The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the world's largest

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feat ...

. It is located at 3000 North Meridian Street,

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

in the United Northwest Area neighborhood of the city. The museum is accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. It is with five floors of exhibit halls and receives more than one million visitors annually. Its collection of over 130,000 artifacts and exhibit items is divided into two domains: Arts & Humanities and the Natural Sciences. Among the exhibits are a simulated

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

and

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

habitats, a

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular pl ...

, a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

, and the glass sculpture '' Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling''. The museum's focus is family learning; most exhibits are designed to be interactive, allowing children and families to actively participate. Founded in 1925 by Mary Stewart Carey with the help of Indianapolis civic leaders and organizations, it is the fourth-oldest such institution in the world. The current site became home for the museum in 1946; the current building was constructed in 1976 and has had four major expansions since then. The museum hosts thousands of activities annually, including plays at the Lilly Theater, classes and workshops for school children, traveling exhibits, and fund-raising events. With a 2008 budget of $28.7 million, it has 400 employees and 1,500 volunteers. Its financial stability is ensured by a large endowment that was first established in the 1960s and is governed by a board of trustees. In May 2021, the museum announced Jennifer Pace Robinson, a 29-year veteran of the museum, as its new president and CEO.

History

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis was founded in 1925 by Mary Stewart Carey, a wealthy civic patron who owned the Stewart-Carey Glass Company. She was inspired to create the museum after a 1924 visit to the

Brooklyn Children's Museum The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1899, it is the first children's museum in the United States – and according to some, the first one worldwide. It ...

.Bodenhamer, p. 410 Carey began a campaign to start a children's museum in Indianapolis and enlisted the aid of other local civic leaders and the Progressive Teacher's Association. With their support, the museum opened in the carriage house of The Propylaeum, a local civic club. A board of trustees was established to manage the museum and Carey was elected its first president.Bodenhamer, p. 412 The early exhibits were created and donated by school children. Carey sought a larger facility and after two moves, she finally located the museum in her own mansion on Meridian Street in 1926. The same year the first curator, Arthur Carr was hired. Carr arranged Carey's specimens into exhibits and managed the museum. The first permanent exhibits were marine, Japanese, pioneer, archeology, and nature. By the 1940s, a larger staff was hired and Carr became director after Carey's 1938 death. The museum began offering guided tours to school children, organized traveling exhibits that were moved around to area schools, and began hosting events for fundraising.Bodenhamer, p. 411 Early members were given a Seahorse pin to identify them as Youth members. In 1942, Carr retired from the museum and Grace Golden became the new director. Golden sought to further expand the museum and successfully solicited grants from the Indianapolis Foundation, the

Lilly Endowment Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and among the largest endowments in the United States. It was founded in 1937 by Josiah K. (J. K.) Lilly Sr. and his s ...

, and members of the Lilly family. She also secured several important corporate sponsorships. The new revenue allowed the museum to purchase its own building, a former mansion on North Meridian Street. Golden also began diversification of the museum's exhibits, rather than relying on local donations. She successfully created partnerships with other museums who loaned exhibits of Native American artifacts in 1947 and a gallery of dinosaur skeletons in 1949. The mummy Wenuhotep was given on permanent loan from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1959, a nineteenth-century log cabin was donated in 1961, and the Hall of Man was added in 1962. Several new permanent exhibits were created during her tenure, focusing on pioneer life, natural science, and

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

. Golden also established a Junior Docent program, created two weekly television shows for local broadcast, and began a program of interpretive activities. In 1964, Golden resigned and was succeeded as director by Mildred Compton. Compton remained director until 1982. She created the first long-term financial plans for the museum by establishing an endowment and began advertising campaigns for donations and to increase attendance. The museum was enhanced to help it earn accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums by standardizing and cataloging its exhibits and archives and implementing conservation techniques. New permanent exhibits were obtained during Compton's tenure including the Physical Science Gallery in 1967, the Reuben Wells Steam Engine in 1968, and the Model Train Gallery in 1970. A fundraising drive held in 1973 raised $8.7 million and allowed construction of the current museum building. The old museum was demolished and the new one built on its site. Finished in 1976, the new museum had modern conservation and storage facilities, classrooms, the 350-seat Ruth Allison Lilly Theater, and a much larger five-floor exhibit area. New exhibits and attractions were added for the grand opening, including a carousel, a simulated cavern, and a

mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of the ...

skeleton. Peter Sterling became director in 1982 and continued to pursue a growth policy for the museum. A restaurant and outdoor garden gallery were added in 1983, and in 1984, the Caplan folk art collection of 50,000 items was donated by Frank and

Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

Caplan, nearly doubling the number of items owned by the museum. The museum also undertook a $14 million, multi-phase expansion that included construction of a welcome center and atrium entrance (completed in 1983), a planetarium, and an additional exhibit hall, completed in 1988. Indianapolis architect Evans Woollen III designed the four-story atrium addition. A grant from

funded the construction of the Eli Lilly Center for Exploration in 1990. By 1992, the museum was hosting 4,000 programs and activities annually and had an annual attendance of 835,000 patrons. It employed 165 full-time employees, 227 part-time employees, and 850 volunteers. Revenue in 1992 was $12.4 million. In 1996, a 310-seat large-format theater called the CineDome was constructed adjacent to the museum. In 2004, the museum added a 950-space parking garage and the CineDome was converted to Dinosphere, which is built within and around the former CineDome. The Welcome Center was expanded again in 2009 increasing the total size of the museum to . The museum's current president and CEO, Jennifer Pace Robinson, was hired in 2021, replacing Jeffrey H. Patchen, who had been hired in 1999, after serving as a Senior Program Officer at the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

Operations

In 2008, the institution had revenue of $26.37 million and expenses of $26.369 million, with over half its income being supplied by the museum's endowment. The facility had more than one million visitors in 2008. Field trips from 775 schools brought more than 83,000 students to the museum during 2008. In 2010, the museum had 400 part and full-time employees. Additionally, 1,500 individuals contribute over 65,000 hours of volunteer work annually. The museum has five floors of exhibit halls in the main building. There are several smaller structures around the main building including Dinosphere, a theater, and an outdoor sports park. In total, the museum has of floor space. The museum has a collection of over 130,000 artifacts, divided into two areas: Arts & Humanities and Natural Science. To maintain a regular change in its exhibits, significant emphasis is placed on research and development. Field experts are consulted regularly to assess the exhibits and offer proposals for new ones. The museum employs many experts who are leaders in their field of study. Because of its leadership and innovations, the museum is a world leader in its field. ''

Child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

'' and '' Parents'' magazine have both ranked the museum as the best children's museum in the United States. The "institution is considered the gold standard of museums for children." The museum employed a

Wikipedian in Residence A Wikipedian in residence or Wikimedian in residence (WiR) is a Wikipedia editor, a Wikipedian (or Wikimedian), who accepts a placement with an institution, typically an art gallery, library, archive, museum, cultural institution, learned so ...

, appointed in August 2011, and has some

QRpedia QRpedia is a mobile Web-based system which uses QR codes to deliver Wikipedia articles to users, in their preferred language. A typical use is on museum labels, linking to Wikipedia articles about the exhibited object. QR codes can easily be gene ...

codes posted for visitors to read Wikipedia articles about objects in the collection, translated into their preferred language. QRpedia codes are located in the All Aboard! exhibit which directs users to the Reuben Wells steam engine Wikipedia article, and in the Carousel Wishes and Dreams exhibit, which links to the

Broad Ripple Park Carousel Broad Ripple Park Carousel is an antique carousel in The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. It was installed in 1917 at an amusement park near the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it remained until the building housing it collap ...

article.

Exhibits

The main stairwell of the museum is a giant spiral ramp that allows visitors to access all five levels of the museum by strollers, wheelchairs, and walkers. In 2006, glass artist

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...

installed a four-story glass sculpture inside the central atrium of the giant spiral ramp. The sculpture is called '' Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling'' and is accompanied by an exhibit of Chihuly's glass blowing methods.

Lower level

The National Geographic: Treasures of the Earth exhibit, which includes three areas, is located on the Lower Level of the museum and was first opened on June 11, 2011. One area contains ancient Egyptian artifacts presented in a replica of the tomb of

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom period, ruling c.1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II. The ...

. Another area has a simulated archeological dig where artifacts about Ying Zheng, the first Emperor of China, were discovered. The third area features underwater archaeology through a

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

shipwreck of

Captain Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

and

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

from it. At the back is a working lab. The Beyond Spaceship Earth gallery opened in 2016 and is about technology and daily life of NASA's space stations, as well as featuring an Indiana Astronaut Wall of Fame. The "All Aboard!" Gallery features an steam engine designed by Reuben Wells in 1868 to conquer Indiana's Madison Hill. The engine is attached to a Pennsylvania Railroad tool car in the museum's "All Aboard!" Gallery. The lower level also hosts the Lilly Theater.

Main floor

On the main floor/ground level, the museum has the Welcome Center with adult and juvenile Brachiosaur sculptures climbing into the front. These sculptures are physiologically accurate to current paleontological knowledge and were created by Gary Staab and painted by Brian Cooley who created the sauropod sculptures which are crashing out of the Dinosphere. Outside the museum on this level is the Seven Wonders of the World garden, a green

rain garden Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to increase rain runoff reabsorption by the soil. They can also be used to treat polluted stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are designed landscape sites ...

, parking garage, and the oversize parking lot to accommodate large parties of visitors such as schools on field trips. A focal point of the ground level of the museum is

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

's largest

water clock A water clock or clepsydra (; ; ) is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel, and where the amount is then measured. Water clocks are one of the oldest time- ...

, created by French physicist and artist Bernard Gitton. The main floor contains the museum's toy store and food court. The volunteer center, concierge desk, and birthday party rooms are also on this level.

Second floor

The museum also contains a branch of the Indianapolis Public Library called the ''InfoZone''. During the latest expansion in 2009, this space was moved to the second floor outside of the skywalk which links the parking garage to the main building. The second level hosts many of the museum's temporary exhibits. The only semi-permanent exhibit on the level is the ''"Take Me There"'' gallery. The ''"Take Me There"'' exhibit has its content changed periodically with a different culture represented in the space every four to five years. In 2009, the exhibit ''"Take Me There: Egypt"'' was featured. ''"Take Me There: China"'' and ''"Take Me There: Greece"'' have since then taken its place, in May 2014 and June 2019 respectively. Also on this floor are miniature insets depicting various rooms and their decorations. The three changeable spaces are known as Special Exhibit Galleries and they have short run exhibits that rotate. Opened in July 2012, "Stories from our Community" is a display that includes artifacts which illustrate stories from community members that are featured in the exhibit space. Visitors can sit at touch-screen displays and choose the stories that they would like to listen to or read. A related website is available that shares the stories on display, in addition to others.

Third floor

The third level features " The Power of Children: Making a Difference", a permanent exhibit featuring the stories of

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

Ruby Bridges Ruby Nell Bridges Hall (born September 8, 1954) is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegreg ...

Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnos ...

, and

Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second P ...

and the impact these children made on the world. The purpose of the Power of Children is to create a supportive environment where people can examine and discuss issues related to prejudice and discrimination and seek solutions to these problems. Historically accurate, immersive environments are recreated to reflect the place where each of the children spent their lives. First-person interpreters, live theater, and artifacts are designed to facilitate the public understanding of the lives of Frank, Bridges, White, and Yousafzai. The gallery has sounds, dramatic lighting, quotations, interactives, and moving images to draw visitors into the exhibit. The second exhibit on the third floor is ''Playscape,'' a learning and play area designed for children 5 years and younger. Originally opened in 1981, the museum carried out an extensive renovation of ''Playscape'' in 2013. The renovated gallery includes and improves upon many of the elements from the previous exhibit, such as a large sandbox area, a water play experience, and an area designated for small children 2 and younger.

Fourth floor

One of the museum's most popular attractions is the

in the Carousel Wishes and Dreams gallery on the fourth floor. The carousel, whose animal figures were created by Dentzel, was originally installed in the

White City Amusement Park White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance sections of the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893, the parks started gaining in p ...

in what is now

Broad Ripple Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly nav ...

Park in 1917 and was restored and reinstalled in this museum in 1973. It is the largest of the museum's artifacts. The carousel is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

. The music is provided by a rare

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

style #146-B Military Band Organ. The fourth level houses Science Works (formerly known as Science Spectrum), an exhibit devoted to exploring

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

and

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phys ...

through building activities. Children may build toy boats to float along the waterway, play in a construction zone, erect an arch, climb a rock wall, crawl through tunnels, observe a live pond, and participate in other activities. Within Science Works is the Biotech Lab, which hosts daily events focusing on the future of DNA and chemistry and SciencePort which focuses on plant biology.

Dinosphere

Dinosphere is connected to the main museum on the Lower Level (through All Aboard), Level One (near the food court and main entrance gates), and Level Two (through The Mann Properties Gallery of Dinosaur Imagery). Dinosphere was formerly the CineDome Theater. Dinosphere features a sound and light experience that simulates a day in the late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago. The center of the exhibit space includes three themed fossil scenes. Visitors can perform fossil excavations in the Dig Site, touch a real ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' femur fossil in the Paleo Prep Lab, talk to real

paleontologists Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

, enjoy family-friendly games and touch-screen learning activities, and view numerous real dinosaur fossils from the Cretaceous period on display. Dinosphere is one of the largest displays of juvenile and family dinosaur fossils in the U.S. The exhibit features several species of dinosaurs including '' Hypacrosaurus'', ''

Prenoceratops ''Prenoceratops'', (meaning 'bent or prone-horned face' and derived from Greek ''prene-/πρηνη-'' meaning 'bent forwards' or 'prone', ''cerat-/κερατ-'' meaning 'horn' and ''-ops/ωψ'' meaning 'face') is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur f ...

'', ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...

'', '' Gorgosaurus'', '' Maiasaura'', '' Bambiraptor'', ''

Oviraptor ''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapma ...

'', and ''

Dracorex hogwartsia ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only known species, ...

''. Several ancient non-dinosaur creatures are also featured, including '' Didelphodon'', ''

Sarcosuchus ''Sarcosuchus'' (; ) is an extinct genus of crocodyliform and distant relative of living crocodilians that lived during the Early Cretaceous, from the late Hauterivian to the early Albian, 133 to 112 million years ago of what is now Africa and ...

'' (super croc), and ''

Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...

''. From February 2021 to March 2022, the museum closed the Dinosphere for renovations as part of its Mission Jurassic initiative. The $27.5 million project brought two new exhibits about the Jurassic period to the upper level of the exhibit, one of sauropod dinosaurs and of marine reptiles like '' Baptanodon'' and '' Plioplatecarpus''. During the interim period, many of the fossils were on display elsewhere in the museum.

Outdoor Sports Experience

Opened in 2018, the exhibit offers many different sports activities for visiting families. Indoor areas include a gallery of sports art and an exhibit on the culture of sports. Outdoor areas include basketball, football, tennis, hockey, baseball, soccer, golf, two-pedal race tracks, a tree-house, and a run/walk track that circles the outdoor exhibit.

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!

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

Museum websiteOnline collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Childrens Museum of Indianapolis, The Museums established in 1925 Museums in Indianapolis Children's museums in Indiana Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Organisations using QRpedia Dinosaur museums in the United States Paleontology in Indiana Natural history museums in Indiana Science museums in Indiana Transportation museums in Indiana 1925 establishments in Indiana