Sports Legends Experience at the Children’s Museum Indianapolis

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has a new exhibit and it’s a huge addition for Louisville families making the trip up to Indianapolis. The Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience is an indoor/outdoor set of exhibits that will get families moving but also showcases history and other aspects of sports.

Here are the highlights about what you need to know:

  • The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis’ hours of admission vary by time of year so check before you go.
  • If you head out by 8am from Louisville, you can be there by the time they open and they have free parking! Pack lunch if you want to be there the entire day and save money. You can most certainly spend an entire day there.
  • Children under the age of two get free admission, buy tickets the day before you go via their website and you will save money and time! Tickets range from $15 to $37. 

Now let me get to specific info about the sports exhibit:

  • The Sports Legends Experience is included in regular admission. If you go to the museum during one of their discount nights, you will pay separately (still an amazing deal).
  • Most of this sports exhibit is permanent. There is one indoor exhibit (currently highlighting Indiana basketball history) that will change annually to feature a different sport from the larger exhibit. So, there are years worth of options to change that exhibit and keep it fresh for repeat visitors.
  • There are a large variety of sports featured in the exhibit, not simply the top three huge sports but something for everyone.
  • These exhibits are not all about getting out there and trying the sports, though that is a big part of it. But, they do a very good job of appealing to people with different interests. For example, my daughter does not play any organized sports but loves art. There is an entire exhibit area dedicated to sports art! And, there’s so much history involved to showcase how sports and society evolved together, appealing to the history lovers.
  • The Sports Legends Experience is indoor and outdoor. Don’t think that if you visit the museum on a cold or rainy day that you won’t be able to enjoy any of it. The indoor exhibit areas are quite large and you can spend a good amount of time learning and doing through these indoor exhibits.
  • All of the exhibits are very interactive. From pretending to row, change tires on a race car, mold a sculpture of an athlete, go through drills, be a sportscaster, and more……..there’s a do, touch, learn options near you at all times.
  • The outdoor exhibit is huge. It has an extremely large mini-golf area that’s very nice and that alone ads a ton of value to your ticket.
  • There is a long walking path all around the outdoor exhibit so you can easily take a stroller around for a walk.
  • We went on a busy spring break day and did not have to wait for anything for a significant amount of time. The longest wait was about 15 minutes for a tennis court but that went very quickly and they manage it so well by assigning families to courts and limiting time.
  • The outdoor space has bathrooms and a snack area so everything is convenient without having to go inside. There is ample seating for taking a break.
  • The large treehouse is open for climbing when the weather allows. If the structure is wet or if they think the weather causes any safety concerns, they will close that structure at any time to keep everyone safe. This is also true of any of the playing areas outside.
  • The sports include: basketball, walking/running, football, soccer, tennis, baseball/softball, racing, golf, and more!
  • We LOVED everything about it and even came home and purchased some tennis rackets so we can play together for fun at our nearby park. We had never played much before trying it out at this exhibit.

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum serves as a great day trip or spring/summer break trip option for Louisville families. This new sports exhibit so increases the size and opportunities for fun at the museum without having to pay an additional fee so it makes it all the more appealing to head up I-65 and check it out!

 

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