Doesn't the name Minnetrista make you think that you'll be visiting a place with puppets? Like…read moremarionettes, right? Well, I hate to disappoint you, but there are no puppets or marionettes here. But there is an exhibit dedicated to Ball jars. Fun fact: Minnetrista was created by the Ball family, who created Ball canning jars, which you can learn about here. They are also the "Ball" behind Ball State University, which is located in Muncie. I had no idea! You will learn interesting facts like these, and others about this area of Indiana, at Minnetrista. The main museum itself is a bit small, and part of it is conference and meeting rooms. But the museum is just one part of Minnetrista. This is actually a 40-acre campus with gardens and paved trails. As you stroll along the grounds, you'll come across some houses. Some of the houses are part of Minnetrista, and you are welcome to pop inside and check out what's going on. What's going on in one of them is an exhibit dedicated to Bob Ross, the painter. At the Bob Ross Experience, you can step inside the historic home where The Joy of Painting was filmed, and see some of the actual filming equipment and art supplies that were used to create the television show. It's sort of surreal that Bob was painting his happy little trees right here in humble Muncie. Some of the houses that you encounter are not a part of Minnetrista, but belong to IU Health or other entities. It's not really clearly marked on the houses which is which. I'm sure if you consulted a map, it might tell you! I consulted no such map, and I was just walking around blindly. I visited during the late fall, when it was cold and the gardens were dormant, for the most part. But I bet this place is amazing in the spring and summer, when everything is in bloom.

Minnetrista is an event center and museum that was built in 1988 by the five Ball brothers. The…read moremodern center is part of a complex of museums and gardens on the former Ball property that sits across from the White River in Muncie. There is an admission fee to visit the galleries of $15/adult and $12/child, but the ticket grants admission to the other museums and garden as well. During our visit, we saw the Narwhal exhibit, which is a small exhibit dedicated to narwhals. A curator greeted us at the entrance and was available to answer questions. My granddaughter is a narwhal fan enjoyed the interactive displays. We also visited a special children's exhibit called Good Night Forest. Again a curator welcomed us and invited us to build a backpack and enjoy the nighttime activities set up for the kids. My granddaughter loved the firer fly dance, wandering through the dark forest listening for animals and the shadow puppet show. There were fun and educational activities suitable for all ages. We also visited a permanent exhibit describing the Ball Store History. I liked seeing all the vintage items and describing them to my granddaughter. We also toured a display for a local artist competition. The staff is super friendly and engaging. The center is immaculate and accessible. There is plenty of parking in their dedicated lot. Minnetrista is a great legacy from the Ball family to the community. Exhibits change and can be found on their website. I highly recommend a visit if you like art and history.

Have a 18month old that just loves this place. Great place for even older kids to play on the…read moreindoor play equipment. My son could live at the water table. Place is always clean, staff is always welcoming and bathrooms are always clean. We will be back many more times can't rate this place high enough on family fun.

Just barely three stars, and only three stars because my children seemed to enjoy our visit…read more Like someone else said, this children's museum has seen better days, and those days were probably about 20 years ago. Everything is very old, dingy and dated. There are literally computer printouts taped to the walls as decorations. Many of the exhibits have broken and dirty objects in them, like torn upholstery on the chairs, dirty play food, torn carpet. Now, there is some art that is laminated, but those are peeling off the walls and placed on the wall all crooked. All these things make the museum feel so neglected. We got there on a weekday right when it opened, and the staff was still vacuuming while the children were running around and playing. Really? You can't do this before you open? Children were running around and jumping over the vacuum cord. Then, when I went to the gift shop to buy some food, the same dumb vacuum was placed right in front of the door so that I had to walk around it. Each of these things are not very big, but it's little things like this that show lack of attention to detail and bad customer service. The restroom is extremely old, and the handicap stall that I visited did not have a working lock. The toilet seat was literally disintegrating. The whole museum is not very well ventilated, and I kept smelling kid farts everywhere I went. (FYI: Kids fart a lot.) This museum is two stories, but when we visited, the exhibits upstairs were blocked off and no one could use them. Our visit was contained to the downstairs portion. I came with low expectations, but this was ridiculous and disappointing. Well, disappointing to me. My kids had fun, which is the whole point of visiting a children's museum, right? Nevertheless, I most likely won't be back unless the children beg me, which probably won't happen because there are many other places to play that are not in a state of disrepair.

I love a good hidden gem. The David Owsley Museum of Art is hidden in plain sight, though, because…read moreit's located on the campus of Ball State University, one of the biggest universities in Indiana. So, I guess, if you know, you know. But if you don't know? Then, in the words of the late Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G. (RIP): If you don't know, now you know. Either way, you'll find this surprisingly large art museum in Ball State's Old Quad. Parking is kind of a pain: You'll need to park in one of the metered lots. Make sure you pay! Those campus parking attendants don't play and are always out in full force. The museum houses works of art from all around the world. I saw everything from African masks to Greek statues. It's kind of amazing to me the amount of art this place holds. There are two stories of things to see. I forgot that I was on a college campus -- it really is a real-deal art museum. Best of all: This museum is free! Just stroll right in and peruse at your leisure. Just don't plan to visit on a Sunday or Monday, because it's closed on those days.

The Ball State Museum of Art has long benefited from the generosity of the Industrialist Ball…read moreFamily. The renamed "David Owsley Museum of Art" continues that generosity from the grandson of the Ball founders. This two story museum is located in the heart of the Ball State Campus, about a block west of the intersection of Riverside and McKinley. As you approach the museum, you will see several outdoor sculptures including a pair of bronzes by Lila Katzen: "X Notion, Like a J" and "Maxi-Antecedent II" circa 1978. The main entrance to the museum is on the south side (non-street side) and has a small lobby where you can find brochures and a map of the museum. There is also a street side entrance which requires you to climb stairs to enter the museum on the second floor. Due to time constraints and being tired from walking all over campus, I didn't spend enough time to do justice to reviewing all the different rooms. The main floor of the museum starts out with a Sculpture Court with grand staircases that lead up to the upper level. The West end of the main floor has a Special Exhibition room, Native American, Pre-Columbian, African, and Pacific Islands art. The East end of the main floor has Early & Ancient art, South and Southeast Asia, and China & Japan Art. The upper floor has European art surrounding the central sculpture court. To the north of the court, American art progresses from early work on the east to more contemporary work on the west. The wings of the floor have special exhibits, Contemporary Craft, and Decorative Arts. For my visit, I started with the Sculpture Court. Although there aren't many pieces in the court, I was pleased to find a couple joyful pieces by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth from the mid-1920's. Both "Joy of the Waters" and "Crest of the Wave" are water themed pieces that were originally conceived as fountain centerpieces. I moved upstairs to browse the European art. I wasn't personally familiar with the names of most of the artists, but the works that are on display seem quite life like. Many of the painted art pieces were portraits or landscapes. The American art was the most interesting to me since I have been reading about the history of art in America. Early works by Thomas Cole ("Storm King of the Hudson" - 1827), who some consider the "father" of the Hudson River School of Art , and Gilbert Stuart ("Portrait of Anne Eliza Allston" -1805), who was a contemporary of Benjamin West and learned from famed artist Thomas Gainsborough, are on display. One of my favorites on display is Alexander Wyant's "Near Conway, North Wales" (1868). This landscape is remarkably detailed and beautiful. Other paintings by famous artists include John Twachtman's "Waterfall, Greenwich" - 1890, Childe Hassam's "Monmartre" -1889, and "Reflection (Kitty Hughes)" 1917, and Robert Henri's "Jimmie n Blue Jumper" 1920. Artist's with Hoosier ties include William Merritt Chase ("Rest by the Wayside"-1902 and "Portrait of Mme E H Bensel"-1912), T C Steele ("Tennessee Mountain Land"-1899), and John Ottis Adams ("In Poppyland"-1901). I have heard that the museum has quite a few JO Adams paintings, but unfortunately, only one was on display during my visit. This one, also known as "Poppy Field", is from the time he spent living at the Hermitage in Brookville with TC Steele painting the river valley. I also had time to explore some of the craft and contemporary pieces before heading down to the main floor again. There I chose to spend time in the Japan & China exhibit. This section of the museum had more sculpture and ornamental vases than paintings. One of my favorite's is from the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) "Earth Spirits". The pieces, though exaggerated in appearance, seem to embody human personalities in their expressions. The website also has lots of information, including videos of art that has been on display. Pieces from the World's Fair of 1915 (San Francisco) and glass blowing by Dale Chululy show some of the diversity that the museum has. 2021 W Riverside Ave, Muncie, Indiana Open: Mon - Fri 9-4:30; Sat-Sun 1:30 - 4:30 Cost: free Parking: McKinley Avenue Parking Garage $1 (1-3 hours) per hour (cash or credit) Free parking on weekends in the red lot west of the museum Review #264

This place is a gem of a find! My friend got tickets from a silent auction and I went along with…read moreher. They do have private parking, but the lot is small and it was surprisingly busy on a Saturday afternoon! We checked in and chose the audio option and also a one page scavenger hunt for each room, which helped to dig into the houses a bit more. I was shocked at the level of detail! So much love and work went into these houses. I was in awe of some of the work completed in them. I definitely had my favorite! You can also buy all sorts of pieces to work on your own house too. My friend is redoing her childhood house for her niece so it was a great way to get the creative juices flowing. Definitely something to check out!

This place was so interesting! Walking in you are immediately greeted by staff who asked if we…read morewanted to do a scavenger hunt between our group of friends or if we just wanted to walk around. We chose scavenger hunt and at the end got a prize of our choosing (something miniature). The entire place is pretty antique. Very detailed mini houses with their own theme are in each room. You really have to come here with time on your hands to be able to really look at each house and the intricacies it has. There are small figurines and some of these houses I know sure took so much time!! Not only to plan but to collect the individual pieces to go along with it. Very cool. If you ever have time to visit- I highly recommend you do.

The museum at Earlham College has an amazing collection of fossils and artifacts. The museum is…read morefree and open to the public. It is usually only opened in the afternoons. Although small, they have a complete allosaurus, mastodon, giant sloth, giant beaver and much, much more. You can get close up to the exhibits. They also have a great display of Ordovician fossils with descriptions. You can find many birds and other small mammal specimens native to Indiana. The staff is knowledgable and friendly. They offer tours and programs for kids as well. Nicole was our guide and she was engaged and had a passion for the museum. They have a small gift shop with educational items. If you pass through Richmond, Indiana, this needs to be in your to do list. What a great experience and opportunity to see world class specimens.

Absolutely worth the visit! My children were pulled into the portions of the exhibit that are hands…read moreon! It can seem quick at a child's speed of looking through the exhibits. I think every corner is utilized in a learning experience. They have reptiles too! Something worth looking into are the 'trail talks' the museum offers during warmer weather. My kids will not stop talking about the fossils they collected while on a trail talk lead by two Earlham students. So much fun, but worth wearing the right gear and packing water. *Yes, you do need to wear a mask and show your vaccination card to enter the museum. It is on campus, and therefore abides by protocol of trying to keep campus as safe as possible for everyone.

If you want to know anything about James Dean, please stop at the James Dean Gallery! The owners…read moreare there to answer questions and are very helpful. They have a vintage shop in back of the Gallery that has shirts that a make on site. The people that own the Gallery are very friendly, and very easy to talk to. They make you feel very welcome.

Wonderful place to visit! A lot of information. A lot to see and they even have a small vintage…read morestore in the back of the gallery home.

The The Children's Museum of Indianapolis absolutely lives up to the hype. We arrived right when it…read moreopened and stayed as long as we could before naptime, but honestly we could have spent the entire day there. The parking is extremely easy and you are also able to rent a stroller pretty cheaply there which is a plus. Our kids especially loved the space exhibit and the exhibit (on the top floor I believe) that showcases a lot of the nature surrounding Indiana. There's so much to explore and everything feels thoughtfully designed for kids to really interact and play, not just look. Even moving through with little ones felt manageable because there are so many engaging areas to stop and explore. If you have young kids and are in Indianapolis, this is an easy five-star outing. We're already looking forward to going back.

One of largest children's museum. Many floors and sections to explore. It has Dinosphere,…read morespace/earth, power of children (Ann Frank, Malala etc), Egyptian discovery and more. Carousel is on the top floor (separated tix). It's a Historic Landmark originally located at White City Amusement Park (Broad Ripple Park) from the segregation era. Strong history going behind that wheel. You can easily spend a whole day there. Many hands on activities. Benches around for adults. Bathroom is clean. I definitely have a great time as well as my kid. Free parking lot. Highly recommend to get the tix online (extra $1 fee). Highly recommend to stop by if you are in the area.

Honestly really cool little museum. We pulled off the highway just out of curiosity while on a…read morecross country trip and really was pleasantly surprised. Didnt know what to expect but it def surpassed expectations and learned some new things. The staff there are helpful, knowledgeable and above all passionate about this tiny museum and more people should take the stop as they pass through. Especially if you're someone who an has an interest aviation.

I had no idea that Wilbur Wright's Birthplace was a roadside attraction. This was pretty cool to…read moresee!