Race into family fun in Indianapolis and help your children discover a whole new world. Whether it’s hopping into a real race car at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, touching sharks at the Indianapolis Zoo or banging away on drums at Rhythm! Discovery Center, there are plenty of options for families who don’t have to worry about warning the kids to not touch!
Indy offers hands-on fun throughout the city starting with the largest children’s museum in the world. There, a four story Chihuly glass-blown sculpture towers above a suspended glass ceiling. Underneath, kids get to create their own sculpture with pre-formed acrylic orbs. The museum is also home to one of the largest displays of real juvenile and family dinosaur fossils in the world. Dinosphere boasts a teenage T. rex with an attitude, a Gorgosaurus skeleton that actually has a brain tumor, and Baby Louie, the only articulated dinosaur embryo fossil ever found. Children are even able to dig for faux fossils in the Dinosaur Dig area or play interactive video games. Those who visit this year will also be able to walk into Barbie’s Pink Vault and see 50 years worth of Barbie fashion and are invited to design and model creations. Other fun includes climbing a limestone wall, sailing a boat, exploring life underground in the science area, or travel aboard EgyptAir and learn about modern Egyptian life while visiting a home, shopping at a marketplace, or playing a part in a traditional Egyptian celebration. The museum also has a library, planetarium, and a children’s theatre. The food court has a variety of child friendly meals and there is an award winning toy store/gift shop on property. Wheelchairs and strollers are available for rent. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Plunge into the animal world as you step into the world’s first completely submerged dolphin-viewing experience at the Indianapolis Zoo. It gives visitors the chance to watch the dolphins swim around them while the humans are inside a huge acrylic-domed underwater room. A shark touch pool is the largest of its kind in the country and is incredibly popular as everyone dares each other to touch these mythic and misunderstood creatures of the deep. And new this year, is “Cheetah: The Race for Survival”. Visitors will have the chance to “Race a Cheetah” by outrunning a series of lights as part of an interactive learning experience about the fastest animal on land. The new permanent exhibit a conservation education gift from the Tony Stewart Foundation (NASCAR driver from Central Indiana). Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday. Holiday hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Kids of all ages will learn what life was like on the farm at Conner Prairie. The hands-on living history experience takes you back in time to the 1800’s. Period actors do everything from plowing fields to singing and playing musical instruments. Spring is the perfect time to meet baby animals and tour the historic Conner Homestead or strike a deal with a fur trader at the Lenape Indian Camp. There are several hands-on possibilities including: a pottery station, wagon making shop, carpentry shop, farm hands area, crafts & puppet making. And for a $10 ticket, guests can take a 15-20 minute balloon ride at an elevation of 350 feet. It is part of a re-creation of the first manned balloon intended for a cross country ride. The outdoor experience areas, Discovery Station & indoor exhibit areas are open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Days of the week it is open vary upon time of year. Save the pots and pans and let the kids beat a real drum at Rhythm! Discovery Center. Not only can visitors check out some of the most unique percussion instruments from around the world; but, they can actually play some of them. A fan favorite seems to be the drum bank of a theatre organ. The control panel looks like a series of door bells. When touched, the buttons set off a series of interesting sounds that are reminiscent of cartoon bells, whistles and explosions. There are also a couple of sound rooms in which people are invited to play drum sets, xylophones and other large instruments.
Indianapolis also boasts a beautiful one-and-a-half mile long Central Canal that offers gondola rides, pedal boats, and bicycles of all kinds to rent. It runs along several attractions in White River State Park (several attractions lined up next to each other including the zoo, gardens, NCAA Hall of Champions, Indiana State Museum, IMAX Theater, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and Victory Field (a triple A baseball venue). You can literally walk next door to the next attraction (getting rid of loading the car up to go somewhere else and affordable in that you only pay for parking once.
The Holiday Inn Select North has a year-round indoor water park. Caribbean Cove has huge water slides, tube slides, a leisure river, jet sprays and spas. The slides shoot guests outside the water park, around the building and back inside the park... before their final splashdown into the plunge pool. There's also a kids creativity center next to billiard tables in which young visitors can create their own artwork. (The waterpark and facilities are free to registered hotel guests). http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/indno?&stopredirect=true
Staybridge Suites offers a private room for mom and dad connecting it to the kids’ room by way of a family room with pull out couch and kitchen. It also offers free hot breakfasts every day and hot dinners on a few of the week nights. http://www.dorahotels.com/
The Omni is one of seven hotels connected by skywalks to the Circle Centre mall downtown and often offers family friendly packages. http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/IndianapolisSeverin.aspx
And the Sheraton downtown has a pool on its roof – sure to give any kid bragging rights. http://www.sheratonindianapoliscitycentre.com/
For more information on the city, its attractions or hotel options, go to www.visitindy.com