Address: 650 W. Washington St.
Pricing: Adults, $7; seniors, $6.50; children, $4
Phone: (317) 232-1637
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
How To Get There:
From the west, take I-74 East to I-465 South to Washington Street. Turn east onto Washington and travel six miles to the museum.
Parking:$2 for first hour, $1 for each additional hour
Visit Website
Indiana State Museum: a stunning rebound
Published: May 8, 2009
Previously saddled with the reputation a generation ago as “one of the poorest and most inadequate state museums in the United States,” the Indiana State Museum has experienced a stunning rebound in recent years with a new home in the heart of White River State Park.
Opened in May 2002, the Indiana State Museum boasts more than 300,000 artifacts in a three-story, 40,000-square-foot building on the White River Canal. Exhibits cover Indiana's history since prehistoric times, and the museum operates one of only four full-sized IMAX theaters in the state.
The museum building — an attraction in itself, with its rough-cut Indiana limestone exterior — has fascinating features that include:
• a 55-foot-tall polychrome aluminum spelling of the word “Indiana” by native Hoosier artist Robert Indiana;
• a 92-county “walk,” with sculptures representing each of the 92 Indiana counties;
• a Foucault Pendulum, which accurately measures the rotation of the planet;
• a 17-foot-tall steam clock, which regularly plays several notes of the tune “Back Home Again in Indiana” during the day;
• an authentic recreation of the famed L.S. Ayres department store tea room that once graced downtown Indianapolis; and
• a complete recreation of the old Oscar McCulloch School No. 5, formerly located near downtown.
Thirteen permanent museum galleries cover an assortment of topics, along with a number of changing exhibits, including those covering African-American images; the Hoosier State's diversity of nature; the Indiana Artisan Development Program; 21st century Indiana Art; “Symphony in Color” (a statewide art and music enrichment program for youngsters); and “Making it in the Midwest,” featuring a new collection from working artists throughout a four-state region, including Indiana. Restaurants, gardens and a Hoosier Heritage Trail complete the museum's current offerings.
Check the museum's website for details on special events or exhibits.
- by Jim Brown , Indianapolis Reporter for HelloMetro
(Click to leave a message)
