The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

I want to go back in time to the Dinosaur Times so I can fight them so they don’t wreck stuff. And, I also want to go back in time to the Dinosaur Times so I could see what the dinosaurs look like. And also I want to because it would be a good experience, and I could see how volcanoes work much better. And I also want to go to the time of the dinosaurs because I want to ride on a Pterodactyl.

My Dino Attack Truck is very cool, and it is also very good at fighting dinosaurs because it has a bullet cannon and a claw that has a black thing on it that looks like dinosaur food. The black thing looks like dinosaur food because it looks like black meat, so that would make the dinosaurs come closer. And it is very good for making them fall, because once you get my crane on my vehicle, it is very good for dinosaurs to chew on it, then I could lower the crane and make them fall.

This entry was submitted by Benjamin Lam in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

In my Story Train, I am going to Chocolate Land, Ice Cream Land and Ice Land. My train can get me there by flying. It uses its back wings to fly. When I get there, I will eat all of the chocolate and all the ice cream. I will wear a jacket when I go to Ice Land. I will ice skate on the ice. I will have a really fun time. I will take my mom with me and my 2 brothers and my sister. I will be sad when I have to leave. When I get home, I will draw pictures about what I saw and I will bring my dad there sometime too.

This entry was submitted by Logan Dishman in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

2011 Children's Museum of Indianapolis Power of Children Awards recipient, Krystal Shirrell, highlights her project and passion for philanthropy. If you, or someone you know in grades 6-11, are making an extraordinary difference in the lives of other, nominate them for the Power of Children Awards at childrensmuseum.org/poca.

It’s easy to make a difference.  Look around, you will see endless opportunities to help. Find something that interests you, develop a passion, and use that passion to do something outside yourself. Receiving personal awards, like a Power of Children Award, can provide one of the best platforms to further promote community service. The results of my activities have further instilled in me the importance of making a positive contribution to society.

Originally inspired by family events, I eventually assisted in making hats and blankets not just for cancer patients, but for veterans going through dialysis. While delivering blankets, I heard about the domiciliary for homeless veterans.  After one visit, I knew I had to do more and my blanket project quickly evolved into VETSupport.

I implemented a service drive, collecting over 5,000 supplies, have been visiting residents, and hosting monthly Bingo parties.  For Christmas 2011, I was fortunate to supplement collection efforts with the Power of Children Awards grant. I provided gifts to all the domiciliary residents including, a variety of clothing, blankets, personal care items, notebooks, and snacks.

Wanting to make a greater impact, for my high school senior project I organized Christmas tree decorating and collected items to make care packages.  I invited Marine Corporal Josh Bleill, Purple Heart recipient and spokesperson for the Indianapolis Colts, to participate in a Public Service Announcement. Over 10,000 items were collected and together with the Military Support Group of Brownsburg we provided over 100 decorated Christmas trees, 525 care packages for our troops, and supplies for veterans.

What are you doing to make a difference?

For more information about Krystal or her projects go to her video.

Photo: Krystal displays some of the Bingo prizes for the domiciliary residents.

This is the fourth in a blog series that features a collections object from images that we have donated to Wikipedia. Read the first blog post to learn more about why and how we have donated more than 264 images to Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia's image repository.

We need your help! Can you think of Wikipedia articles where this image can be added? First, read on to learn more about the object from our Natural Science curator, Dallas Evans. Then, tell us where you think this image belongs in Wikipedia! 

Image: cc by-sa 3.0 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis 

Baculites

• Scientific name: Baculites compressus
• Accession Number: 2001.12.1

​The baculites is a cephalopod, belonging to the same class of animals as squid, octopi, and the extinct ammonites.   The animal had a flatly coiled shell when young, but on reaching maturity the shell develops into its typical straight  “walking stick” form. A distinctive feature of these baculites is the complex suture pattern apparent in its fossilized shell.  

Help us make an impact! So far these images do not appear in any Wikipedia articles. Can you think of any articles that should include them?  Do some browsing and be creative. Leave a comment and we’ll share your suggestions with the Wikipedia community. Then, come back in a week to see where in Wikipedia this image ends up!

Don't forget, you can also suggest articles for the Electric Marx Mobile, Quail Trap, and the Alaskan Red King Crab!

We will go to a distant planet that is all water. I will discover a new type of mineral and look at it through a microscope. Then I find out that it is only iron. Then I go back to Earth and take a trip to Egypt. I see the pyramids and zoom around in the dunes.

This entry was submitted by Elad in the 8-13 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

I'm going to fly my LEGO® plane to Ninja World.  There I will search for all the greatest ninjas.  We will travel in my plane until we have found everyone.  Then we will all join forces in the battle against evil to make the world a better place. Once we have defeated all the evil, we will build the biggest and greatest LEGO plane of all to carry all the greatest ninjas across the world.

This entry was submitted by Gage Berry in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

I will fly in space from planet to planet. The little ball in the back will follow me around going "Me-me." He's my robot friend. Later I will pick up another pilot from a planet that was blown up. We will build the extra part in the back, and his job will be to look for other people who survived when their planets blew up. We will rescue all of them.

This entry was submitted by Scott in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

My Dream Machine is a speedboat that can trun into a racing motorcycle. It will go to treasure on the Bad Island that has a haunted house. The treasure is jewels and gold coins. My vehicle motorcycles there fast and then turns into a boat and sails across the ocean. My adventure will go onto an island. It will go to a very bad island, a supery-dupery bad island.

This entry was submitted by Caleb Foor in the 4-7 age group.

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

The Boys’ Adventure

There was a boy named Nathan who had been working in his basement for eight days. Everyone was wondering what he was doing. When it was his birthday, he even skipped present time!

His best friends, Joey and Luke, said, “May you please show us what you are working on?”

Nathan said, “Come on, I’ll show you what I made!”

It was a three passenger plane. When they looked at it, they saw two boats on the plane. Nathan said, “I’ll show you around!”

When they looked under it, they wondered what they were going to see next. There was a great, big bomb! And Nathan said, “Do not use this bomb. It’s only for an emergency. If you use it, I will not be able to make another one, so if we are in trouble, we will not be able to use any kind of equipment.”

Joey asked, “What happens if we are in an emergency one time, and then we’re in another one?”

Nathan answered, “We’ll have to fly away.”

Joey and Luke asked at the same time, “Can we ride on it?”

Nathan said, “Of course!” This is where their adventure began.

While flying on the plane, they suddenly saw a very big, brown bear! When Joey and Luke saw it, Joey yelled, “Drop the bomb! Drop the bomb!”

Nathan said, “How can the bear reach us? We’re up in a plane!”

Another plane was going in the opposite direction, straight toward them!

Luke yelled, “Go under it!”

Nathan said, “Why can’t we just go around it?”

Joey said, “You’d better make these decisions fast!”

Nathan zoomed around the other plane, and they were safe once again.

Suddenly, while they were over the Atlantic Ocean, their plane ran out of gas.

Joey yelled, “Use the boats!”

Unbuckling, the boys climbed into the boats and landed straight into the water. Luke was afraid that they were going to drown. Nathan had an idea.

“Since we are in these boats, can we just turn around and go back home?” On their way home, they saw a shark chasing them. It wasn’t just one shark. It was actually eight sharks!

Joey said, “It is a good thing I have been in Shark Class.”

Suddenly, Joey’s boat ran out of gas. Nathan said, “It’s a good thing one of these boats holds three passengers!”

When Joey hopped onto the other boat, a shark was about to bite him. The good thing was that he did not get bit because Nathan remembered that his boat had turbo speed. They blasted away.

Back at home, the boys said, “Let’s make another creation.”

Then Luke said, “Here we go again!”



This entry was submitted by Nathan Emerick in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

In my treasure hunter, I would go to the jungle to search for lost treasure. My vehicle comes equipped with a telescope to search for treasure hidden in far away places. My wheels have good traction, so I can go off road to reach the treasure I find. The cargo bay on the side is the perfect place to store treasure. GEM also has a robotic claw that will pick up diamonds, rubies, gold, silver, and other treasures. The claw is helpful, so I can stay safe inside my vehicle. Speaking of safe, the rocket booster on the back of GEM helps me get away fast, from wild animals and robbers who want to steal my treasure.

This entry was submitted by Collin Kao in the 8-13 age group.

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

My LEGO helicopter space taxi can start out in the desert and then fly into space with its helicopter propellers and turbo rockets. Because it's a taxi, it can take friends along for the ride. It has a satellite so it can talk to aliens. The big wheels help it drive in the desert, the city, and on other planets. The wheels turn it into a "moon buggy." My astronaut LEGO man has a space suit to keep him safe.

This entry was submitted by Teddy Phillips in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

My design is called the Colossalmobile. It can go anywhere on water and land. It has wheels for land and cabinets for the wheels when the Colossalmobile goes on water. The adventures I will go on include going to Australia by using the water function on my design. I will also travel to China by going through Japan first. While in Japan and China, I will show everyone my great design, and also eat new kinds of food and meet new people. Those are the adventures I would go on in my Colossalmobile.

This entry was submitted by Patrick Hazlitt in the 8-13 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

I can drive my invention using a steering wheel and no seat belts. I will drive the Carmotor across the United States, from California to New York. The Carmotor is the most colorful car in the whole world. It has three floors and room for 32 people, with space for 40 chairs. I will invite all my family and friends to join my on my trip. That's my Carmotor (take away the "motor" in the name and that's half my real name)!

This entry was submitted by Carter Hazlitt in the 4-7 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

Chloe's underground machine would take me underground to see what plants and flowers look like underground. One day, I got in my machine and the "diggers" dug a hole and I started to go underground. It was really dark underground because of all the mud. Then my bright yellow lights shined and I could see things. I could see weeds, rocks, and roots of flowers. Everything was brown and dark. Then I saw some yucky things underground. Those were bugs and worms. Then I thought it was time to go back up and see the pretty flowers from up above ground!

This entry was submitted by Chloe Heethuis in the 4-7 age group.

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

I am going to go to the planet Mars. And I probably will find dynamite on it. It will erupt and it will blow up half of the planet. It will be so bad for the planet. The JetRacer will almost get hit by it but it has a force field on it! Nothing bad will happen to the car. Well, there will probably be a little fire on it so I will probably bring some water. My friend Paul will be on it and he will help me put out the dynamite fire. The end.

This entry was submitted by Frank Shahbahrami in the 4-7 age group.

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

The soap bomber has soap to destroy the bad people. The bomber can float and fly. The bomber will drop a soap bomb on the enemy. The soap bomber is a powerful machine that is guaranteed to destroy any threat it may encounter. The bomber is also a big machine. The bomber will squirt a soap bomb on anything that is trying to destroy the legos at LEGOLAND®. When the enemy is struck by soap it will disappear.
The soap bomber has a bed because the workers are controlling this machine 24/7. It also has a TV so the workers can take a break from the battle. It has lots of juice and snacks to give the workers the energy to fight. The soap bomber is a really cool machine!

This entry was submitted by Lane Biehle Scipio in the 8-13 age group.
 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.


 

This is a spaceship blaster boat. It goes on the road and flies into space. The yellow part is a blaster that blasts out water to put out fires. So if there is a fire in space, the water will come out the hose part and can put it out. Then when it comes back from space it lands in the water and swims.

This entry was submitted by Samuel Tarvin in the 4-7 age group.

 

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.

Ever wonder, “What can I do to make a positive difference today? How can I help others?” The Power of Children Awards honor student philanthropists who have done just this, and figured out ways to help their communities and the world. The awards are part of The museum’s Power of Children exhibit, which highlights the lives of three extraordinary youth: Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White. These three did not select the circumstances of their lives, yet they each made the choice to make a difference.

First created in 2005, the awards were established by the Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Trust with additional support from IUPUI, University of Indianapolis, Kroger, and WISHTV 8.

The impact has been far reaching with over 33 awards distributed in grades 6-11 since its inception. This year’s package includes:

• A $2,000 grant to continue his or her extraordinary work.
• A four-year post-secondary scholarship to a participating institution of higher learning.
• Recognition in the museum’s The Power of Children exhibit for at least one year.
• Honor and recognition during a special awards event on Nov. 2, 2012, at The Children's Museum.
• Special WISH-TV 8 individual interview aired the week prior to the awards.

How many of us actually create projects that are completely our own? Projects where we manage every aspect from brainstorming and creation to development and delivery? And the big question, how many of us are in grades 6-11 when we accomplish this?

So, what can you do to make a positive difference in the world today? More than you think actually, by nominating an extraordinary youth for this award and helping them make a difference.

Application deadline is May 7, 2012. If you would like more information, please go to our webpage: http://www.childrensmuseum.org/poca

Photo: Past winner Krystal Shirrell on her first visit to the domiciliary. After just one visit, she knew she wanted to do more!

As part of Literacy Month, we asked Children's Museum of Indianapolis staff to share their favorite or most influential book from childhood. Today, we talked to John McCollum, Biotechnology Learning Center Supervisor.

Don't forget to keep shopping at the online Scholastic Book Fair throughout March. Each book purchased earns us points that will go toward buying new books for the kid's in our community. Last year we were able to provide more than 300 new books!

By John McCollum, Biotechnology Learning Center Supervisor

I was an avid reader as a child. My love of science was sparked by  the book The Mad Scientists’ Club  written by Bertrand R. Brinley. My father passed his own childhood copy on to me when I was in middle school, and it quickly became one of my most cherished books. The Mad Scientists’ Club strengthened my desire to study science almost more than any other fiction book I read as a child, and the wacky science adventure tales it contains still inspire me to share my excitement about science with others today. Check out The Mad Scientists’ Club website at http://www.madscientistsclub.com/books.html.

What passions are being inspired by your reading collection?

My dream machine came out of the hangers just yesterday after being damaged by a hail storm. The Devil's Hand came out with 2 jet engines (instead of sails, hail damage is much more severe at 1500ft), an all-terrain set of wheels, and of a new plasma-steel underbody boat hull. It started at an average plane shop in Florida, and launched from an extra large drop platform and went into the water. After about 12 miles it came to the first problem--the oil spill. It used an opening hatch near the engines to bring out an experimental device that takes out oil from the ocean. The Devil's Hand went around for a few hours until it's tanks were full, then it took to the skies to look for an asteroid that NASA wanted to get to. The Devil's Hand used its twin x-1200 engines to propel it at 12 million miles per hour. The pilot used a tractor beam to pick up some space rubble, but he chose the wrong spot because he uncovered an alien spacecraft. Since it already had the samples the pilot turned on the advanced manuevers button to try to outspeed and out turn the alien spacecraft. The pilot turned and started flying through asteroids. After a few minutes of dodging laser fire the alien craft ran into an asteroid. The Devil's Hand went back to earth and landed in an underground tunnel. After driving for about 30 minutes it arrived at its destination, where it delivered the oil to a purification station and gave the asteroid sample to a NASA executive. This ended latest mission for the Devil's Hand.

This entry was submitted by Nathan Tepp in the 8-13 age group.

You can enter the Build Your Dream Machine Challenge, too! Build a vehicle using LEGO® bricks for a chance to win a trip to LEGOLAND® Florida! Enter March 10–May 10, 2012. A car that becomes a sailboat? A sailboat that can sail through outer space? Use LEGO® bricks as a vehicle of your imagination. Where do you need to go? What does your vehicle need to do? You imagine the journey and the destination, then build the perfect means of transportation!



The LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibit is at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through July 22, 2012.