We recently visited the museum with our 4 year old. We happened to go on the opening day of the new Curious George exhibit so they had Curious George themed activities and give aways all day. A nice bonus.

The musuem had 5 floors of exhibits and activities for kids of all ages and adults alike. There were tons of hands on and fun activites for the kids as well as learning/teaching opportunities. There was a wide range of topics in which anyone could find interest. Some of the exhibits focused on trains, the ocean, ancient civilization, space, dinosaurs, robots, curious george, a misc. play yard, cultural/historical events, science, chemistry, and food. I have no doubt something will be of interest.

If you plan to see all the exhibits in full detail and view all the shows it probably would take the 2 days mentioned in some earlier reviews. We basically opened and closed the place in one day and saw most of the museum (enough to satisfy), although none of the shows.

The admission was a bit hefty at $13.50 per adult and $8.50 for children, but once in it was nice to see that they didn't take you for everything else. By that, I mean the food court in the museum was reasonably priced and tasted OK, the pony rides were $1, the gift shop had decent price items, etc. It wasn't like an amusement park were you get it handed to you at the door and then another $4 per soda, $5 hotdog, etc.

If in the area with children I would make this a stop on your trip if you have time. It will be worth the effort in our opinion.

There is no question that this is hands-down the best children's museum in the world. Wonderful selection of exhibits that are extremely interactive. Children have so much fun that they likely will not realize how much they have learned until they get home and discuss the museum's exhibits.

Strongly recommend getting a museum membership. If you go two days and buy anything in the gift shop (membership gets you 10% off), then it has paid for itself. You can easily spend two full days exploring all that this museum has to offer.

We spent two consecutive days last December at the museum, and have already gone back this month (August) as they have added so many new exhibits.

Strongly recommend this museum if you have children and are anywhere near Indy.

I love the Indianapolis Children's Museum!
I visit the museum at least 2 times a year, either with friends or my Kindergarten class.
Your kids will never get bored there, and I must admit, even for an adult it's pretty fun!
Theres a fairly cheap carosel ride on the third or fourth level, and they always have fun traveling exhibits.
The gift shop and cafeteria can be pretty pricey, but they have rooms to eat lunch in if you prefer to bring your own.

I cannot stress enough that if you have your family within day trip distance of Indianapolis, the Children's Museum is a must see! Even if you are not, it is worth the trip. We were able to get a special rate from a local hotel, and for $149 we got a night at the hotel, and 4 tickets to both the Children's Museum and Indianapolis Zoo. Normal admission is $12 for adults and $7 for ages 2-17. They offer free admission on MLK Day, President's Day, Day of the Child (April 30) and on Christmas Eve, as well as 4-8 PM the first Thursday of the month.

The museum consists of five floors of fun for kids of all ages. If you are there when it opens, they do a small introductory program that goes over all the museum's features and exhibits that we found very helpful. We began at the top, as I always prefer to start as far away from the entrance as possible and work my way back to it. Honestly, we could have spent the entire day in the science area on the top floor. My 6-year old tried out the rock climbing program that they offer. There were large exhibits about construction and how levers and pulleys apply to it, which both of my sons were glued to.

My 6 year old was also enthralled with the Dinosphere, a huge and detailed dinosaur exhibit on the ground floor. When my 3-year old got fidgety with this, I took him to the "Playscape" area that they have for younger kids on the 4th floor. This section had many interesting activities for little ones, including various large blocks that you wouldn't have room for at home, a water area and sand table, and a huge "pretend" area with puppets and props to make believe with.

We found the "Sesame Street" and "Bob the Builder" travelling exhibits to be disappointing, primarily because we looked forward to them the most. They had very limited "hands-on" activities, which surprised us. I enjoyed the Sesame Street memorabilia, having grown up on it, but the kids weren't much into it. We also thought the Planetarium show we attended could have been a little longer and more detailed, and could have had a better sound system as the presenter was difficult to hear.

We spent the entire day there, 10 AM to 5 PM, totally forgot about lunch, and honestly thought we could have spent a couple more hours. It is easy to access, in a nice neighborhood, and parking is free. Do not miss this excellent, reasonably priced attraction!