{"id":4742,"date":"2019-08-15T20:13:23","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T01:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neverdonewithfun.com\/staging\/5228\/?p=4742"},"modified":"2019-08-15T20:13:58","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T01:13:58","slug":"family-field-trip-childrens-museum-of-indianapolis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neverdonewithfun.com\/staging\/5228\/2019\/08\/15\/family-field-trip-childrens-museum-of-indianapolis\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Field Trip: Children’s Museum of Indianapolis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

5 Exhibits You Have to Explore with Your Kids<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This summer, one road trip to St. Louis with the kids<\/a> was so fun that I decided to pack all of us back in the car for a one-day, in-and-out whirlwind trip to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, getting back in the car with the kids for 3.5 hours to Indy and 3.5 hours back all in the same day — just one week after the St. Louis vacation –was not exactly what I wanted to do … and even less what #DoneWithFun Daddy wanted to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
If the boys were this overstimulated by the museum entrance … just wait till they saw the rest!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But we fit it in before the end of July in order to check out the PAW Patrol special exhibit that closed July 28. Sawyer is PAW Patrol obsessed, and I was having some mom guilt that we never do anything just for Sawyer — we drag him along to all the things Easton will love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One long exhausting day later, all of Sawyer’s PAW Patrol dreams came true and seeing his mind blown at the exhibit made the endless 7 hours in the car worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
You ever wonder what a 3-year-old on Ecstasy would look like? Now I know. <\/em>
This is literally the only non-blurry pic on my camera roll because that’s how much he was pin-balling around Adventure Bay.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So while the PAW Patrol exhibit has since closed, we had an amazing day exploring the museum from top to bottom. If you’re anywhere close to Indianapolis, I couldn’t recommend this particular Family Field Trip<\/a> more highly: the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has done the best job I’ve ever seen of creating a museum that appeals equally to kids and adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My only bit of advice: If you’re in the Chicagoland area, probably don’t try to do the drive in and out in one day. Find an inexpensive hotel and stay the night before or the night after to spread out your driving and give your family more time to explore all this museum has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
A working clock: It’s 3:36! Can you see it? 3 filled globes on the left and filled up to approximately 36 on the right.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Where:<\/strong>
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
3000 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208-4716
Get directions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan your visit:<\/strong>\u00a0 https:\/\/www.childrensmuseum.org\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Don’t miss these five exhibits at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis — our family’s favorites:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Dinosphere<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The visuals in this exhibit were stunning, elevating the usual dinosaur bones to something fascinating and a little eerie all at the same time. Interactivities at kid-level at every turn let the boys smell dinosaur food (yuck), dress up in dinosaur costumes, and even excavate dinosaur bones in a Dino Dig pit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
The boys would have been content to play-fight each other in their dinosaur wear for half the day. I had to move them along to the next thing. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Family
Keys to holding kids’ attentions: screens, buttons, and levers. The boys got to smell and decide what the dinosaurs would eat for dinner. Spoiler alert: What they eat did not smell appetizing.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Family
Sawyer and his favorite: the “huge scary T. Rex!!!” The lighting and sound effects in the exhibit change constantly, simulating shifts from daytime to nighttime, and really set the atmosphere.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Treasures of the Earth<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a>
My little archaeologist uncovering his own finds<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This sprawling exhibit sponsored by National Geographic explores famous ancient mysteries from history from an archaeological perspective. Recreations of the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Seti I, the burial site of China\u2019s Terra Cotta Warriors, and the Caribbean shipwreck of Captain Kidd all offer a variety of activities and ways to explore and play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family
The boys donned scuba gear and used measuring tapes to “search for artifacts” from the shipwreck of Captain Kidd. Nearby, real archaeologist demonstrated techniques for handling artifacts recovered from water and from land.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite parts of the exhibit focused on the Terra Cotta Warriors from China. Life-size statues were made into three-dimensional puzzles where the kids could take the pieces apart and then attempt to recreate the sculptures exactly as a real archaeologist could do. Sawyer’s puzzle skills and spatial reasoning put my own skills (or lack of) to shame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
Easton assembling the pieces of the pharaoh’s tomb in ancient Egypt. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Family
Another example of the museum’s exceptional use of lighting, sound and visual effects to tell a story and capture an audience.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Beyond Spaceship Earth<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This immersive exhibits lets you explore an International Space Station and discover exactly what life in space is like for astronauts, including trying on space gear and trying your hand at astronauts’ tasks in zero gravity. The history of space exploration is covered in a succinct, kid-friendly format that caters to short attention spans (although my kids were getting tired and hungry by this point, so their attentions spans were admittedly shorter than most.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
A view of the Northern Lights from the space ship — the changing background in this portal was mesmerizing.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a>
The exhibit expertly combines real historical objects with realistic hands-on recreations. <\/em>
Here, the boys are fighting over the astronaut’s seat at the control station.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Treasures of Ancient Greece<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The only one of our favorite exhibits that’s temporary, Treasures of Ancient Greece is at the Children’s Museum through January 2020. Unlike the previous three exhibits, this one does require the purchase of an additional ticket (a $7 upcharge to admission) but I think it’s wholeheartedly worth it. Before we made the decision to explore the exhibit, I was on the fence, unsure if it would be too art\/artifact-heavy for my boys, therefore “boring” and a waste of our money and time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was anything but. Although the exhibit does feature A LOT of classic museum cases with artwork and artifacts, it also has lots of fun activities for kids, including dressing up in Greek battle gear, trying your hand at running in the Olympics with an on-screen simulator, creating your own mosaic art, building a Greek temple with foam blocks, and decorating a Grecian urn with wipe-away markers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
Never underestimate Easton’s vision when it comes to architectural masterpieces. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This was the most grown-up of the exhibits we visited, and my parents, who came with us to the museum, were able to spend time in front of the classical art just as they would at The Field Museum or Art Institute. But the boys were equally entranced with all of the interactions designed for them and came away with a renewed interest in Greek mythology, so the exhibit designers knew exactly what they were doing. I’m glad we decided not to skip this, and it was the right exhibit to end our visit with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/a>
And never underestimate my own vision when it comes to art projects. I was unashamed to sit in front of my urn for a solid 10 minutes creating and decorating. When I was finished, a 7-year-old girl told me with wide eyes, “Yours is beautiful!”<\/em> And then she promptly erased all my work and that was that. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a>
A replica of a piece of the world’s first known computer, called the Antikythera Mechanism.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Fireworks of Glass<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Family<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the center of the Children’s Museum is a 43-foot tower of blown glass by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. The Fireworks of Glass exhibit, while not my boys’ favorite, was definitely mine. I could have peered at the intricacies of the tower for hours. The tower rises above a glass ceiling, so you can sit on a revolving couch and stare up, getting lost in the explosion of color. It feels like you’re inside of a kaleidoscope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can also try to make your own Chihuly-inspired masterpiece with plastic pieces and try blowing glass virtually on computers. This entertained the boys for about 3 minutes before they were ready to move on, but I returned to the exhibit once before we left, just to look up one more time and take it all in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Family<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Then, minds officially blown and museum shutting down in minutes, we hustled the boys through an expansive gift shop with minimal tears and headed for home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A few more tips for success:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n