Indy Recap Part 2

As promised, let me share with you our experience at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.

String Bean enjoys playing in water in the Playscape exhibit.
Photo by Mr. Bean

Pros:

• There was a load of things to do for toddlers and big kids. If you have multi-aged children in your family, you will not be disappointed with the variety of choices here.
  
• There are several places to crawl through, over or under things in the museum. Your kids will definitely leave the museum ready for a good nap.
• There is a fantastic carousel on the 4th floor of the museum. It costs $1.00 per rider, but a fun thing to do especially if you have a little one who loves animals. There is also an old fashioned horse ride that you might remember from your childhood. You know the kind in front of the grocery store? It costs a nickle per ride. String Bean had 3 rides in a row and kept asking for more. Be sure to bring some cash and get change at the front desk, or bring a roll of nickles for your little one. Cheap thrills!
• Parking is FREE in the museum's garage. Your kids will enjoy taking the sky walk across the street to the museum.
• The main bathrooms at the museum have little pottys for your little ones.
  
• The food court is almost completely kid-friendly food. They have a toddler's snack bar where you can order things like grapes, Goldfish Crackers and cottage cheese!
• For your preschooler, there is a section of the museum (Playscape) that is specially designed just for them. Besides the water area, sand area, a kid-sized house and a few slides, there is also story time, music time and art time. We could have spent all day in this area of the museum with String Bean. She was given a set of jingle bells and got to participate in a parade through the Playscape exhibit!
• This is a very stroller-friendly museum. There are no stairs. There are elevators and ramps from floor to floor. The ramps are fun because they have a huge glass sculpture in the middle of them that is fun to look at as you go from floor to floor.
  

Cons:

• We chose to go at a time when large portions of the museum were closed and in-between exhibits. When you plan your trip be sure to check what is open there before you show up. Of course, Mr. Bean was happy to see the Star Wars exhibit and dress String Bean up in the make believe outfits. Even though there were sections closed we still found plenty to fill our day.
• Admission is $14.50 per adult and $9 per child (2 and up). So, this can be a costly visit. Military discounts available. There are a few free nights, but expect large crowds.

Yoda uses the force on young Jedi String Bean.
Photo by Mr. Bean