Susan's Cabinet: Indianapolis

I hadn't considered Indianapolis as a destination until someone mentioned it has a great art museum, just before I drove my daughter off to college in Michigan. We stopped at the museum on that drive up and I had plenty more chances to visit the city on subsequent trips. Wow, I had no idea what I had been missing; this is an awesome place to visit! They do indeed have a great art museum, along with my now-all-time-favorite children’s museum, a downtown canal walk, and so much more. The city is known as the “Crossroads of America” (where more interstate highways intersect than in any other U.S. city) and it's just a 6.5-hr drive from Huntsville, straight up the I-65.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art has it all – from Ancient Egyptian artifacts to a huge contemporary design gallery, from cool modern architecture to a French chateau on the grounds, from a stylish café to a 100-acre art and nature park. This museum is like an encyclopedia of art history in a beautiful setting with all the amenities.

Oldfields-Lilly historic house museum on the grounds of the IMA

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is just a couple of miles from the art museum. You don’t need to be a child to love this museum! I went all by myself, and no one gave me strange looks. Maybe that was because there were plenty of children all over the museum. As far as anyone else knew, one of them was mine. In fact, I did temporarily acquire a lost child who I quickly handed over to an employee. (There I am with no children of my own, and now I’m walking around with someone else’s child - that could be a free ride to the police station!) I went to this museum to see a temporary exhibit of Terracotta Warriors - one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of the twentieth century and not something you can see often.

The exterior of the museum features dinosaurs trying to get in and dinosaurs crashing their way out.

Inside, there are real dinosaur skeletons, including the only known skull of Dracorex hogwartsia ("Dragon King of Hogwarts") - seriously, it's even in National Geographic! They have a “life-size” transformer in the lobby, a collection of miniature rooms, a dinosaur art exhibit, a carousel, an 1890's steam locomotive, live performances in the Lilly Theater, a replica of an Egyptian tomb, and an amazing Chihuly glass exhibit – you recline on a round couch and look up at all the colored glass in the ceiling as the couch slowly spins. This is the best children’s museum I have ever visited! I stayed until they closed and I didn’t even make it up to the 4th and 5th floors or to the planetarium.

Chihuly glass

The Downtown Canal Walk is a 3-mile loop which runs alongside museums, parks, and restaurants, and it links up with the trail in the White River State Park (another 4.75 miles of trail). It's a beautiful walk along the water, with sights of peddle boats, gondolas, surrey bikes, gardens, and public art, en route to the capitol, the zoo, and other attractions.

Old Washington Street Pedestrian Bridge on the White River, built in 1833

The Indiana State Museum is beside the canal. It has beautiful modern architecture and fabulous exhibits! Mastodons and Mammoths, old technology exhibits (seriously, my first computer is already in a museum?!), the most beautiful Foucault pendulum, contemporary art exhibits...the natural and cultural history of Indiana. The museum’s Farmers Market Café is a great place to have lunch (indoors or outdoors) with a beautiful view of the canal. Their underground parking garage is a convenient place to leave your car for a day of exploring on foot.

The Indiana State Museum

The facade of the Oscar C. McCulloch School No. 5
is incorporated into the main hall.

A young docent was anxious to enlighten someone about the iron lung so I learned a lot. This particular iron lung was in use until 1973!

I always enjoy the self-guided tours of state capitols. The Indiana capitol is gorgeous! It was completed in 1888, constructed of Indiana limestone and white oak. The stained glass rotunda window is original and made from German glass. Indiana is one of the few states that have all three branches of government operating out of a historic state capitol building. It has a part-time legislature and they weren’t in session when I visited.

“Spirit of Indiana” mural in the House of Representatives by Eugene Francis Savage, 1964

The Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens are just across the pedestrian bridge from the Indiana State Museum. I can attest that, as advertised, this zoo is a “Great place to visit no matter what your age!” I had a great time here while my kids were at a conference. (It would be an ironic role reversal except that the conference was about games.) Some of the things I enjoyed most were: tigers playing in the water, the colorful glass conservatory and 3-acre formal garden, the aquarium (the largest in Indiana), the desert biome, and the huge indoor/outdoor orangutan center. This is a world-class zoo with additional attractions including a sky ride, 4-D theater, carousel, and children’s play areas. They even have an in-water dolphin encounter (with a typical world-class price tag). The zoo is part of the AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program, so if you have another zoo or aquarium membership be sure to check and see if you get free or discounted admission here.