Indianapolis Children's Museum

I got a call from a friend's husband the other day asking if we could get the kids together for a play date since he was home with the kids for spring break. They were supposed to go away for the week but their plans were cancelled at the last minute, so they were in town with nothing planed. Unlike myself, when I called back to accept the invitation I suggested we drive to Indy for the Children's Museum. Heck, I have a minivan big enough to hold my three kids and his too, so we set off early Friday morning for the adventure.

The museum is amazing. I was a little intimidated by the huge parking garage, and the fact that we parked all of the way on the top floor of it, but the museum was large enough to absorb the crowd. Along with the four floor parking garage, the museum is also four floors. We managed to see only two of the floors since the kids really enjoyed playing in the Clifford temporary exhibit and then on to the area for kids under 5. The babies couldn't get over the fun of the great padded climbing area's that were perfect for the curious crawlers. We also spent some time in the multicultural exhibit in the basement, but by then the kids were falling over from being so tired.

Really, if you are looking for something different to do one of these days, you really should take the drive to Indy for the children's museum. We all had a great time and have talked about it for days. Oh and not to forget, the children slept for days afterwards. They were as tired as a trip to Disney, or what I imagine Disney would do to them.

What we figured out too late:

• There is a designated brown bag lunch area with lots of highchairs. (Great that they are fine with the packers) Also there are outside picnic tables
• They do not accept reciprocal membership programs from our Cincinnati Children's museum, but it is well worth the spend, especially if you can skip naps and really spend some time there
• The carousel is only one dollar. We stayed away figuring this is where they might really get us financially
• Skip the sections immediately if you think they are not age appropriate. Also, there is someone at each door to tell you the age of the children that will get the most out of the exhibit
• Doll houses are not just for kids- there is a whole society that really gets into the crafting of miniture houses. I was skeptical, but really fell in love with some of the reproductions from the victorian era, once I was educated.