Indiana embodies Midwestern America’s quintessential essence. Home to bustling cities like Indianapolis and adorable little towns like Santa Claus (read more about this city below!), it balances a mixture of sophisticated art and refreshing natural getaways to attract visitors from all over the world. Whether you’re dying to break into your new hiking boots, head out on horseback to the prairie, or experience face-to-face history in their museums and historic towns, Indiana always has something to offer.
Carnegie Center for Art & History
Art gallery with rotating exhibits, family workshops and permanent exhibits including “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad,” which tells the actual story of New Albany ‘s function on the Underground Railroad, and “Remembered: The Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols,” an exhibit about one former slave who became a Civil War.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is the world’s largest children’s museum, with 472,900 square feet, 5 floors of exhibits, and more than 100,000 artifacts! There are 3 one-of-a-kind sections to pick out from: the American Collection, the World Cultural Collection, and the World Natural Collection. At the Dinosphere exhibit, you will see a virtual dinosaur or an old fashioned steam locomotive! The museum is home to the largest water clock in the world too.
Sometimes adults need to be kids again, and at the child level, parents need to connect with their kids. The museum’s interactive displays are educational and entertaining – everyone loves an old Carousel ride, right? Span that age gap and connect with the younger generation, and keep in mind the Children’s Museum for your next family holidays! You’ll learn something new while you’re doing it, and have fun.
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Fort Wayne
Celebrating more than 50 years of being one of Fort Wayne’s biggest attractions, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo invites visitors and locals to experience award-winning animal exhibits. A few of the hundred species in the zoo are Amur leopards, Tasmanian devils, red pandas, and Komodo dragons, distributed through distinct habitats spanning the African Serengeti to an Indonesian rainforest.
Other attractions at the Children’s Zoo include family-friendly rides such as the Endangered Species Carousel and animal experiences that enable you to interact with giraffes, goats, and ponies.
The Farm at Prophetstown
Prophetstown is a brand new addition to the Indiana State Park device steeped in herbal and cultural history and functions many methods to engage with the environment. The 125-acre farm at Prophetstown embodies a 1920s motif within the state park, including hands-on experiences with home-growing, gardening, and feeding the animals.
Prophetstown also features a variety of hiking trails at the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers that cater for all hikers’ abilities. An extensive Aquatic Center at the park is also attracting a lot of warm weather interest with a zero-depth entrance pool, a lazy river, and a 30-foot water slide.
Indiana Grand Racing & Casino
Indiana Grand Racing & Casino offers the best and only live Indiana Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Racing. Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, owned and operated by a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR), holds several awards for customer service, entertainment, gaming, dining, and diversity. Located in Shelbyville, Ind., Indiana Grand features greater than 2,100 of the modern day slots and table games, plus a one-mile dirt racecourse and a seven-eighths mile turf direction providing stay thoroughbred and zone horse racing Winner’s Circle Race Sports Pub placed on the on line casino floor, as well as a Winner’s Circle Race Sports Pub placed in Clarksville, Ind., also offers simulcast and sports wagering year-round.
Indiana Grand Racing & Casino has overhauled its proposed 2020 season Live Racing calendar. The racetrack and casino in Shelbyville will now begin its 90-day season on Monday, June 15, and finish on the previously scheduled, Wednesday, November 18.
Studebaker National Museum, South Bend
The American car manufacturer Studebaker, a defining industry and top attraction of South Bend, has long roots tied to the town. Once the manufacturing headquarters, South Bend and the Studebaker National Museum now display a wide variety of these made-in-Indiana automobiles, including traditional models, navy vehicles, and the biggest Presidential carriage collection found anywhere in the country.
The Super Service Center, an immersive area built for kids at the museum, allows young children to move into an auto shop to work on cars of child size. The collection of the museum also includes numerous fabrication drawings and history related to the Studebaker Corporation.
WonderLab Museum of Science, Bloomington
WonderLab is a fun center for children, with a focus on science, health, and technology. It’s also among Bloomington’s top-rated attractions for families. Featuring hands-on and interactive learning opportunities, WonderLab offers common permanent exhibitions, including a Bubble-Atrium; the Fitzgerald Natural Science Hall; and an outdoor WonderGarden that links to the adjacent pedestrian path, the B-Line Trail.
The museum also runs an active calendar of events targeted at both adults and children, including science talks, STEM Sundays, and a series of “WonderLab After Dark.” Other museum attractions include a coral reef aquarium, a kid’s Discovery Garden, and birthday events or events facilities.
