Culture for Children

Nothing teaches you what a person has gone through like walking in their shoes. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is spending $6 million to install a poignant interactive exhibit that will offer children the opportunity to do just that.

Slated to open Nov. 10, “The Power of Children, Making a Difference” will allow visitors to get a firsthand look at the lives of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges (the first grader who walked through an angry mob to integrate schools in New Orleans in 1960) and Ryan White (the AIDS victim who fought for his right to attend school).

By walking through the recreated Secret Annex where Anne hid, the classroom where Ruby studied and the bedroom where Ryan battled the awful disease, children will learn how much strength and bravery their peers are capable of having. Through historically accurate spaces, first-person interpreters, live theater and real artifacts, visitors will be fully immersed in the experience.

While at the museum, check out the Fireworks of Glass exhibit, the largest permanent sculpture of blown glass by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. A 43-foot-tall tower rises above a glass ceiling, below which lies a hands-on exhibit area where patrons can sit on a revolving platform and gaze at the beautiful structure overhead. Families can also create their own sculptures with colorful shapes made from a plastic-like substance called polyvitro, blow glass virtually, or explore the hot shop and the glassblowing process on two computer screens.

317-334-3322 | www.childrensmuseum.org