The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

One of largest children’s museum. Many floors and sections to explore. It has Dinosphere, space/earth, power of children (Ann Frank, Malala etc), Egyptian discovery and more. Carousel is on the top floor (separated tix). It’s a Historic Landmark originally located at White City Amusement Park (Broad Ripple Park) from the segregation era. Strong history going behind that wheel. You can easily spend a whole day there. Many hands on activities. Benches around for adults. Bathroom is clean. I definitely have a great time as well as my kid. Free parking lot. Highly recommend to get the tix online (extra $1 fee). Highly recommend to stop by if you are in the area.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is truly a wonderful place to spend quality family time. We have three little girls — one-year-old twins and a five-year-old — and it’s an incredibly fun and educational environment where the whole family can enjoy together. The kids learn so much while playing, exploring, and interacting with every exhibit. This was our second visit and we absolutely love it — the themes, the creative spaces, and how everything is designed to bring animated worlds to life so children can connect, play, and imagine. This time we visited the Paw Patrol experience and it was amazing to see how excited they were enjoying every moment. We will definitely keep coming back. Highly recommended for families with kids!

I visited this children’s museum by myself, and I honestly feel that it isn’t suitable for adults visiting alone. It feels more like an indoor playground for kids rather than a museum designed for adults. I walked through every floor and explored almost every corner, taking many photos along the way. Some exhibits were interesting, but many felt repetitive, which made the visit a bit boring after a while. I initially thought I might spend the whole day there, but it only took about two hours to see everything. There really isn’t much for adults—most of the space is designed for children to play games and interact with hands-on activities. Many of the games and toys also felt old, and some appeared worn or broken. Some sections, such as the dollhouse area, look faded and outdated and could really benefit from a refresh. That said, I did appreciate a few of the educational elements. The civil rights–themed classroom was presented as a live role-play, with a staff member acting as a teacher and explaining the history of segregation, integration, and the struggles of Black Americans during that era. That part was meaningful. I also enjoyed the dinosaur and fossil area, especially how they showed both real fossils and replicas (casts), which was informative. This is not a free museum—you have to pay for admission. While I can see why families with young children might enjoy it, as an adult visiting alone, I did not find it to be good value. In my opinion, it’s mainly a place to bring kids, especially during winter break, so they can run around indoors and stay warm.

It’s a huge place with over 4 floors activities for children. They have free parking for guests. Tickets are $32 for adults and slightly cheaper for kids. They have carousel rides for kids as well, $2 per ride. The dino section is the largest one in the facility. There are several dino skeletons on display, a small bone digging area for kids and also window view of staff members actually extracting dino bones in a lab. Some of the other nice areas were the ISS and space program, the pop art hall and the Peru small town setup. There’s a food court and store museum as well. Multiple restrooms available at every level. Families can easily spend more than half a day here exploring nature, science and also doing many hands on activities.

This place is huge! I haven’t been back since I was in grade school and have moved away from the area but visited recently while staying with family. It was impressive to say the least! Exhibits for every age and so much to explore. I feel like you could spend a week in here and not see/do everything. We visited when it was super cold and snowing so didn’t even get to explore the new outdoor sports facility or big “tree of life” outside. I loved how there were so many staff both visible and present! I also think it’s a great idea to have the staff running games and interactive things within each exhibit as well. Keep it up Indy!

It was so much fun with the toddler to explore this museum. It was so well organized for the kids. Especially my kid enjoyed the paw patrol, winter wonderland and Peru themes. There were so things for the kids to pretend and play. Time well spent.

I came here for something to do while I was visiting a friend for a couple of days and even though I'm 23 and it says "childrens" museum I was very entertained! The power of children exhibit was heartbreaking, the blown glass exhibit was incredible to look at and overall I had a great time walking around and it was a good way to kill a few hours! If I wasnt on a time crunch for my trip I would have loved to spend a full day going through the museum!

Holy hell — this place is massive. Five full floors and somehow every single one is packed with something worth stopping for. You could spend an entire day here and still feel like you missed stuff. The Dinosaur Exhibit is next level. Not “kids museum cool” — legitimately impressive. Huge, immersive, and the kind of thing that makes adults slow down and geek out just as much as the kids. But my personal favorite? The pop culture exhibit. As a kid of the 80s who grew up in the 90s, this hit straight in the nostalgia. One of those “oh wow, I forgot about that” moments over and over again. It felt less like an exhibit and more like being dropped back into a really good chapter of life. Bottom line: If you’re anywhere near Indy, this museum is 100% worth it. Bring comfortable shoes, plan more time than you think you’ll need, and be ready to be impressed — whether you’re 6 or 46.

Took my 3.5 year old here by myself on a Saturday. We stayed for 4 hours and didn't hit everything. I will say that it was an Absolute blast of a day for both of us! -$59 was a totally reasonable price for all of the activities -Even though we got there after 12, we were still able to find a parking spot in the garage and walking in was SUPER easy with the walkway they have from the garage to museum -Such a range of activities- we spent the most time with the glass sculptures, building the Lost Treasure Statues, Dramatic play in Peru, completing the dinosaur skeleton puzzle, racing the hot wheels cars on the epic track table, and of course outdoors! -Outside, we literally did all except baseball and the carousel. My kid wouldn't do baseball without a helmet being provided -His favorite outdoor activities were tennis, soccer, and being pushed in the blue car on the racetrack. -my only disappointment was that the football throwing area wasn't monitored or even that lines weren't encouraged. We were waiting to throw footballs in the holes and adults were continuously throwing balls and not waiting until kids were out of the way. About 6 people were throwing balls and it was a recipe for disaster as my kid was just telling me no one would share because he was raised to stand in line and take turns. Despite standing far back and waiting for these people to finish, he ended up getting hit with a ball bouncing back from one of the adults; it was only then that they told all of their children to stop throwing to give him a turn.

Great immersive museum for children. There's areas for babies and under 5 and then areas meant for kids 8-9+ and plenty for adults to see as well. Unfortunately the weather was a bit cold so we missed the outside sports area, but it looked very fun. The blown glass sculpture and water clock were were impressive, as were the large dinosaurs inside and outside. Free parking was great, but I wish adult admissions weren't so expensive or perhaps a discount for second parent to offset the price. It was around $90 for our family of 3. If we lived closer we'd definitely become members.

Better than other museum food courts; they have coffee, "deli," which is prefab sandwiches and salads, a place like Sbarro for pizza and pasta, but not as good as Sbarro ( you take that as you will), and a "grill," with basically hamburgers and fries and a few other things. Using the baseline of a museum food courts, not a "regular" restaurant, I'd say it's still overpriced for what you get and I wasn't happy how they don't print receipts at all. (Feeding one adult and 3 kids was almost 3/4 of a Benjamin). You have to give them your email or phone number to get a receipt. We're here on a Saturday afternoon and plenty of seating. I was thinking 3 stars, but the kids said 4, when they considered other museum food courts. Of course, these are my opinions about my experience. If you had a different experience and a different opinion, good for you! Bottom line, if I were coming back here, I probably would still eat at the food court rather than deal with packing and bringing our own food, I just wouldn't be happy about it.

Honestly surprised this museum scores as high as it does. While it's large and has a cool facade with its dinosaur models, the inside is rather blah and definitely not worth the high prices. I paid $104 to visit with two kids. The layout is a bit confusing with exhibits on both the left and right sides of the museum. You are required to show and scan your tickets each time you cross between sides. It's a minor inconvenience but seems like a poor design. The dinosaur exhibit is ok if you have a kid who is really into dinosaurs, otherwise it's nothing special. The current special exhibit is Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse. It was fun, but best suited for kids under 5. A lot of the exhibits are less hands-on than typical children's museums. Many were just not exciting--a working library is cool, I guess, but not what we pay to see in a children's museum. The sports area gets raves online, but we found the inside dull (a balance beam on the floor is an exhibit). The outside is a glorified public park with local sports team branding. Tennis courts, basketball hoops, track, etc. I did notice a lot of adults using equipment meant for kids (football goal kick) without intervention from employees. We were especially interested in the Indy 500 racetrack because it felt uniquely Indy, but it was inexplicably closed. We were told by one employee, it was due to the heat (it was 85 degrees outside), but another guest said it's closed more often than it's open. In hindsight, I would not have visited. There are much better children's museums out there.

This is honestly one of the best children's museums in the country, and I've been quite a few. I did grow up here and I brought my children here for years, but now live out of state, but return home to visit the kids and grandkids. My kids have a membership here that included our admission so that was really nice. What was super impressive is what all they have done to the outside facilities, which are open in the summer. When they first tried this concept, I remember it just being based on basketball and boy what an amazing expansion they've done. Not only do they now have a Ferris wheel, but there is a wonderful treehouse, there are all sorts of sports activities around basketball, football, Hockey and soccer. The kids can also pretend they're in the Indy 500 with pedal car racing. Everything appeared to be included except the Ferris wheel, which was six dollars a person for members. If you go towards the back of the park, they have some of the most amazing mini golf you've ever seen. Mini set ups of world class golf holes around the world. There are many duplicates, such as one of the Kiawah Island, courses, etc. You can see the different horses, there are three of them on the picture of the mat. There is a smaller one that is meant for toddlers, but the rest are pretty serious and you could have some great fun out here While there is food available in the museum. There's also concessions out here with tacos and dip and docs and other stuff. One of the great things about this museum as well as you can bring your own food, which is extremely helpful when so many people have dietary issues. There are water filling stations as well, so bring your water bottles This is absolutely worth a visit on a nice day, it's pretty busy on the weekend so if you could swing it during the week, I would definitely give that a try. Staff are super friendly and helpful as well

This museum literally took all day and was more than I could have ever imagined. Its not titled the world's biggest museum for nothing. The exhibits were very interactive and surprisingly had things that appeal to adults as well. I learned much being there. Everything is well organized and all staff members were friendly and engaging with the kids. There was every mainstream sport available to play on full sized fields/courts. The food court had a good variety of food options, including allergy friendly choices, but were overpriced.

Finally able to check out the ever famous Indianapolis children's museum. I took my 16 month old and she had so much fun! It was cool to check out the temporary Mickey Mouse exhibit, especially for my daughter who loves Minnie. We also didn't go explore the under 5 kids area but this had to be a favorite of hers. She could have stayed for hours at the water table. We were only able to stay a few hours due to nap schedules but we could have been there all day! The sports exhibit is awesome and I feel this will be something even more fun as my daughter ages. We needed more time to check out more but did get some time to hit a few tennis balls Of note, there is a large free parking garage across and connected to the museum.

More than I expected. From the building and grounds art to the displays inside this is a full day of family fun. Our toddler granddaughter had a great time.

Great place to take kids of any age, lots to do! They have several exhibits that appeal to all ages. Young at heart will love this place! They do have food available but it can be pricey-good news tho-bring your own!

This Children's Museum is incredible! Ranked as one of the top Children's Museums in the country, we knew we had to take our 2.5-year-old--and it exceeded all expectations. First impressions: The museum is massive. Outside, life-sized dinosaur statues peer into the building, immediately sparking excitement. Upon entering, you're greeted by the Bumblebee movie prop in the lobby. At first, I assumed it was a replica, but it turns out to be the real deal! The museum spans four floors, each packed with amazing exhibits and fully accessible via ramps and elevators. Here's a breakdown of our experience from top to bottom: 4th Floor: This floor features Tiny Town and the carousel. My daughter, who is obsessed with carousels, was thrilled! The carousel, which is 100 years old, costs $2 for non-members. If you have a tap-to-pay card, you can pay at the carousel entrance; otherwise, pre-buy tickets at the main entrance. Tiny Town is an adorable play area with miniature houses and shops. My daughter loved pretending to serve me ice cream and even made a little friend. The ScienceWorks area allows kids to pretend to be geologists or farmers, make balanced meals, dig through pretend rocks, and explore a water table. There's also a display of miniature houses, which I found intricate and fascinating--perfect for anyone who enjoys dollhouse-sized designs. 3rd Floor: This floor is home to PlayScape, designed specifically for kids under 5. The sand and water exhibits are perfect for younger children, and my daughter had a blast. There's also a music room, but we couldn't try it because a class was in session. There's a climbing structure for kids and their adults, though it seemed a bit tight, so we skipped it. There are also building areas and other interactive activities. The Power of Children exhibit offers meaningful historical content. While my daughter is too young to appreciate it, I found it interesting and think it would be impactful for older children. 2nd Floor: Here, you'll find the entrance to the museum's iconic spiral slide, which takes you down to the main floor--such a fun feature! The American Pop! exhibit showcases nostalgic toys like Beanie Babies and poppers, plus a fashion area for creating outfits and plenty of movie memorabilia. My daughter loved playing with the toys while I browsed the displays. The Winterscape area includes interactive slides, pretend ice skating with socks, and skee ball. I think this exhibit is temporary though. 1st Floor: The dino exhibit was a hit! With towering dinosaur displays and fossil excavation activities, it's a perfect mix of education and fun. By this point, after four hours of exploring, my daughter was starting to tire, so we only scratched the surface of this floor. By this point my daughter was getting sleepy and we had already been there 4 hours. I think was just scratched 75% of the museum. There was definitely still more since we didn't see Treasures of the Earth and the Spaceship areas. This wasn't even including all the outdoor exhibits that weren't open since we went in Winter. Overall: This museum is fantastic and worth every penny. It's packed with activities for all ages, and there's more than enough to fill an entire day. Luckily, Indianapolis is a manageable day trip for us, so we can't wait to come back and explore even more. Highly recommend it to anyone with kids!

It's no wonder this place has the rep that it does. Fantastic all the way around. Oh and free garage parking to boot!

I have a lot of thoughts about this experience. Overall, it was fantastic and we'll return! We specifically came for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which wasn't as we had expected. We also found it to be a let down as outer reviews had states. The dinosaur exhibit was incredible! As was the stem area for ages 5 and under. The spots area was super cool for older kids. I'm a bit confused by the pop culture exhibit as it's really just a museum. The carousel was beautiful. And my kiddo enjoyed the life size doll houses. Lots of people were playing the board games. I called ahead to inquire about the $6 Thursday night and the girl who answered was not helpful at all. We arrived during regular admission time and it was $29/adult and $23/kid. They don't honor reciprocity so that's pretty pricey. The carousel and Ferris wheel are additional costs. The food court wasn't completely open, but seemed to have solid food options. It was nice to have a mid day Starbucks pick me up, to then learn they cannot enter certain exhibits but people were taking them in anyways (just look for the folks barreling through with their strollers). Parking was in the deck across the road. It was free and there's a walkway. When we purchased tickets on site the man was very nice and explained what the girl on the phone wouldn't/couldn't. We'd definitely return and make it an all day activity, especially when our kiddo is older!

We went on an impromptu trip to Indianapolis to visit the Children's Museum. We arrived early right after opening and were able to get a parking spot on the level of the bridge. We bought tickets ahead of time and were able to check in easily. We casually worked our way through every level of the museum and ended up spending the entire day there since there is so much to see. I wish we would have packed lunch the options were not great in their cafeteria. I also wish we went outside earlier to experience the sports complex and treehouse with more time before closing. It's a fantastic feature!

What an amazing museum! It is geared towards children, so I brought my niece. I think we both loved it equally! So many hands-on activities and immersion is encouraged. I was floored by the paleontologists working on dinosaur bones! Speaking with them and learning/watching them work was so special. Getting to touch real dinosaur bones was SO COOL! The museum is set up well and you can easily spent half a day there. Parking is free! That makes the price even more well worth it. The museum is well organized and clean, too. Sometimes areas feel more busy when larger school groups arrive but it's easy enough to navigate to a less crowded space. Loved the insect area and learning with the staff about bees and pollinators! The cafe is pricey but pretty good. It feels a little like you don't have a choice but to pay the high prices if you're hungry and don't want to leave the museum -- that's my only complaint. Worth the drive to Indianapolis to visit the museum! I hope we can visit again because it's really a great experience!

We had a great time at the Children's Museum! We spent a day here with our daughter and her two children (ages 5 yrs and 7 months). My daughter bought the tickets online ahead of time which does speed up the process of entering. She had also narrowed down the sections she wanted to visit. We enjoyed the Playscape area with art and music studios, plus huge water and sand areas, as well as block-building and ball areas. Each area is amazing! There is also an area for kiddos 2 and under which was nice. We also enjoyed the Peru exhibit. What a wonderful, interactive experience to learn about a country! Last, we went to the Micky Mouse Clubhouse. My granddaughter got to participate in an animal obstacle course. Children go behind the scenes to select a stuffed animal and practice taking them through the course. Then they come out one by one to show off their animal going through the course. She had a lot of fun doing this! These three areas were plenty for one day at the museum.

I am obsessed with the children's museum and my kids love it too! We have the membership and have for about 3 years. If you plan on going more than a few times with a few people (kids) then this is the best bang for your buck. You could easily go every single time and see something different. They also change exhibits pretty frequently. Going during breaks is tough because everyone is there but if you stay at home or can go during the week (not during a fall, winter or spring break) that is the best time! Pictures are from the seasonal haunted house. 10/10 recommend. Parking is free in the garage or they have outside parking

After spending 3 hours outside at the Legends Sports Experience, we clocked another 2+ hours going through the indoor exhibitions, which are quite diverse and brilliant ranging from the Dinosphere and Nat Geo's Treasures of the World recreations of Egyptian tombs and the Chinese Terra Cotta soldiers to a Victorian train and Spaceship Earth station. Our 9-year old was particulatly smitten with the interactive kinetic sculpture and the Water Clock, which is the largest of its kind in the country. Totally worth the 3 hour drive from Columbus.

We went to the museum as on our trip from out of state and we had a great time. While I will say it is quite pricey our kids enjoyed the experience. I absolutely loved that there were indoor and outdoor activities. As a parent of kids with a big age gap we had all of our bases covered. The Mickey Mouse experience wasn't all I expected- I did expect more interactive/immersive things but regardless our toddler enjoyed it. It was clean, considering all of the people that were there. Parking can get a bit hectic so pack your patience. I enjoyed seeing the employees at different places in the museum and hearing lots of facts and information about the exhibits. It was clear they love their job! Lots of kid friendly options for food. Overall we had a great time and wish we were local to take advantage of a family pass.

This museum is huge! There is no way you will have enough time to do everything in one day. I wish we knew this so I could pick where to go ahead of time, but we still had a great time and my daughter loved it. There's even a whole outside part that is included in admission we didn't make it to. I loved how interactive it was and how many activities there was, along with a lot of presentations and scheduled events. They also have rooms for breastfeeding moms in the Playscape area. Food at the cafe is decent for a museum and huge portions. We loved coming here and are thinking we may get a membership and come quarterly. Definitely spread the trip out over a few days if you can.

Wow! What a better place in Indianapolis to take your kids and or/ grandkids! The entrance alone will wow your kids! Who wouldn't love to see a dinosaur sticking his head through the window of the entrance. The staff is extremely helpful, friendly and talented! They have such patience interacting and sharing their knowledge of their exhibit with the public. Every time I go there is something new I learned. The exhibits start at 6 months. That's where you will find all the kids 5 and younger!! They have everything in there for the curious little minds, anywhere from stem activities to tactile activities. There is a safe area for you 6 month old to do tummy time and explore. There is so much to do and say about this amazing place that you have to go and see it for yourself!!

Took my kids to The Children's Museum for my daughter's birthday! We definitely would have stayed all day if it wasn't nap time. We went to guest services to get a print out of the activities of the day and I loved how the age range was included. The activities were age appropriate given the range and my kids who are 5 & 3 enjoyed their activities. There is so much learning and so many different exhibits to choose from. My kid's favorite activity was coloring the dinosaur and seeing it "come to life" on the projector. I can't wait to visit during the summer to go outdoors in the sports area.

If I could give this place more stars I would! Simply LOVED this place! I've been several times and still amazes me every time I go! This was my first time going to the outdoor experience and spent literally hours out there and it was everything! The different spots you get to experience but all tailored to the Indianapolis teams, which was so lovely! The different sports areas accommodated over and under 6 years old which was nice for the toddlers! The kids loved it and we can't wait to go back! The inside is a whole adventure on its own! So many levels of epic exhibits for all ages, the information the endless toys and imagination! I've been to different children's museums this one if definitely top 5 for me for sure!

It's definitely a big museum. They are listed on the reciprocity for children's museums, but beware that they don't actually honor it. It's full price, no discounts for being a member elsewhere. 2 adults and one child will set you back at least 105$. If you think you'll go at least twice, consider a membership. It's steep. One of the priciest children's museums we've been to in the country and not sure it's really worth it. While by square footage it is very big, we got through it pretty quickly; we expected to take all day going through it but less to do than at the Cincinnati one. The dinosaur exhibit is by far the most well-funded as is the outdoor sports arena. Otherwise exhibits are ok. Like most children's museums, there is a play area for kids under 5 with a small water station. There are stem areas for older kids to learn about farming, weather, and water systems. They have a random exhibit to go to Greece and a throwback to the 70s,80s, and 90s with classic board games and video games from the respective eras. The outdoor area has a lot of different sports for kids to try out and practice. It's interactive and fun. Everything is miniaturized for kids. Probably only good when the weather is nice. Good news is parking was free. Not sure it's quite worth a travel to, but if you're in the area and have kids, worth going to. Otherwise I think there are other museums in the Midwest worth traveling to.

Omg, this is the biggest children's museum which has both indoor and outdoor exhibits. We came the weekend that outdoor exhibits opened. Be sure to be flexible base on crowds since outdoors was empty at opening morning. After a couple of hours, it got packed. Mickey's playhouse was okay but son and daughter loved all the stations. Dinosaur had an interactive station where son could borrow clipboard to do some research project. Dining hall is gigantic and had great selection of food. White milk ran out toward end of day. Also, seating during lunch is hard so eat early to avoid crowds. Gift shop is very unique and well done. Something for every age. 3rd floor had playscape suited for toddlers with music, water table, and sand table along with tree house. We spent 2 days to spread out the fun without getting too exhausted. Special deal if you come back and pay $15 adult and $10 kid which is half off regular admission.

Probably the best place I went as a kid. So, I loved the Dinosaurs! Food was great there!

We always have a great time here. Lots of new adventures every time we come - we rarely see everything in 1 day so we have a pass to take advantage of all the stuff to learn So excited that the ninja turtles are coming back her March 9- Sept 2!

Great museum where kids can touch everything. A lot of fun exhibts, and floors to explore.

We have heard nothing but exceptional reviews from different sources. We visited in late September and the experience certainly lived up to our expectations. Our family of four purchased the annual membership which includes access to all of the exhibits and unlimited carousel rides. We visited for two consecutive weekdays and there were no crowds for both days. Considering our daughters' young age and the expansive facility with multiple indoor and outdoor exhibits, they would not be able to cover a significant portion of the museum in just one day. We spent at least four hours at the museum for each day. For the outdoor sports complex, my girls tried hockey, football, tennis, baseball, race car, and golf. For the indoors, my girls really enjoyed the playscape, carousel, hockey exhibit, basketball exhibit, and music room. We highly suggest families with young children to purchase the annual membership and visit more than once. There are plenty of options in the food court but the food is mediocre at best. We ordered two hot dogs and a grilled chicken sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a side of tator-tots. Everything was room temperature if not cold. It would have been nice if they could spare a minute to warm up the chicken and let the slice of cheese melt on the sandwich. Fortunately, our girls ate the grilled chicken sandwich without issue.

I visited with three disabled adult. We encountered so many acts of kindness from the staff. None of the adults were registered for the discounted rate and someone took the time to do all the computer work for us so we could have the discount that day. We ended up at the food court later as the grill was closing, which we hadn't realized. I had a profound blood sugar issue. The gentleman at the grill made chicken tenders for me, anyway. Aside from he saved me from me from a cozy ambulance ride, d@mn, that was the best chicken I've ever had in my life. I don't associate 'chicken tenders' with anything edible, but I would seriously pay $32 entry and another $20 to relive that experience. All of these things may seem small, but this isn't a kind world at this moment. I'm reassured that we are saving some of what's left for our children. Someone please tell that grill guy I love his chicken.

As always a must visit in Indy if you have littles! Activity's are more geared toward the under 12 crew but anyone who enjoys learning would enjoy the exhibits.

Every year on Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. The children's museum allows free admission with advance tickets. Unfortunately I didn't know about the advance tickets part but I tried my luck. When I got to the box office they had leftover tickets! Me and the group I was with had a fantastic time. I was happy to see the staff constantly sanitizing and vacuuming throughout the museum. It was pretty packed as expected seeing them clean gave a little bit of comfort to my OCD. After today's visit, I consider being a member where you can get free admission for a year. Not fully committed yet but I think it'll be worth it.

We just purchased season passes. After being to lots of other museums I thought it was a little small, but they change exhibits quite frequently and there is a large outdoor area for the kids to try different sports.

Such a cool museum. And free parking! Almost unheard of anywhere else. There's so much here that it's just not possible to do in a day (especially not with littles). So definitely have an idea of main exhibits you want to see ahead of time so you don't get caught in the stream of flow. We had put some things on our itinerary but it took too long for us to travel to each exhibit that we didn't end up doing those things. Playscape had a fun climbing structure for our older kid, while our toddler walked around doing a little bit of everything: from a sand digging area, music space, building blocks to a little wind funnel. We missed the art activity, which was what we were trying to get to, but the area was still fun. Emotions at play is a cute area that looks like Pixar's Inside Out. It was super busy there and we tried to make it to one of the timed events, but missed that too. Womp womp. Ended up at the dino exhibit. There was a fun little game where you hatch the dinosaur and help it grow. They also have a coloring activity that your child can scan and it comes to life on the screen. We've done it at other museums and it's always a hit. There happened to be NASA engineers with a booth and giving presentations the day we went, which was really cool. The outdoor sports area looked like a lot fun, but it was too cold for us so we stayed indoors. Maybe next visit! TL;DR enormous museum, but definitely cool things for a wide age range. Make sure you plan your day so you don't miss any special activities/events--getting around takes longer than you think.

This is the best children's museum we have ever visited. You can easily spend multiple hours going through each exhibit of this expansive museum. The outside sports complex is just as impressive and fun. So much "hands on" play for kids of all ages and I found myself getting excited at many of the exhibits. Great experience bonding with our child here. Definitely worth the drive! Free parking is a plus too!!

Stopped in Indy when traveling to Ky. We have a child under two and it was okay. We went on a Saturday which was probably not a great choice for how busy it is. With the size of the place I feel they need more family restrooms. They had 4 that we saw which seems like a lot but now for how many people they attract. Which are allll families for the most part. It was a 90 degree day in the city and if you are looking for a place to cool down... this ain't it. It was so uncomfortably hot in the building. The only place cool was the check in area. Outside is the sport area. That is why i gave 4 instead of 3 stars... incredible place to play.

It was such a fun place to visit! Beware, it's always super busy! Try to stay at the top floor and work your way down. There seems to be more people on the main floor. Make sure to visit the Playzone area if you have toddlers. They have sand, water, music, crafts, science and climbing sectioned if for the Littles. Don't sleep in the dinosaur area. Wait a bit for the weather to change. There are periodic thunderstorms, stars at night and the moon. There are also rotating exhibits that are fun to see, as they won't be here for long. This was the last year, 2022, for the holiday slide. Although, they are replacing it with something better I hear!

I'm a father of 3 and decided to take my babies on an adventure. They absolutely loved it! They stayed on the third floor in the water but they loved it!

I've been going to the Children's Museum my entire life. It is hands down the greatest children's museum of all time! All of the different areas bring back so much nostalgia, even with all of the updates and upgrades. I even take my children now and get to watch them experience it with the same joy that I had. I love this place so much!

This is a favorite spot with cousins and family, and today was a perfect fall day for a visit. I love that their parking garage is free which alleviates so much of the stress of finding a spot downtown and allows you to just enjoy the experience. We have smaller kiddos so we visited mostly the toddler areas but what I love is that they have things for all ages. There are also plenty of seats and resting spots and hand wipes along the way. We also enjoy bringing our lunch and sitting in the spacious cafeteria area for a break. They have a large seating area as well as several food vendors and snacks for purchase. You can bring food or buy things which is a nice touch as we worked up an appetite with all the walking and interactive play time. We headed outside and I have to say on a beautiful fall day this was an amazing spot. It was my first time outside but I was so impressed. They had a space for almost all imaginable sports -basketball, hockey, soccer, football, golf, race car track, tennis and several other spots that we didn't explore. The impressive thing too is that they have equipment geared toward all ages from toddler up to adult. We could play out of the way of the bigger kids and still enjoy the sport. They also did sports 'classes'. We were able to participate in a toddler soccer 'class' where they worked on motor spots and taught the kids some soccer moves. It was an interactive fun way to get them moving and teach about the sport. The kids loved it and it gave us some great photo moments. This is an amazing spot and I believe it when I've heard it is one of the best children's museums in the cpu try. We will for sure go back and love that they also have passes and other deals you can purchase so as to go often. If you haven't been yet we highly recommend it!

Came here with my family today, and overall we had a great time! First, parking was free in the nearby garage, and while it took a few minutes to get inside and find a spot, you really can't complain about free parking :) Once we got inside the museum, I was a little surprised by how many people were there! Tons of families were hanging out in the lobby and in line to buy tickets, but we went during the holidays so I guess it makes sense. There was also a giant transformer in the lobby area so that was entertaining for me and our son :) Anyway, after purchasing our tickets, we went inside and headed to the dinosaur exhibit. Pretty cool stuff! They even had a little digging area for kids where you could dig up some "fossils". We also toured a section about trains and a section on space exploration. Unfortunately, our son was getting restless so we had to bail before exploring the whole museum, but we went back down to the first floor in style: the slide! The line was quite long but it moved reasonably quickly, and it was a fun slide. Not too scary, which was perfect for our son. They also had lockers handy to store valuables, which we found very useful. Overall, I would definitely recommend this museum if you're in the area and looking for something to do with your kids!

The best kid's museum in the USA resides in Indianapolis! I have loved The Children's Museum of Indianapolis since I was a kid myself and I love that my kids get to enjoy the same wonderment and learning fun that I have such great memories of! Most exhibits stay the constant (which means your kids will know exactly where they want to go for fun!) with two exhibits changing every couple months so you can always visit for a different experience. Our visit today including their winter fun: Jolly Days. We also got to explore their Scooby Doo exhibit before it leaves. While there we learned the Minecraft and Dinosaur Train were the next upcoming exhibits so the kids have already begged to go back. Half of the year the outdoor sports area is open and that's a definite must explore as well! Basketball, motor speedway, tennis, soccer, track and a giant tree house!

This is the 58th year that they have put on this haunted house. I had no idea that it has been going on until this year. I like that they have a lights on version for kids that could not really handle a real haunted house. That was my kids' speed. They wanted to do a haunted house but was not ready for the full experience. This event is perfectly managed and is first class. The staff and volunteers are awesome. They were all so friendly and upbeat. They really enhanced the experience. I really like that even though the haunted house is in the children's museum, just off of the bridge that connects the museum to the parking garage, that you do not need to pay for museum admission. Admission is $9. I wish that parents were free though since they are just walking the kids through, but oh well, the money is going to a good cause. The haunted house is well organized and during the lights on version, they hand out candy and other treats to the little ones as they pass through. My 3 and 7 year olds had a great time. It takes about 10 minutes to go through the house and it lets out at a small gift shop/snack bar where you can buy trinkets, toys, popcorn, candy and drinks. My only wish is that they did not allow strollers in the house. It gets a bit tight in spaces and they take up a lot of space. This event is held every October and is a great opportunity for children of all ages and abilities and scare levels. It is reasonably priced and since it is located in the Children's Museum, it has free parking. The proceeds from the haunted house goes to various museum programs including their InfoZone, free admission days and out-of-school programming for local youth. I had a great time during the daytime haunted house, but I hope my kids are able to one day handle their night time frightening version of the haunted.

If you are looking for a fun activity to take some children to I say go to the Children's Museum. We had took some children for a school field trip and it was nice. They had a winter theme which they had a slide for the kids and adults to slide down. Also, there was a snow fairy play which was very good. The actors did very well. There is a food court and the prices are very reasonable for the food. Prices to enter into the museum was not bad at all and they have group rates. There is a lot to learn at the museum. They have days were the rates are cheaper like first Thursday but it is very busy during those days. I will say this is a must do activity with children if you are looking to have fun with them. I want to say Clay was very helpful with our group.

Thanks to the first Thursdays promotion I was able to return back to the museum to see the excellent revised dinausaur exhibits and the incredible visiting exhibit on Minecraft which my son has been playing for at least 7 or so years. Also always fun to go outside and play in the amazing sports actuvities area. Its a great deal to go on the first Thirsday with reduced costs to enter.

This is by far the best Children's museum I've ever been to and I would debate anyone if there is another better. I read a few years ago that it is ranked in at least the top 5 in the US. It is absolutely well deserved that it has earned that accolade, if not more. I visited it on occasion for years in the past, especially when my kids were younger. Now that I have grandchildren, I am reliving, enjoying and experiencing it all over again. Much of it is still the same as I remembered. There are so many wonderfully solid and timeless exhibits. The Chihuly exhibit and massive blown glass sculpture in the center of the building is beautiful and stunning. They also add and change things depending on the seasons and incorporate special exhibits like Lego or whatever else is super fascinating and cool. They have added and built onto the museum quite a bit over the years. It's all been for the better by improving upon what was already exemplary. I will admit that I miss the big movie theater where the Dinosphere exhibit is now, but it's still all good in the neighborhood. The interactive outdoor sports addition is awesome. It's such a fun and magical place. There's nothing better than reliving the warm fuzzy feeling of wonderment when one was a child. This museum accomplishes just that. It is highly innovative, educational and hits all of the marks for children and adult all the same. It seems to accommodate everyone. Bravo to Indy for this special and precious gem of a museum. It's undoubtedly a huge part of Hoosier history and pride. I am so grateful and blessed to have been able to experience it.

$6.00 night was good and it wasn't to busy. Lots of activities for the kids. The winter fair was fun; they had ski ball, skiing, ring toss, and more.

So much fun! A children's museum may not seem like a place for young adults like me but it definitely can be. There is so much to see and do, a lot of which is nostalgic such as the Barbie exhibit. One of my favorite parts was the outdoor sports center. There were a ton of sports areas from basketball to golf to go-karting. You can just walk around and play at your own pace, which was really nice. One downside to this museum is that the tickets are pricey, which is a big turnoff. But they have several free events throughout the year, so that makes it a little more accessible for people. The parking is easy and free, which is always a plus. I think this museum does a great job at being inviting to everyone and including people of all ages and backgrounds. Overall, I had so much fun being a kid again at this museum and I definitely recommend the Indianapolis Children's Museum to ALL!

Over the years, this place has been one of our favorite go-to places for a fun and educational experience. With new exhibits seasonally and the permanent ones so interactive, we always find new things to discover and explore. The staff is always accommodating and going above and beyond.

I have heard great things about this museum, so I was thrilled when an opportunity arose to visit yesterday. Veterans get a discount, with proof. Honest, I was disappointed. When I read "Children's Museum" I do anticipate there being more hands on options for kids. This may be a better option for kids 10 and up. While they do have a couple of play areas for younger kids. All in all, for a day visit, I felt they were overpriced for families with children 3-10. You can apply your purchased tickets toward a membership within 2 weeks. If you are local, I say, take them up on it! I did not research enough to find out if they offer reciprocal museum options. However, as an adult, I loved several exhibits! The fireworks glass exhibit was amazing. As an 80s kid, I found the American Pop exhibit to be such fun and nostalgic. I had hoped the Dinosphere exhibit wound have been more kid friendly, albeit superbly displayed, my Dino loving kids were not interested. I really solemnly enjoyed the exhibit about Anne Frank. Due to the weather, we did not visit the outdoor sports area; although it looked quite fun.