Indiana State Museum

Lots of Indiana history to explore. I really enjoyed the tribute room with all the well-known famous people who hail from Indiana. The holiday windows display from the old Ayres building brought back some childhood memories.Interactive kid activities and holiday events going on. Home of the IMAX theatre and great underground parking. Farmers Market Cafe and LS Ayres tea room (seasonal) for food. Unique souvenirs in the gift shop.Admission $20, $18 for seniors, $14 youth, College students $5, under 3 free. Closed Monday and Tuesday.Staff are helpful and friendly!

Here with a 12-year old friend and I loved it as much as he did. I love that the exhibits are SO interactive. The exhibits make history accessible to children and adults. There are lots of characters for the kids! There's also an area specifically for younger children.

Interesting and well designed. I have been here twice during the Christmas season. Both times the Santa Claus has been very authentic and friendly. The museum has nice, historical exhibits representing the counties and history of the early settlers of Indiana and the products and creations Indiana is known for. The group I was with have been lucky enough to see a children's choir perform Christmas music while there. There are many interactive exhibits to enjoy also.

The Indiana State Museum is a great alternative to the larger museums throughout Indianapolis. They have rotating exhibits, along with an outstanding exhibit focused on the early years in Indianapolis history. Be sure to visit both the rotating exhibits and the permanent exhibits on display.

Cute little museum; it took about 2 hours to walk through all of the exhibits. On the day of my visit, general admission was $20. There is underground parking right at the entrance. Of course, be prepared for field trips and annoying kids running around. I found the exhibits interesting and learned about the history of Indiana.

Great place to visit and learn the history of Indiana. Lots of exhibits to explore for all ages. I went on a Saturday and it wasn't crowded. Would definitely recommend if you're in the area.

Overall, it is worth a visit here. It is a bit hard to find where the parking garage is, but follow the signs immediately before you see the museum. The underground parking is easy to navigate and, if you get it validated (they remind you, which I like), it's only $4. The tickets for us were $20 apiece, which is getting into frustrating territory. Even $15 would make sense, but for $20, they kinda have you by the collar.The first floor was about natural history, and though I'm a history buff, it's never as interesting as a more standard look through history. At first, we saw some exhibits that seemed kid-oriented, which is cool but not for us. After turning left, we finally saw some "regular" natural history displays. They could stand to have a bit of signage about this. The displays were very well put together, with lots of information about various native animals, recreated with lots of accuracy and proportionality! I also appreciate that they don't treat Native American history in what is now Indiana either by ignoring it or paying it "scraps" in the form of tokenization. Instead, there is a good information about Indiana's first peoples, which is crucial to understanding the state's history.The second floor is similarly comprehensive, and it could also benefit from a tiny bit of signage to ensure there's a chronological flow for visitors. There are some cool artifacts related to Abraham Lincoln's youth, and you continue to see a great combination of artifacts and written information throughout the floor. They have a good amount of vintage cars - not replicas, but the real deal! There are also some war uniforms. It is arresting and unnerving to see a real-life KKK robe and hood there, but I am glad they show the bad parts of state history as well. It is not fun to look at that, but it needs to be there all the same. The second floor does a good job showing women's history throughout and not just shoving it into a small corner. Another fun part of the second floor is a circular internal room where you learn about tons of different people who come from Indiana - some will definitely be surprises!

I always enjoy going to the museum but this week we were looking for something to entertain a 4 year old. ISM is perfect. Plenty of exhibits and events the whole family will love. Check their event's schedule ahead of time as they always have something fun for kids. This time they had easels set up so the kids could draw whatever they wanted. They also had an area where the kids could crate their own wind spinners. All the staff were great with the kids and kept them interested. We had lunch at the Farmers Market Cafe and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is. Good basics for kids and nice choices for adults. Salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. I can recommend the Farmers Salad with Brie as well as the Club Sandwich which was huge. The PB&J was a hit too.Add a walk along the canal outside and everyone will leave happy.

We didn't have time to see the entire museum.We enjoyed our over 2 hours traversing the corridors. Indiana was the leader in cars. I thought it was Detroit. They had a Lincoln exhibit and lots of Indiana history. The ice age and ancient animal bones were cool. If you have extra time, go to the Imax and have some popcorn. They had the new Indiana jones playing. 20 dollars to get in. 18 for seniors 60+ and 1 dollar less for AAA

Such a great place to visit with the kids and to learn of the state's history!Each level has play areas for the kiddos. Super friendly and welcoming staff. Clean bathrooms. FYI the restaurant/Cafe onsite closes at 5pm BUT the cooks go home at 3pm so if you go there after 3pm.. they will only have cold items ( sandwiches and salads)