A parent's guide to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum

It's the largest children's museum in the world. It's routinely ranked one of the best attractions in the country for kids. And its accolades have only grown with the addition of the outdoor Sports Legend Experience in 2018. 

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is undoubtedly one of the city's top destinations for families. Given its size (five floors!), frequently changing exhibits and recent expansion, parents can be forgiven for finding it a little overwhelming. So here's what you need to know.

Popular exhibits

Walking into the museum is an event in itself. Massive dinosaurs on the outside plaza appear to poke their heads into the multi-story lobby's glass facade, and an impressively realistic 17-foot-tall movie prop of Bumblebee from the Transformers movie franchise towers above visitors in front of the ticket counter. Some favorite exhibits:

Dinosphere features life-size skeletons, including a teenage T-Rex and a Triceratops. The "sky" changes — night, day, storm — and the sound of thundering footsteps will have you looking over your shoulder. Kids can don safety glasses and dig for faux bones and there's a working paleo lab.

Beyond Spaceship Earth includes an immersive International Space Station exhibit where kids help repair the station, learn how to grow a plant in space and try on space gear. 

At Treasures of Earth, children can explore a re-created Egyptian tomb, reconstruct a terracotta warrior or climb on cannons from Captain Kidd's shipwreck. There's also a working archaeology lab where real archaeologists can answer questions and demonstrate how they restore historic artifacts. 

Playscape is a big hit with younger children. There's a padded area for toddlers to climb around, a massive leaf-themed climbing structure, a wind chamber where they can try to snag whirling objects, a giant water table and a room of authentic musical instruments.

All Aboard allows kids to see a real steam engine and climb aboard one of its cars. There's also lots of toy trains and a ticket station.

Fireworks of Glass is a mesmerizing 43-foot-tall sculpture by artist Dale Chihuly made with thousands of pieces of blown glass. Kids can play with plastic replicas and make their own tower. It's also a great place for parents to give their feet a rest. 

The Carousel is a merry-go-round with sculpted animals salvaged from the 100-year-old attraction that once operated in the city's Broad Ripple Park. Kids can't resist it, but parents should be aware that it costs $1 a ride for non-members. 

Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience opened last year and has been recognized by USA Today as one of the top 5 new attractions in the country. The $38.5 million attraction contains more than a dozen sports experiences: basketball hoops of varying sizes, a football area where you can make a diving catch and land on a soft mat, a pedal car drag race and four mini-golf courses. Towering above it all is a 25-foot-tall Tree House of Sports where kids (and adults, too) can climb up and look out over the entire 7.5 acres. Most of the Sports Legend Experience is outside, so activities are dependent on the weather. Your kids will sleep well after visiting this exhibit.

Exhibits ending soon

Treasures of Ancient Greece is the museum's newest exhibit. It features 150 objects from scientific inventions and sculptures to jewelry and vases. Kids can build a temple, design a vase, race in an Olympic festival and help Herakles complete his 12 heroic tasks. There is a catch, though. An additional ticket is required. Tickets cost $1 to $7 depending on age and membership status. The exhibit runs through Jan. 5, 2020.

Note: Take Me There: Greece, a separate exhibit about life in Greece today, is included with the cost of admission. Kids can climb into an airplane fuselage for the journey, gather food for authentic Greek meals and learn some Greek words.

Jolly Days is The Children's Museum's annual winter wonderland. During Jolly Days, the museum transforms its staircase into a two-story slide, surrounded by festive holiday décor. Children can "ice skate" in the sock-skating rink, explore an ice castle and try indoor versions of winter activities like ice fishing. Through Dec. 24, kids can meet Santa and tell him what they want. The event runs through Jan. 5, 2020.

Hours

Winter (Nov. 4, 2019, to March 15, 2020) hours for the museum are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays (except Dec. 16, 23 and 30), Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. The outdoor portion of the sports experience is closed for the winter.

Spring (March 16 to May 25, 2020) hours for the museum are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The sports experience is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Both are closed on Easter. 

Location

The Indianapolis Children's Museum is located at 3000 North Meridian, Indianapolis, IN 46208. It's about three miles north of Downtown. 

Cost

General admission: The museum uses what it calls "dynamic pricing," so the ticket price on any given day can vary, with a maximum of $38 for adults who purchase tickets at the museum the day of their visit. But usually, visitors don't have to pay that much. If you purchase your ticket online more than two weeks in advance, you can save up to 25%, with adult tickets typically available for $23 to $24 and children's tickets available for $19 to $20. Admission is always free for children under two years old. You can check the museum's online pricing calendar for more details. 

Membership: Yearly passes are often the best option if you plan to visit the museum more than once. A family membership is $215 and includes unlimited visits for one year for two adults sharing the same household and all children under age 21. There are several other options as well. Check out the museum's online membership page for more information. 

Free and Discount Days

Free days: Admission is free for all ages on the following days: Christmas Eve (Dec. 24, 2019), Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Jan. 20, 2020) and Presidents Day (Feb. 17, 2020). A heads up about free and discount days: It will be packed and you may have to park at one of the more distant surface lots, so plan accordingly.

Discount days: Admission is discounted from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. Visitors pay $5 for either the museum or the sports experience, or $7 for both.

Access Pass: Participants in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SNAP and Hoosier Works, or Hoosier Healthwise Insurance may qualify for an Access Pass. Qualified families can visit the museum or sports experience for $2 per person, or both for $3.

Parking

The museum has a parking garage and surface lots on Illinois Street. They are always free. 

Other things to know

Shows: The museum's Lilly Theater features live performances —currently The Magic Snowman — twice a day. The shows are included with the cost of admission, but tickets are first come, first served. They're available starting at 10 a.m. 

Programming: The museum has tons of fun, attention-span appropriate educational programs involving science, arts, crafts, music or food throughout the day. Check out the daily calendar for more details. 

Eating: The museum has a cafeteria-style food court inside and a concession stand outside in the sports experience. Parents on a budget will appreciate this, too: The museum encourages families to pack their own food. 

Logistics: There is a coat check ($1 per item), lockers (75 cents to $1.25) and stroller rentals ($3 to $5). You're welcome to carry your things or bring your own stroller as well.

Restrooms/nursing: There are family restrooms with little potties for little ones throughout the museum. There's also a nursing area on level three in the Playscape exhibit.