The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis – A Must Visit for Families

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is incredible and perfect for kids (and adults!) of all ages. We had an amazing time exploring the five floors of interactive exhibits. You could easily spend HOURS at the largest children’s museum in the world.

We took the three hour drive from Columbus to Indianapolis to visit The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and The Indianapolis Zoo. It was a FUN and busy weekend filled with lots of family adventures. Scroll down to check out everything you need to know about this incredible museum.

Location + Parking + Pricing

The museum is location at 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46028. Here are directions from the major highways in Indianapolis. We stayed on the north side of Indianapolis and it was just about a 20 minute drive to the museum from our hotel by Keystone Fashion Mall.

Parking is free (woo hoo!) in multiple places. There is surface parking in several locations and a garage which you can then take the skywalk to walk straight into the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Check out all the details and exact locations of parking here.

The cost of the children’s museum is a little interesting to me. The prices adjust depending on the day so they range from $19.75 up to $38.50 for a daily ticket. The prices do go up as the day of visit gets closer so once you pick your visiting day, buy your tickets. You can buy your tickets here.

Note: They do not participate in the reciprocal museum program like COSI.

The New Dinosphere

The NEW Dinosphere is now open! We actually visited the Dinosaur exhibit five (!!) years ago and thought it was amazing then so we were super excited to see the updates. This exhibit is FREE and included in your ticket price. We were there opening weekend and they had timed tickets to make sure it didn’t get too overcrowded in there.

There are five immersive experiences in Dinosphere and each one is SO fun. This is a spot you could spend at least an hour, if not longer, in with your kiddos.

Our favorite spot was the Art Lab where there are hands on activities like creating a dinosaur comic strip, designing a dinosaur hatchling and making it come to life, and even creating a dinosaur dinner scene.

This rings true in the whole Children’s Museum of Indianapolis but this exhibit definitely has spots for kids of all ages. There is so much to look at for little ones, a TON to read and really cool interactive spots like digging for fossils!

They also have ongoing Dinosphere programs that are included with admission which you can learn about here. Make sure to set an alarm so you don’t miss out on the one you really want to experience!

Cafe + Snacks

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Food Court is actually pretty great! There is a Starbucks that makes legitimate drinks not just brewed coffee. There are several different stations where you can order pizza, salads, burgers, or one of their signature pretzels.

We ordered pizza and a pretzel and they were both pretty good! You can even buy one of their signature pretzel kits to make them at home, which is pretty cool.

They do also have food options outside! There are pizzas, burgers, pretzels, hot dogs, and dip n dots for purchase at a station. It also looks like they have food trucks during the warmer months on the weekends!

They ask that all eating and drinking is done in the dining all but we did bring our coffee and some puffs for the little one around in the exhibits. You can also bring your own lunches or snacks to enjoy in the dining hall inside or outside in the Sports Legend area.

Sports Legend Experience

This exhibit was closed when we visited last time and I’m so excited we were able to experience it on this visit! It is a HUGE outdoor area that is weather and season dependent, meaning it is only open from March – November.

There are hands on activities for kids (and adults) to try out various sports including basketball, football, racing, golf, tennis, baseball, and more. At some stations, there were employees of the children’s museum guiding visitors and answering questions but some were fend for yourself.

If your kiddo likes to run, there is a track that runs throughout the entire Sports Legend Experience so you can channel your inner track athlete or huff and puff while your five year old sprints away. I was the latter example here.

Other Exhibits

We shared about two of the bigger exhibits at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis but there are SO MANY. I mean, this is the largest children’s museum in the world. Here is a quick list of our favorites that you definitely need to work into your visit.

• All Aboard. If your little one loves trains, you have to work your way through this area. Finnegan was practically jumping out of our arms to see the trains. Check out our Instagram for those cute videos.
• Treasures of the Earth. I am a huge fan of archeological history so this is my favorite exhibit. You can uncover the mystery of an Egyptian tomb, learn from an archeologist about shipwrecks, see artifacts used in the Indiana Jones movies, and rebuild a Terra Cotta Warrior.
• Doc McStuffins: The Exhibit. This spot is only around until May 15, 2022! Olivia LOVES animals so she could have spent hours in here caring for pets and being a veterinarian.
• Barbie You Can Be Anything: The Experience. I love a good empowering exhibit and this one delivers. It’s only open through July 2022. Kids can learn all about different careers including a wildlife photographer, a robotics photographer, or even an airline pilot.
• Beyond Spaceship Earth. Kids can experience the story of space exploration from NASA’s Project Mercury program which spent the first Americans into space to the International Space Station! You can discover how astronauts perform scientific experiments in space, see a real video of their day to day life on the ISS, and learn about famous Hoosier’s astronauts.

This isn’t even all of the immersive exhibits at the Indy kid’s museum! You can read about all of them here to plan your trip.

Where to Stay

Since we came from Columbus to visit the museum we stayed overnight in a lovely hotel! We were visiting during March Madness weekend so we opted for a hotel in the northern suburbs vs. downtown. It’s a quick drive to downtown so we didn’t feel like we were too far away!

We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Indianapolis-Keystone which is right by the Keystone Fashion Mall and TONS of food and shopping in case you need a little extra activity or you forget something. It’s also by Dragons & Doughnuts which I recommend with my whole heart.

The hotel was great. It has a pool, ample parking, a fitness center, and free breakfast. We like to stay at places with a pool even if we swim for like 20 minutes – the kiddos love it. We also always try to stay somewhere with breakfast just to hold everyone over while we get ready in the mornings.

We had the best time on our visit to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and we can’t wait to go back! If you loved this post, be sure to follow us on Instagram where we share more travel information for families.