Doesn't the name Minnetrista make you think that you'll be visiting a place with puppets? Like…read moremarionettes, right? Well, I hate to disappoint you, but there are no puppets or marionettes here. But there is an exhibit dedicated to Ball jars. Fun fact: Minnetrista was created by the Ball family, who created Ball canning jars, which you can learn about here. They are also the "Ball" behind Ball State University, which is located in Muncie. I had no idea! You will learn interesting facts like these, and others about this area of Indiana, at Minnetrista. The main museum itself is a bit small, and part of it is conference and meeting rooms. But the museum is just one part of Minnetrista. This is actually a 40-acre campus with gardens and paved trails. As you stroll along the grounds, you'll come across some houses. Some of the houses are part of Minnetrista, and you are welcome to pop inside and check out what's going on. What's going on in one of them is an exhibit dedicated to Bob Ross, the painter. At the Bob Ross Experience, you can step inside the historic home where The Joy of Painting was filmed, and see some of the actual filming equipment and art supplies that were used to create the television show. It's sort of surreal that Bob was painting his happy little trees right here in humble Muncie. Some of the houses that you encounter are not a part of Minnetrista, but belong to IU Health or other entities. It's not really clearly marked on the houses which is which. I'm sure if you consulted a map, it might tell you! I consulted no such map, and I was just walking around blindly. I visited during the late fall, when it was cold and the gardens were dormant, for the most part. But I bet this place is amazing in the spring and summer, when everything is in bloom.

Minnetrista is an event center and museum that was built in 1988 by the five Ball brothers. The…read moremodern center is part of a complex of museums and gardens on the former Ball property that sits across from the White River in Muncie. There is an admission fee to visit the galleries of $15/adult and $12/child, but the ticket grants admission to the other museums and garden as well. During our visit, we saw the Narwhal exhibit, which is a small exhibit dedicated to narwhals. A curator greeted us at the entrance and was available to answer questions. My granddaughter is a narwhal fan enjoyed the interactive displays. We also visited a special children's exhibit called Good Night Forest. Again a curator welcomed us and invited us to build a backpack and enjoy the nighttime activities set up for the kids. My granddaughter loved the firer fly dance, wandering through the dark forest listening for animals and the shadow puppet show. There were fun and educational activities suitable for all ages. We also visited a permanent exhibit describing the Ball Store History. I liked seeing all the vintage items and describing them to my granddaughter. We also toured a display for a local artist competition. The staff is super friendly and engaging. The center is immaculate and accessible. There is plenty of parking in their dedicated lot. Minnetrista is a great legacy from the Ball family to the community. Exhibits change and can be found on their website. I highly recommend a visit if you like art and history.

Don't overlook the Muncie Children's Museum--we played for over 3 hours and still weren't ready to…read moreleave! Think less traditional museum and more imaginative, hands-on pretend play. A massive upstairs train room A giant bird's nest to climb into A water table with three unique play features An entire pretend-play town with everything from a veterinary office to a marsh A dedicated toddler area An ant maze ...and so much more! Admission: $8 per person (ages 1-100) Hours: * Wednesday-Saturday: 10 AM-5 PM * Sunday: 1 PM-5 PM The museum participates in the Access for All program, offering reduced admission and discounted memberships for qualifying families enrolled in programs like SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, and HIP. Bonus savings: * Find a $1 off general admission coupon online (valid for up to 4 people; cannot be combined with other offers). * Kids who complete the coloring page available at admission can redeem it for a free sand jar from the gift shop. A few things to know: * The building is older, but they're continuing to add new exhibits and experiences. * Only parts of the museum are stroller and wheelchair accessible. Before or after your visit, walk just two blocks to The Caffinery--one of my favorite kid-friendly coffee shops, complete with a play area for little ones.

This place is fine. It isn't an Indianapolis, or an Ogden Utah Children's Museum but this one was…read morefine, especially for a small community and for the price of entry. If it's raining outside or your kids are bored, give it a go.

My husband and I recently had the opportunity to attend a concert here. It was One Night of Queen…read morePerformed by Gary Mullen and The Works. We were hosted by Ally Financial and they had several tables down in what I would consider to be the "VIP" area. The show was really good, but what I liked best about the entire experience is that you could bring in your own food and beverages. No matter where you were seated on the lawn, you could bring in a cooler, pizza, take-out, deli sandwiches...whatever you like. Some folks had really nice set-ups, and others arrived with nothing more than a folded lawn chair under their arm. Children ran free and folks made their way up to the dance floor positioned directly in front of the stage. I look forward to returning again in the future. It was really nice. Beware of the dragonflies. They were the size of my hand!

What's not to like at Conner Prairie? There's history, animals, walking trails along the White…read moreRiver and a tethered hot air balloon. After I retired in 2023, I decided to work here in the Education Department part-time (2-3 days a week.) I specialize in several exhibits. I've seen the evolution since 1998 when I came here with my son. Now, we visit with my teenage grandson! There's a foam pit to jump in, a 4-story treehouse with a 30-foot suspension bridge to explore, and SO much more. The website has all the info. You may love it so much you join them too. There's also a very successful Youth Volunteer program ages 10+.

The Anderson Museum of Art is located in an exquisite example of a former Carnegie Library in…read moreIndiana. My jaw dropped when I entered and saw the elegant scrollwork and magnificent stained glass rotunda. The former library, now is home to the Anderson Museum of Art. The Arts Education Outreach Specialist, Molly, was welcoming and informative about the building and museum. We paid a small admission fee ($3) to visit the museum. Today, the museum promotes the arts with two front galleries that hold juried exhibits. A third gallery holds works of local artists. Funds from a small gift shop are used to continue restoration of the building. A small frame shop is also available to purchase custom frames. Downstairs is a Children's Art Center and classroom. The facility also hosts events, such as weddings. Construction of the Beaux-Arts style building started in 1903. The mayor of Anderson had requested a grant from Andrew Carnegie. The city received $50,000 from Carnegie and finished the building in 1905 at a cost of $52,000. Kokomo Opalescent Glass provided the glass for the breathtaking rotunda dome. The building served as a library until 1987, replaced by a modern facility. The building sat idle for nine years after 1987 resulting in extensive water damage. Restoration efforts have been possible through gifts from art patrons and grants from the city of Anderson. Some of the fixtures are period pieces or reproductions. I highly recommend a visit if you like art and history. There is free parking in front of the building.

The actual art museum was very good but what looked like a "fun" experience for my grandkids…read moredownstairs was very unfortunate. They have a reading tent for kids downstairs with several books promoting gender identity issues creating a needless questions in innocent children in a space where parents are uninvited. I just think people need to be aware of this before the go.

I love a good roadside attraction and this one has been pinned on my map for a little while. We…read moretraveled from Wisconsin to Ohio for a wedding and made the detour to set a world record (even if it was for only an hour and a half). Everyone was a little weary about it as it added some time to our trip, but after everyone was happy we did it and it became a conversation topic for the weekend! We called on our way (be sure to pay attention to the time change if you're doing in a day) and Mike didn't seem like he wanted to chat, but we let him know about when we were going to be there and when we arrived, he was ready for us. He went through the story, getting into the world record book, then we picked out our color and got to painting. As we painted we chatted more and he told us some stories of all the different types of people that have visited, weird and unique paint jobs, and more. I am assuming he gets paint donated or he has paint that has been around a while, because it did have a unpleasant smell so we rolled quickly. Don't be too worried about getting it on your clothes unless you are reckless, there are long handles on the rollers, the most you'll get is on the bottom of your shoe. Its awesome you get to be a small part of a world record and worth the detour if you're in the area. He does accept donations through cash, venmo, or credit card. I recommend a stop!

I totally understand obsessions and the need to be first at something that many consider odd or…read moreunusual. Having the most reviews on Yelp would certainly be an obsession and that's where I am. So I went out of my way to stop here at the World' Largest Ball of Paint which is located in Indiana. Arriving during business hours, I was able to meet up with the painter himself, ask Mike some questions, see the wet paint and understand a bit about this pretty awesome piece of Americana. It is a bit out of the way but worth it. The Ball of Paint is free to visit and they do accept donations. You can also contribute to the paint ball. [Review 1313 of 2024 - 189 in Indiana - 22336 overall]

I recently returned to this hobby since I was a kid and I am now an old guy.. I was amazed at the…read moreadvances. I chose Mr muffin as my dealer and spent thousands of dollars in less than a year for stock items and pre-orders. This last Christmas my family bought 2 items for myself and my son that I was not aware of that were also on my Mr. Muffin pre-order list. This pre-order list of multiple items also amounted to thousands of dollars. I called just to ASK (ASK only) if I canceled those 2 pre-orders (out 6 more that were already placed), would that ruin our business relationship in the future. I told the receptionist that I did not want to have that loss of a relationship to occur and would accept and pay for the duplicate pre-order if that were the case. The receptionist canceled the pre-order without indicating at all that there would be a problem for future orders. In fact, we discussed the delivery dates of the remaining 2 items on the order that I still wanted. Weeks later, I went online and noticed that all of my pre-orders were canceled. I called the company to ask if Lionel had stopped production or what had caused the cancelation to the receptionist. I was transferred to the owner. I explained the situation. His response was that is not how the situation was explained to him and told me to find another dealer or supplier of Lionel trains. This really took the wind out of my sails for the hobby and soured me. I was working with my disabled wheelchair bound son who has muscular dystrophy to get into the hobby. All he can do is play video games and I figured that this would be a good way to work together as a common interest other than videos. It was something he could still control by hand. He loves Star Wars and I had pre-ordered Star Wars Phantom locomotives which now 1 of the 2 locomotives are unavailable due to the pre-order the company's cancelation. They did not bother to notify me in anyway and special run had sold out. I've gotten over it. It's not hearts and lungs. I moved on to other dealers as Steve strongly suggested that we do before he hung up. Since then, I read some online posts. Most were similar experiences. No problem as long as there is not a problem. When there is a problem...good luck. If I had to make an analogy: Remember the Seinfeld episode "Soup Nazi". Need I say more? From my viewpoint, don't count on service beyond the sale! Be especially careful if you pre-order. The rights that are reserved for Mr. Muffin to cancel your orders state that he can do that if there are unreasonable cancelations on your part. In reality, that means a FIRST or ANY cancelation as opposed to an true abuse of their pre-ordering system. Watch out for hidden tariff charges and taxes. These charges are not transparent and not upfront. You will charged those at the time of shipping with NO estimate. I realize that this is not totally under their control. However, if you don't like the charges, you will be banished. If you even, ask you will be banished. BE CAREFUL to you newcomers. The hobby is still worth it and so are many other dealers who are decent businessmen and hobbyists.

I ordered a product online. It was as advertised, arrived ahead of schedule, and at a fair price…read moreduring the holiday season.

It was very heartwarming to see my grandpa's WWII uniform on display for Veterans Day at the…read moremuseum. I really like the museum and appreciate what they do to honor and celebrate our veterans of the past.

Great hidden gem in Fort Harrison State Park. Although I'm not a huge history buff, I found the…read moremuseum very interesting. They have a large variety of different artifacts in the museum and all the artifacts had great descriptions. I especially loved all the clothing/uniforms from various wars. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Also in the museum is a library which contains hundreds of history books. Whether you're a history buff or not, this museum is worth a visit!

I love a good hidden gem. The David Owsley Museum of Art is hidden in plain sight, though, because…read moreit's located on the campus of Ball State University, one of the biggest universities in Indiana. So, I guess, if you know, you know. But if you don't know? Then, in the words of the late Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G. (RIP): If you don't know, now you know. Either way, you'll find this surprisingly large art museum in Ball State's Old Quad. Parking is kind of a pain: You'll need to park in one of the metered lots. Make sure you pay! Those campus parking attendants don't play and are always out in full force. The museum houses works of art from all around the world. I saw everything from African masks to Greek statues. It's kind of amazing to me the amount of art this place holds. There are two stories of things to see. I forgot that I was on a college campus -- it really is a real-deal art museum. Best of all: This museum is free! Just stroll right in and peruse at your leisure. Just don't plan to visit on a Sunday or Monday, because it's closed on those days.

What a great, free art museum!!! Enjoyed it very much. Should have went earlier in the day to have…read moremore time to browse.

One thousand percent, I am not the audience for this museum. But that said, I had a great time…read moreexploring and seeing all of the model airplanes and aviation accoutrement. The National Model Aviation Museum is the largest model aviation museum in the world. Who knew that Muncie held such a treasure? At this very specific museum, you will see model aircraft of all sorts, memorabilia, equipment, and even a space for children with simulators. I would keep your expectations low for the children's area, though. Other than two simulators, there is not much for children to touch and explore. But if you're an adult who loves model airplanes, you will have a great time here. I was told that people who study model airplane history will sometimes come here to go through the collection of books, magazines and manuals that the museum owns. There's a whole library that you can explore, if that's your thing. This is a neat place to visit if you're in Muncie, simply because there's nothing else like it in the area.

I'm not a big RC person, though I used control lines as a kid and built a few balsa models, before…read morerunning into the cost of radios and eventually deciding to get my pilot's license. But it's a fun hobby, and there are some very impressive models out there- and some crossover to homebuilding planes and to military drones, etc., so it's pretty interesting. The museum is outstanding. Covers things from the Wrights and others building models to test theories, etc., through the golden age of, say, the '30s through '50s, up to the current new golden age with jets and helos and a range of planes from hard-to-crash-and-break entry models to ones that cost as much as a new car. Loads of examples, all well cared for and displayed. A surprise around every corner. Not huge, but big enough to spend a couple of hours. There's a workshop you can see through big windows, and a library you can use. Plenty of models and trinkets and clothes in the gift shop. Well worth a visit if you are at all into aviation.

Five stars all the way for the Pendleton Historical Museum! The displays are wonderful to look at…read moreand the people who volunteer there go out of their way to help you if you ask about specific things you want to know about. I wasn't able to see this place the first time I came to Pendleton after it was built in 1997 because we only spent one day here and it was a weekday. The museum is only open on the weekends. The next time I came to town I made sure to be here by a Sunday just so that I could come to the museum and I was extremely disappointed when I found out they were only open through October so I wasn't able to see it in 2007 either. When I came back in 2008 it was August and I had more time to spend in town so I went to the museum two or three different times. One thing that makes it fun for me is that it is housed in the old Bathhouse where my brother and I used to go when we wanted to swim in the town pool, a dammed-up section of Fall Creek, in the summers during visits to my grandparents. We would go in the front, pay our 10 cents, change out of our clothes which we were probably wearing over our swimsuits, put the clothes in a locker and go out the door on the Falls Creek side to the town swimming area which had steps leading down to the water, a long slide and a diving board. The swimming area closed in the seventies or eighties due to contamination but it looks like it has gotten cleaned up quite a bit since then. I'm glad the old building wasn't torn down and was turned into the Historical Museum instead. I guarantee you won't see everything in one visit because there are so many items there. Many of them have been donated to the museum or the Historical Society while others are on loan. Probably my favorite is all the old pictures, among which I'm always able to pick out a few relatives and ancestors and old family friends. This is the town that my mother grew up in and when I did genealogy research I discovered my mother's side of the family went back four or five generations to the early 1800's. That made looking through the museum and the local cemeteries even more interesting. Among their collections they have old appliances, a player piano with a dozen or so piano rolls, vintage clothing that belonged to various residents, magazines, newspapers, a complete collection of all the yearbooks from the only High School in town starting in 1916 or so and enough extras they're able to sell some to people for $25 each. There are postcards for sale with sketches of vintage buildings, some books on local history you can buy, and a donation jar if you want to contribute to help keep the museum running. If you get into Pendleton on a weekend from April through October be sure to stop in and walk around!

My wife and I are visiting from Florida and I made a point to stop by the Pendleton Museum. The…read moredisplays are fantastic and the history shown is amazing. I enjoyed every moment of my walkthrough.