The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis, IN
The biggest children's museum on earth, where a life-sized dinosaur bursts through a wall and a soaring glass tower spirals up through five floors.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children's museum in the world, a sprawling, multi-floor institution just north of downtown that welcomes families into hands-on worlds of science, history, art, and culture. Its scale sets it apart: this is not a single gallery of exhibits but a small city of them, from a dinosaur hall with real fossils to a carousel, a steam train, and a soaring atrium sculpture, all built around the idea that children learn best by doing.
Among its most famous features are Dinosphere, where a life-sized dinosaur appears to be crashing through the museum's outer wall, and a towering blown-glass sculpture by the artist Dale Chihuly that spirals up through five floors of the central atrium. Add a genuine nineteenth-century steam locomotive, a restored antique carousel, and a large sports experience, and the museum becomes a destination in its own right for families across the Midwest.
What Guests Love
- Dinosphere, with real fossils and a life-sized dinosaur breaking through an exterior wall
- The towering Dale Chihuly blown-glass sculpture rising through the central atrium
- A real 1868 steam locomotive and a working antique carousel indoors
- The Sports Experience, an indoor and outdoor complex for hands-on athletics
Worth Knowing
- It is enormous, so plan several hours and pick priorities with younger children
- It draws crowds on weekends and school breaks, so early arrival helps
- Most of the museum is indoor, with the sports complex adding outdoor space
- Check current exhibits and any timed features before you go
Details
Indianapolis, IN
Learn about The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
A museum built for children
Indianapolis sits in central Indiana, in a region that is the homeland of the Miami (Myaamia), the Lenape (Delaware), the Potawatomi, and the Shawnee. The Lenape in particular held villages along the White River valley in the early 1800s before treaties and forced removals opened the land to the new state capital laid out in the 1820s.
The Children's Museum was founded in 1925, one of the earlier children's museums in the country, and grew over the decades into the largest in the world. Its guiding belief is that children absorb the most when they can touch, build, and explore, and its exhibits are designed to be handled rather than merely viewed, blending play and learning at every turn.
Dinosaurs, glass, and a steam train
Dinosphere immerses visitors in the world of dinosaurs, with real fossils, working paleontology labs, and a dramatic sculpture of a dinosaur seemingly bursting through the building's exterior. It is many families' first stop and a favorite of dinosaur-obsessed children.
At the museum's heart, a spectacular blown-glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly rises through the atrium, a burst of color visible from every floor. Elsewhere the museum holds a real 1868 steam locomotive and a beautifully restored antique carousel that still turns, treasures that anchor the history galleries.
Culture, science, and sports
The museum ranges far beyond dinosaurs. Galleries explore world cultures, American history, and science, and the powerful 'Power of Children' exhibit tells the stories of young people who changed the world, including Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White, an Indiana teenager whose fight against discrimination during the AIDS epidemic became national news.
Outside and adjoining the main building, the Sports Experience offers indoor and outdoor spaces where children can try baseball, basketball, hockey, racing, and more, combining physical play with lessons in science and health. It reflects a city long defined by its love of sport.
Visiting and downtown Indianapolis
The museum is vast, so families do well to arrive with a plan, pick a few must-see areas, and build in rest, especially with young children. It draws large crowds on weekends and school holidays, so an early start makes for a smoother day.
Its location just north of downtown puts it within easy reach of the rest of Indianapolis, including the museums and attractions of White River State Park, the Eiteljorg Museum, and the monuments and canal of the city center.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Indianapolis
White River State Park
About 3 miles south
A downtown urban park with the Indianapolis Zoo, the Eiteljorg Museum, a canal walk, and outdoor concerts.
Newfields
About 3 miles north
The Indianapolis Museum of Art campus, with galleries, gardens, and the Lilly House estate.
Downtown Indianapolis
About 2 miles south
Monument Circle, the canal walk, museums, and the sports and dining of the state capital's center.