On the 2nd floor of the museum you can see a Polar Bear, but you'll have to look up! This gigantic bear towers above visitors at 9 feet and 2 inches in height. In 1965 the bear journeyed all the way from the ice floes of the Bering Straits to his new home at The Children's Museum.
Reuben Wells - Acquired in 1968
The center of All Aboard is the 35-foot long, 55-ton steam engine designed by Reuben Wells in 1868 to conquer Indiana’s Madison Hill, the steepest railroad grade in the United States. This train is a one of a kind, built to push cars up the steep 5.89% grade. You can walk around to the front of this magnificent train and stand face to face with this mighty engine that used 12 tons of power to push, not pull, cargo up the hill in Madison, Indiana. Read more.
The Carousel - Acquired in 1976
Our turn of the 20th century carousel animals were crafted by Gustav Dentzel. Originally, the carousel was installed on a Mangel-Illions mechanism in 1917 in Broad Ripple Park in Indianapolis, IN. Fewer than 175 survive from that time period. The Carousel is the biggest gallery artifact as well as one of the largest in the museum. With all the musical sounds and beautiful colors, it is one no one should miss. Read more.
The Mastodon - Acquired in 1976
It's not often that you find the remains of a prehistoric animal right in your own backyard. That's what happened on the Christensen farm in 1976. As workers used machinery to create a pond, they accidentally scooped up the skull, teeth and some rib bones of the mastodon. The mastodon is an extinct relative of the modern elephant that roamed the earth more than 10 thousand years ago. All of this happened near the town of Greenfield, Indiana. You can see the mastodon on display at The Children's Museum.
The Water Clock - Acquired in 1989
How does the world’s largest children’s museum keep track of time? With the largest water clock in North America! Designed by French physicist and artist Bernard Gitton, the water clock was procured by the museum in 1989 with a contribution from Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wood. Since then, the clock has attracted crowds of visitors who marvel at its beauty and accuracy, and learn to tell time in a whole new way. Read more.
SuperCroc - Acquired in 2002
From the blistering sands of the Sahara, University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno has pulled an incredible find: the nearly complete remains of Sarcosuchus imperator, one of the largest crocodilians to ever walk the Earth. As long as a city bus and weighing in at about 10 tons, "SuperCroc" lives up to its nickname. Read more.
3000 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208-4716 · 317-334-3322
On the 2nd floor of the museum you can see a Polar Bear, but you'll have to look up! This gigantic bear towers above visitors at 9 feet and 2 inches in height. In 1965 the bear journeyed all the way from the ice floes of the Bering Straits to his new home at The Children's Museum.
