Indiana State Museum

This is a really nice museum! We live about 2 hours away and it is was worth the drive. We spent most of our time in the maze exhibit, which will be there until early April. Well kept museum, nice staff. Appreciate that parking garage is below the museum and that the museum validates your ticket so you only have to pay $4 for parking. Will be back! They have ASTC reciprocity

If you live in Indiana, this is a must-visit place to brush up on the history of the land you live on. The museum is huge, well design, and exceptionally clean. The displays are visually stunning and informative. The history goes all the way back to when this state was underwater, and through the ice age and the native inhabitants. They have a rich recent history of the last couple hundred years, and a large "special" place up on the 3rd floor for special displays. It's pretty kid friendly, especially the animal bits. But I don't think there's much here for impatient or very young kids. Plan for about 2-3 hours and don't forget to get your parking ticket approved for a discount.

Indianapolis State Museum & IMAX — Surprisingly Incredible Being from Colorado, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from a state museum in Indiana… but wow, they knocked it out of the park. The timeline-style exhibits were fun, engaging, and way more entertaining than I expected. You actually move through history in a way that feels interactive, not static. We also caught a film at the IMAX and oh my—that screen is no joke. The sound, the size, the whole experience was on another level. Totally worth it. If you’re visiting Indy, this place is absolutely worth the stop.

This was my first experience with the ISM. We went to the IMAX show "Mesmerica". While waiting for entrance to the theater, we sat on comfortable soft benches. We arrived very early so, places to sit became an issue for others who arrived after us. The theater was standard. The advertising of this show seemed a little misleading. Honestly, we both felt rather disappointed. Dont get me wrong. The show was fun and all, but, what we thought would be ~other worldly~ actually seemed more like watching a 3D Screensaver play for an hour+. Some of the images even repeated. I used the restroom afterwards and overheard people saying the same sort things as we were saying. I also heard some people talking about how they purchased VIP tickets, and felt there was little to nothing different from regular tickets. They also upsell the higher priced concession items that offer free refills, only to be told there would be no re-entry if we left the theater (to refill them). By the time we exited the theater, employees were refusing refills with a sour attitude. They were fully aware no one would be able to take advantage of the refills they upsold. While in line, we were given parking validation passes. So, that was a plus! I would like to visit the museum some other time for a different exhibit. This one was a little disappointing.

Enjoyed the nice displays throughout the museum; parking in garage was only $4 after receiving coupon at front desk;

This place has amazing grounds. We came when they were closed so we walked around outside. They had at least 80 pieces of art on the outside of their building and around the property. You can easily spend a couple hours walking out the beautiful property. Overall if you want to kill some time with the family and see some beautiful art this is the place to check out.

A white washed history of Indiana, sadly. There's a small note citing the why behind Manifest Destiny in a blink and you'll miss it corner. While there is collections of civil rights, and a little native history here, it's a museum. It is still weird to see things I used as a kid in a museum, but I've seen other museums display them better. The best thing there is the original IMAX. It's still 7-stories tall with great audio. We saw a short documentary (a bit dated, as it showed Senator Kelly on the space station). The 3D glasses gave my kid a headache, but it was ok. Giving the museum 3 stars because they need more funding to do better things.