The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

This is the world's largest museum for kids.

It is in a land called Indiana. It has five floors of fun things to see. You can see huge dinosaur homes.

You can even see a big mastodon skull.

Many things are made for you to touch. This helps families learn together. It is a very special place to visit.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest museum for kids in the world.

It is in Indiana. The museum has five floors of exhibits. Most exhibits are made for families to touch and play with. This helps people learn together.

You can see many amazing things here. There are homes made to look like dinosaur worlds.

You can also see a big mastodon skull.

The museum has over 130,000 items. These include things from art and nature.

Mary Stewart Carey started the museum in 1925. It is the fourth-oldest museum for children in the world. The museum has grown a lot over time. It has a large glass sculpture called Fireworks of Glass. This art piece hangs in the tall center area.

The museum has 400 workers. It also has 1,500 volunteers who help out. Many people visit the museum every year to explore and learn.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a huge place for learning.

It is the largest children's museum in the entire world. You can find it on North Meridian Street in Indiana. The museum has five floors filled with many different exhibits. Most of these exhibits are interactive. This means you can touch and play with things to learn. Families come here to explore and discover new things together. It is a special place where curiosity leads the way.

There are so many amazing things to see inside. You might visit the Dinosphere to see dinosaur fossils.

You could also see a giant mastodon skull.

The museum keeps over 130,000 different items in its collection. These items fall into two groups: Arts & Humanities and Natural Sciences. You can see a steam engine from 1868 in the All Aboard! gallery. There is even a huge water clock on the main floor. You might see a colorful glass sculpture hanging high above.

This museum has a very long history. Mary Stewart Carey founded the museum in 1925. She was inspired by a visit to a museum in Brooklyn. She worked with local leaders to get it started. At first, the museum was held in a small carriage house. Later, it moved to her own large home. It is now the fourth-oldest museum for children in the world. Many leaders have helped the museum grow since those early days.

Building the museum took many years and much work. The current building was finished in 1976. It was built on the site of an older building. Since then, the museum has had four major expansions. In 1984, the museum nearly doubled its collection size. This happened when the Caplan folk art collection was donated. The museum also has a large budget to help it run. In 2008, it had a budget of $28.7 million. It also has 400 employees and 1,500 volunteers.

Many people visit the museum every single year. More than one million people visit the museum annually. Schools also send many students on field trips here. Some visitors use QRpedia codes to read about the exhibits.

These codes can show information in different languages. The museum even has a branch of the public library inside. This is called the InfoZone. It is a wonderful place for anyone who loves to learn.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children's museum in the world.

Located in the United Northwest Area neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana, it serves as a massive center for family learning. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It features five floors of exhibit halls that attract more than one million visitors every year. The institution focuses on interactive learning, meaning most exhibits are designed for visitors to touch and engage with directly. This approach turns a visit into a hands-on discovery of the world.

The museum manages a massive collection of over 130,000 artifacts and exhibit items. These items are organized into two primary domains: Arts & Humanities and Natural Sciences. To keep the exhibits fresh and accurate, the museum emphasizes research and development. Field experts are consulted regularly to assess collections and propose new exhibits. The museum also employs many experts who are leaders in their specific fields of study. This professional approach ensures that the learning experience is both high-quality and scientifically sound.

Visitors can explore many distinct types of exhibits throughout the building. On the lower level, the National Geographic: Treasures of the Earth exhibit offers three unique areas. One area features a replica of the tomb of Seti I containing ancient Egyptian artifacts. Another area provides a simulated archaeological dig where items from the era of Ying Zheng, the first Emperor of China, were found. The third area explores underwater archaeology through a shipwreck from the Dominican Republic. Other specialized spaces include the Dinosphere, the Beyond Spaceship Earth gallery, and the All Aboard! Gallery.

The history of the museum began in 1925 when Mary Stewart Carey founded it. Carey was a wealthy civic patron who owned the Stewart-Carey Glass Company. She was inspired to start the museum after visiting the Brooklyn Children's Museum in 1924. Initially, the museum operated in the carriage house of a local civic club called The Propylaeum. After two moves, it was located in Carey's own mansion on Meridian Street in 1926. It is now recognized as the fourth-oldest institution of its kind in the world.

Over the decades, several leaders helped the museum grow into its current form. Grace Golden, who became director in 1942, secured important grants and corporate sponsorships. These funds allowed the museum to purchase its own building on North Meridian Street. Later, Mildred Compton established a long-term endowment to ensure financial stability. In 1973, a successful fundraising drive raised $8.7 million for a new facility. This led to the construction of the current building, which was finished in 1976.

The museum's scale is reflected in its significant numbers and resources. In 2008, the museum operated with a budget of $28.7 million. This budget supported 400 employees and 1,500 volunteers who contribute over 65,000 hours of work annually. The collection grew immensely in 1984 when the Caplan folk art collection of 50,000 items was donated. This single donation nearly doubled the total number of items owned by the museum.

Notable artistic and scientific features provide unique landmarks within the museum. In 2006, artist Dale Chihuly installed the Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling. This four-story glass sculpture is located inside the central atrium near the giant spiral ramp.

On the main floor, visitors can see North America's largest water clock, created by Bernard Gitton. The museum also utilizes modern technology like QRpedia codes.

These codes allow visitors to read Wikipedia articles about exhibits in their preferred language, connecting the museum's physical objects to global digital knowledge. The museum even hosts a branch of the Indianapolis Public Library called the InfoZone on the second floor.