Inside, you can see sports art and learn about sports culture. Outside, you can play basketball, football, tennis, hockey, baseball, and soccer. There's also a golf area, race tracks, a tree-house, and a track for running or walking.
Current Exhibits
- Take Me There: Greece
- American POP
- Power of Children
- Stories from Our Community
- Dinosphere
- Beyond Spaceship Earth
- ScienceWorks
- Fireworks of Glass
- Mini Masterpieces
- National Geographic: Treasures of the Earth
- Playscape
- Carousel Wishes & Dreams
- Lilly Theater
- All Aboard!
See also
In Spanish: Museo de los Niños de Indianápolis para niños
