Best museums in Indianapolis – Lonely Planet

From the late Victorian era to the middle of the 20th century, Indiana was a powerhouse of manufacturing and agriculture, but civic-minded Hoosiers were determined to make their capital city of Indianapolis more than a crossroads in a cornfield.  The museums they founded were so substantial and innovative that they continue to stand out to this day. 

Center a visit to Indianapolis’ museums around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, located in Monument Circle, a circular park that anchors downtown Indy. Its limestone spire is 284.5ft high, nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty. A short drive north of downtown Indy is its crown jewels: the Children’s Museum and Newfields, the campus comprising the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the adjacent gardens. 

A half-mile west of Monument Circle you’ll find the White River State Park, with its cornucopia of museums, including the must-see Eiteljorg Museum and the Indiana State Museum. If you’re up for a walk, the museums at the White River State Park campus are the perfect combination of cardio and culture.

Here’s a look at Indianapolis’ six best museums.

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Best museum for families 

You know you’re at a museum that doesn’t take itself too seriously when you spot a huge dinosaur poking its head through the museum’s glass wall. One of the oldest and largest children’s museums in the world, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis offers several floors of hands-on learning for kids ages 2 and up. Most exhibits provide learning experiences for all skill levels, so everyone in the family can find something to poke, pull or learn. A miniature village lets preschoolers explore buildings scaled just for them, while school-aged kids can geek out on exhibits about trains, Greece and history. The appeal of the full-scale carousel knows no age limits.

The museum refreshed and expanded its Dinosphere exhibit in March 2022, and visitors walk back in time to feel the earth shake beneath dinosaurs’ feet and hear them screech overhead. Kids can crawl through a secret tunnel and pop up in the middle of one exhibit’s foliage for a 360-degree look from a baby dino’s point of view. Be sure to visit the second-floor dinosaur art gallery,…