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Indiana State Museum
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
7 reviews for Indiana State Museum
I am only reviewing this as a wedding ceremony/reception location. I have never visited the museum or seen the sights so I can't comment on that side of things.
I was in a wedding that was hosted in this location in October. First of all, I highly recommend that if you can afford this an option, it is ABSOLUTELY amazing! They do one wedding a day, so you are the ONLY bride. My friend did an outdoor wedding next to the canal. It is one of the only outdoor canal locations in the city. Although there are bystanders walking through, no one was rude or in the way. We all walked down a LONG flight of stairs...what an entrance!! Amy looked stunning waltzing down the steps. It was fabulous and breathtaking.
A cocktail hour was also hosted outside after the ceremony was over and the reception was inside in a large open space with plenty of seating and plenty of room for a dance floor. It was INCREDIBLE. The staff was on top of things, well organized and incredibly friendly and helpful. We got ready in a room that overlooked the ceremony location, so we could see people coming in and taking a seat. It was very cool.
They set up everything Amy requested just as she requested it. They were professional, courtesy and extremely organized. I definitely recommend this as a fabulous downtown Indy location. It was also nice having everything in one place.
There is ample parking, cabs will swing by to pick people up and plenty of hotels to choose from. All great benefits for a perfect wedding combination!
the IMAX is lovely, i ordered the movie tickets online
the water fountain outside & the long driveway, both Lovely, their restaurants closes too early
The Indiana State Museum used to be located in the Capitol Building, but around 2002, I believe, it was moved to its present location in the White River State Park. The building that houses the museum is massive, and provides much more than a few exhibits. There is a large cafeteria, a meeting/conference hall, and even an entrance to the IMAX theater located conveniently in the lobby. The building has strong "modern" architecture, with angles everywhere. Walking outside, you are right on the water and can look back at the building to see large mirrored walls with angles jutting up to touch the sky. And while the architecture of the building itself might be very impressive, I am sad to say the overall museum leaves something to be desired.
Being that this is a "State Museum" after all, you would expect everything to be about the state of Indiana itself, and it basically is, with the exception of some changing exhibits. There is also a bridge on the third floor that takes you over the street into a smaller part of the museum housing a "Future of Indiana" exhibit that talks about nanotechnology. Among the other exhibits are various paintings/sculptures from Indiana artists, a history of Indiana's pioneers and shopping industry, as well as information about the working conditions of miners, etc. While these may seem interesting, overall, the museum is rather boring.
The two main things that save this Museum from the dreaded "two stars and under" category are the pendulum and the first exhibit that you see that shows you how the world's continents itself were formed and where Indiana rested on the globe in respect to say Africa, for example. There is a large lighted globe that shows a repeating movie of how Pangaea, etc. broke apart and formed the various continents present today. This is one of two must-see items in the museum. The other being the pendulum.
To properly view the pendulum, you should take the trip to the third floor where you can look down on the swinging mass from above. There are small black blocks that get knocked down as the pendulum swings, which easily exhibits how the earth rotates everyday.
Other than that, there is not much to do. While the museum tries to be interactive with touch screen monitors located frequently through the museum, overall it just seems like they are using them as filler rather than use them to portray any needed information.
The museum's gift shop is ridiculously expensive, even by gift shop standards. However, they do have some rare items that I suppose could be considered worth the price - like certain Vera Bradley patterns on handbags and umbrellas, for instance.
Overall, if you have never been, I suppose the cheap entrance fee of $7 would make the trip worth it, I would just highly suggest not to get your hopes up too high.
I am drawn to the beautiful architecture here as well as the location. You can visit the Eitleljorg and NCAA museums from the same parking garage, as well as taking a stroll on the canal.
They do have some interesting exhibits as well as art on display. I think this might be the home of the first IMAX theater in Indy. I can remember coming to see the Nutcracker here when I was little with my grandma.
In reference to the other reviews this is probably not the best museum I have ever been to but this one is nice and they do try to make this place nice.
Dear God, this place was a letdown. I went a while back (when the Lord of the Rings exhibit was in town, now that rocked) so, hopefully, something has changed for the better.
But the big theme was Indiana throughout time. They had a giant world map that showed Pangaea, the Supercontinent (a cool title), and where Indiana was located as the tectonic plates shifted, eventually becoming the world we know now. This section was capped off by the oldest rock in Indiana. Ironically, the rock originated from Oklahoma, but, being that it was, in fact, in Indiana at the time and was older than any other rock there, it was technically correct, though deceiving. Next was a room with a life-sized wooly mammoth falling into a lake of ice. Not sure if Indiana was known for its mammoths, but it was pretty cool. This wing also had a bunch of Native American-themed stuff, including some crafts you could do.
Into the modern era we go. There was a giant glass case containing, presumably, treasures from Indiana. Key riches included a little girl's pink dress, a picture of the USS Indiana, a Japanese-made machine gun known for jamming and killing its operator, a not-all-that-old green rock, and some wheat made out of wax. Maybe it's because I'm not a native to Indiana, but I just didn't get it. Contrastingly, the exhibit of all of the famous people who came out of Indiana was quiet interesting. James Dean actually got his own hallway.
Finally, there is an Indiana of the Future exhibit. According to their predictions, in the future, Indiana will abandon science and technology and return to its home-owned, organic, agricultural roots. They have close-ups of futuristic dirt here.
At the very least, I was amused the entire trip.
Great facility and great location to many other attractions, however staff (especially customer service) seems very underqualified -what ever happened to "the customer is always right?" -we at least deserve a little respect. Over priced tickets, and food court.
A must see for all fifth grade social studies students. Besides that, the museum lags far behind the more interactive Children's Museum and the more informative Eiteljorg Museum. The current facility glows with a modern sensitivity, but this theme fails to enter into the exhibits. First floor, ancient history, and includes all the fossils. Its nice, but the exhibits presentation allows for minimal interaction, and without a guide the details are vague to the eye and misleading. Second floor, looks into Indiana's recent history. Same presentation...same yawn. On the third floor is where the changing exhibits are located. In my four years in Indianapolis, I've visited the Japanese Quilt exhibit, the Heron Art Exhibit, and the Cell Discovery Exhibit. Each one was a bore! Visit once, but don't waste your money on a second trip.
