Indy Children's Museum Part 1 OR Letting the Inner Child Out in a Big Way

Hello, faithful readers! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and all that. I know this guy did!

"More eggnog!!"

I'll start with a quick apology for the delay in updates. Things got a little crazy 'round here of late, but I shall leave it at that, since no one came here to hear (read) me whine.

You came for this!

And you're not the only one who wants to look inside!

That big building is the Indianapolis Children's Museum. In several places it's stated to be the largest children's museum in the world, which I highly doubt they'd just print without fact checking, especially since they're a museum and all that. I, however, have not checked such facts, so all I can tell you is this:

It's really, really, REALLY BIG.

So big that after one picture-filled visit I shall have to write several posts, since if I put it in one post everyone would seriously need a bathroom break before the end of the post. Including me.

I'm gonna share some of the awesome general things I noticed in the main areas, and in later posts get into the exhibits. (Yes, it's that big.)

Without further ado: Dinosaurs.

Which I must thank for giving me an awesome subject transition.

The outside of the museum has a whole bunch of various dinosaur sculptures, which is awesome. There's many reasons for this (which I'll go into with the dinosaur exhibit later), but it doesn't change the awesomeness. Even the streets around the city block that is the museum (I told you: Big) have dinosaur names.

"Yes, that's my address: 1942 T. Rex Trail.
...No, this is NOT a joke!"

The obvious (and heated) entry to the museum is a large walkway bridging the museum to the parking garage.

So of course I went on the street level. But on the way I stumbled over a few Wonders of the World.

Worth it!

Even though it was cold (please note the snow on the ground), I still enjoyed a (hurried) stroll around the models of various ancient buildings.

Like this Mayan pyramid. Picture taken on Dec. 23rd, 2012.
...Feel free to insert a Mayan Apocalypse joke here.

Once we went inside, we were greeted by a large festive bumblebee. And no, I do not mean a buzzing insect in a garish sweater singing carols.

I mean this:

An actual model from the movie that's about 15 ft tall.

Past the transformer there was the entrance and the awesome gift shop. I will not lie: I better make sure I have savings when I bring my future kids here, because I will buy them awesome science toys whether they like them or not. ("But I don't WANT to build my own solar-powered model engine!" "You'll discover the wonders of UV generated electron impulses and like it, young lady!")

But I digress.

The main hall is enormous, and was intelligently decorated not for Christmas or any holiday, but winter in general.

Because Winter is three months, and the Holiday season's only one.
That's usin' yer noggin, Museum!

The centerpiece was... Well, a very large white slide. But NEXT to that was what I thought of as the centerpiece:

The water clock.

U-Bends: They're not just for your toilet anymore.
(Well, mostly they are, but this is an exception.)

Through incredible calculations (or a ridiculous amount of trial and error) the glass tubes in this clock are all perfectly timed to fill up and release water at set intervals. As long as the water is pumped to the top at a set rate, the tubes do the rest. 'Twas pretty awesome.

Also, it's hard to see in the picture, but that thing is 20-25 feet tall. Which just makes it more impressive.

Elsewhere in the main hall I randomly found Spiderman hanging out...

Take THAT, Evil Wall Guy!

...As well as a Mastodon.

This large mammal roamed the earth thousands of years ago,
and was known for its cheeky grin.

Also: The creepiest skeleton face EVER.

Past the main hall is a large area with ramps going between the four different levels. And in the center of those ramps is something that took my breath away:

The Chihuly Glass Tower.

Four stories of "Holy crap that's a lot of glass."

My mother is a big fan of Chihuly's work, and while growing up we would go to various exhibits of his whenever they would come through town. I've always loved his work, and find his installation pieces like this one and various chandeliers absolutely incredible.

So I was pretty awestruck to find this one in the Children's Museum. (I hadn't known it was there!) Let's look some more:

Looking up the tower.

The "jumble" at the base.

Here's a close-up: Each one of those is blown and twisted by hand.

Below the tower is a Chihuly signature: The glass-filled ceiling...

...He has a better name for it, but it looks incredible from underneath.

And, being a museum, they had informative plaques all the way up the ramps, answering vital questions like, "How was this made?" and "How was this assembled?" and the ever-important:

Until I saw this plaque,
I did not think about what a logistic filled task this would be.

And finally, to leave you with a fun note: The museum saw fit to have the children learn how the tower was assembled, and even assemble one of their own!

Fortunately for all of us little Johnny only gets plastic.

But still, I found all this incredibly fascinating stuff just in the main areas, before I even GOT to the exhibits!

Join me in a couple weeks for a look at those!