The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children’s museum in the world, with more than 120,000 artifacts spread across 11 major galleries. Head into space, explore contemporary China or take a ride on a magical carousel ride. The museum’s new “Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience,” which will include the National Art Museum of Sport, is due to open in March 2018, making this huge museum into an even bigger attraction.  

Most areas of the museum and sports experience are accessible, including the Carousel. The museum has an elevator and a large ramp connecting all five levels. Complimentary adult and youth wheelchairs are available in the welcome center. The museum will arrange transportation to and from your vehicle by golf cart.

The most accessible restrooms are located in the Welcome Center, Sunburst Atrium, Lower Level, Level 2 and the Kohler Pavilion.

Complimentary admission tickets are given to licensed care providers for visitors requiring medical assistance to visit (ID required).

Assisted listening devices are available on a first-come, first served basis for Lily Theater. ASL interpreters are provided for select performances.

There is braille signage indicating floor levels, elevators and restrooms.

Call 317-334-4000 for questions or queries about accessibility.

Parking: Free designated parking in the garage and Water Clock lots.

Public Transportation: Bus #18, #19, #28, #30, #38 and #39 serve the museum directly.

Find out more here.

Top Tip: See a show at the Lily Theater. Tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Lower Level ticket booth.

It would be sacrilegious to visit Indianapolis without visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the full racing experience, head over to the Indiana Motor Speedway Museum, which is dedicated to cars and auto racing and is located inside the track between turns 1 and 2. As well as drooling over cars dating back over 100 years, including IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula One, Sprint, Midget, motorcycle races and drag racing, visitors can take a short, narrated tour of the hallowed track (at a less than speedy pace!). Real race devotees can take a longer VIP Grounds Tour with a behind-the-scenes look at the Speedway.

The museum has a limited number of complimentary wheelchairs available. Two of the museum’s tour buses are accessible.

Printed texts of the narration of the 20-minute video and narration of the bus tours of the track are available. ASL interpretation is available with a minimum of 48-hours notice.

Museum hosts can lead blind or vision-impaired guests through a special touch tour of vehicles in the collection.

Companions or aides are admitted free of charge.

Parking: Free designated accessible parking is available to the south and west of the museum building.

Find out more here.

Top Tip: If you don’t want to visit the museum, you can visit the grounds free of charge on non-event days. During event days, there is an admission fee to get onto the grounds. The general admission fee or ticket price does not include admission to the museum.

Get a real feeling for the Hoosier State (and find out exactly why it is called the Hoosier State) with a visit to the Indiana State Museum. The three-story museum highlights the stories, events and characters that have shaped Indiana’s history. Discover more about Indiana art, science and culture through artifacts and interactive experiences connecting visitors with Indiana’s geology, geography, archeology and cultural history. There’s also Peewinkle’s Puppet Studio, located on the museum’s second floor, and an IMAX theater where you can catch a larger-than-life movie.

The museum is accessible. Power doors are located at all museum entrances.

Wheelchairs are available free of charge at the Information Desk on Level 1.

There are accessible restrooms on all levels of the museum, with a family restroom located on Level 3.

All in-gallery videos are open captioned.

Complimentary assistive listening devices and T-Coil devices are available on a first-come, first-served basis for programs in the Dean and Barbara White Auditorium (48-hours’ notice required).

The museum offers ASL interpretation for a variety of programs, including docent-led tours. Contact the museum at TDD 317-234-2447 at least 48-hours in advance to arrange. 

Audio playback units are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis from the ticket counter.

Some displays are tactile.

Email the museum with questions or requests for additional accessibility information. 

Parking: Accessible parking is available in the White River State Park underground parking garage. The upper level of the garage can accommodate vehicles with a roof height of 8 feet on the upper floor and 7 feet on the lower level.

Public Transportation: Bus #8 to Washington Street and West Street – White River State Park (3-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Top Tip: Parking is free if you buy a ticket to an IMAX® film.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is more than just an art museum. Sure, there are plenty of masterpieces by artists such as Rembrandt, Cezanne, Picasso and O’Keefe, and there’s what many consider to be the most comprehensive collection of Neo-Impressionist paintings in North America. Not to mention major works of Minimalism, Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, and art from Asia, ancient Greece and South America. But the IMA is also set in a gorgeous 152-acre campus called Newfields that is designed as “a place for nature and the arts.”

The museum is wheelchair accessible. Wheelchairs and rolling walkers are available on a first-come, first-served basis from the Admissions desk on Floor 1. Seating is available throughout the galleries.

The Tobias Theater (also known as The Toby) has accessible seating. To sit at the front, ask an usher for access to the wheelchair lift. Accessible platform seating in the upper level is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and does not require assistance from an usher.

Portable ramps are available at the outdoor Amphitheater.

Accessible restrooms are located on Floor 1 and in The Toby.

Free assistive listening devices are available for all public tours and for programs in the DeBoest Lecture Hall and in The Toby.

Free audio guides are available for select exhibitions. Check in at the designated Audio Guide desk to retrieve a device.

Parking: Free, accessible parking in the main museum lot and in the underground garage.

Public Transportation: Bus #38 to 38th Street and Private Drive (4-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Top Tip: Explore some of the other Newfields’ sites. Portions of The Garden include accessible pathways.

At the Indianapolis Zoo, visitors get the chance to visit diverse natural environments that the majority of us will never get to visit in real life – from Africa to Antarctica, take a trip “around the world.” The Zoo is divided into four broad areas: Deserts, Encounters, Oceans and Plains, which are home to some 1,400 animals and 31,000 plants. Don’t miss out on Flights of Fancy where you can stroll through three aviaries (and feed the birds) or see a dolphin presentation.

The zoo and neighboring White River Gardens are accessible with ramps located at all exhibits.

Wheelchair seating is available in the St. Vincent Dolphin Pavilion.

Wheelchairs and scooters can be rented on first-come, first-served basis at the Entry Plaza.

Parking: Accessible on-site parking for cars and vans.

Public Transportation: Bus #8 to Washington Street and Zoo Entrance (10-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Top Tip: Entry to the zoo also covers entry to White River Gardens. This three-acre botanical garden is located adjacent to the zoo and shares the same entrance and parking lot.

The Eiteljorg collects and preserves high-quality Western art and Native American art and cultural objects to fulfill the mission of its founder, Harrison Eiteljorg, to “inspire an appreciation and understanding of the art, history and cultures of the American West and the indigenous peoples of North America.” Among its collection are pieces by Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe and Kay Walking Stick.

The museum is accessible. A limited number of wheelchairs and canes are available from the main admissions desk. Accessible drinking fountains are located on each level of the museum.

Segways can be used.

Scheduled guided including audio descriptions and hands-on materials are available with at least three-weeks notice.

Large-print maps are available at the main admissions desk.

Some of the room/gallery labels are printed in braille.

Visitors with disabilities pay the community rate. Companions or aides are admitted free of charge.

Parking: Free* accessible parking in the WRSP garage outside of our entrance on the first floor of the garage. (*Except for the 4th of July and during Indian Market and Festival.)

Public Transportation: Bus #8 to Washington Street and West Street – White River State Park (3-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Got rhythm? No rhythm? No one cares at Rhythm! Discovery Center, a place dedicated entirely to the beat. Unleash your inner rock star as you strut your stuff on percussion instruments from around the world. If rocking out is not your thing, the museum’s interactive exhibits will give you an eye-opening (and ear-opening) introduction to the world of percussion, from an eight-foot gong drum and log drum to a tam-tam (we have no idea what that is either!).

Rhythm Discovery Center is wheelchair accessible.

Parking: Various parking lots available in the area.

Public Transportation: Bus #8 and #24 to Washington Street and Illinois Street (1-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Top Tip: Visit on a Saturday and take advantage of two interactive, family friendly programs included with admission. Activities include community drum circles, lessons on percussion instruments from around the world and live performances.

If you are in town on game day, try to snag tickets to an Indianapolis Colts football game. If you can’t swing tickets, you can still take a behind-the-scenes tour of Lucas Oil Stadium, which is impressive in its own right. The 90-minute tour includes visits to the playing field, an NFL locker room, the press box and a host of other areas and amenities. Tours are led by Lucas Oil Stadium Tour Guides.

The stadium is fully accessible. The tour guide will make accommodations for guests who use a wheelchair.

Parking: The primary accessible parking location is located in the South Lot with access off of Missouri Street on the west side of the stadium. A valid placard or license plate is required for access to these spaces.

Public Transportation: Bus # 24 to Missouri Street and South Street (3-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Top Tip: Tickets can be booked two weeks in advance of each tour date.

Learn all about Indiana History – with an innovative technological twist – at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center. The “Destination Indiana” exhibit features eight “drive yourself” time travel stations that allow visitors to use gesture-based touch screen controls to explore the Indiana of yesteryear. Music aficionados will love immersing themselves in the Cole Porter Room where they can learn more about the Peru, Indiana native and everyone will enjoy “putting themselves in the picture” in the “You Are There” exhibit where historical photos are brought to life.

The History Center is wheelchair accessible.

Parking: On-site parking lot.

Public Transportation: Bus #3, #6, #10, #15, #34 and #37 to Ohio Street and Senate Avenue (3-minute walk).

Find out more here.

Top Tip: Parking is free with a minimum purchase from the Stardust Terrace Café or Basile History Market store.

There’s no end of activities for all the family at Conner Prairie, which is hardly surprising considering it’s one of the largest attractions in the region. Journey back in time to days gone by and interact with farm animals at the Animal Encounters Barn; experience the hustle and bustle of a pioneer town in 1838 Prairietown; join fellow Hoosier volunteers to defend Indiana in the 1863 Civil War Journey or learn about the culture and language of the Lenape or Delaware Indians in the Lenape Indian Camp. There are also play areas, nature walks, gardens and a craft corner (and a whole lot more!).

The Conner Prairie Welcome Center is fully accessible. Complimentary wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Most, but not all, of the historic buildings are wheelchair accessible. For those buildings that are not wheelchair accessible, Conner Prairie says its staff will bring the experience to you.

Be aware there are some stone paths in the historic areas that may be difficult for wheelchairs to navigate. Download the accessibility map here for further details.

“Wheelchair assistants” and interpreters for people who are deaf receive half-price general admission.

Parking: Accessible parking is available close to the Welcome Center.

Find out more here.

Top Tip: The outdoor attractions close in winter, however, there is still plenty to do indoors.