This museum is very well done! I came to Indiana for a conference for Venue managers and this was…read morethe location for the closing reception - and I can see why they wanted to showcase it. The dinosaur exhibit is really nice. The pop culture section was cool too, but my absolute favorite was the Princess Tiana section with a tutorial on some the traditional New Orleans second line dance moves. We were a group of adults and enjoyed the museum, so I definitely recommend it for families!

I grew up coming here, and it is my favorite museum by far! Now, I get to take my nephew to have…read morethe same memories, I did growing up. Personally, my favorite exhibit is the Stem lab, but they regularly have new ones, coming and going. While my nephew really enjoys the outside area. While tickets can be expensive, there is still great value in a whole day's trip. Not to mention, the parking is free and most of the museum is included. Also, they offer a variety of discounted days. The museum is very accessible and has a wide arrange of items to help visitors, who may need it. They can help you with almost anything, you may need during your visit. The store also sells some cool things; you can't find anywhere else. Overall, I would say this is a place that everyone should visit at least once, and I couldn't recommend it enough to to out of town visitors.

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.

I enjoyed this museum but I have a couple bones to pick…read more 1. It's a confusing setup and no one hands you a map or says start here. 2. There's an imax theater and it smells like popcorn. 3. The bone collection is legitimately world class and that environment cave thing is super cool. 4. There's two types of museums honest ones like the Underground Railroad in cinncinati and then dishonest ones like the Indiana state one. 400k klan members is mentioned but not the overall population and they gloss over post civil war stuff pretty egregiously. 5. The old cars are pretty awesome. They have some really cherry old cars and tractors super cool. So idk it's a mixed bag but those bones and recreations are worth seeing

What a fun place on a holiday with kids! It was crazy as it was free and a school holiday, but they…read morehad a ton of fun interactive events and booths for the kids. Our gang especially loved the rock painting and IMAX movie. We love that they also have a special reserved spot for eating or snacks. We brought our lunch so we're able to spend the whole day there and enjoy all the various activities. It is a big place so you can entertain lots of ages. We will be back!

I love this place so much that we bought two of the new chairs and are getting our names engraved…read moreon them. This is one of the largest screens in the country. The sound system is unmatched. And I've seen so many amazing movies here. The staff are great. The experience is great. I have no notes. It's perfect.

Drove a long way here to see the Odyssey on true IMAX 70mm. This theater is well organized and…read morefriendly. I appreciated: - 20% off concessions if you join the club (except I forgot to use it) - smooth queue to get in and immediately given parking validation after scanning our tickets - not extremely gougey concession prices - smooth exit out of the parking not as attendant was there to take our tickets and validation without needing guests to fiddle with the credit card machine Dislikes: - the seats were dirty and sticky. You can see dried soda splash stains on the chairs - very tight seating. If you have long legs, your knees will be pressed against the seat of the person sitting in front of you. Or someone else behind you hitting or pushing your seat.

This restored, historically and materially rich home is a real treat to tour. I strongly recommend…read moreeveryone visits this home turned museum at least once.

I stumbled across the Elwood Haynes Museum while traveling on my recent Tenderness Tour in the…read moreKokomo area. While I'd heard about the museum before, I knew very little about it and I can honestly say that visiting it wasn't on my itinerary for my Kokomo visit until we happened to drive by it while searching for our evening dining location. The Elwood Haynes Museum is located in the mansion owned by Elwood Haynes, a Kokomo-based inventor credited with multiple firsts including being the first to produce cars commercially back in 1894. He lived in Kokomo until his death in 1925. Haynes also invented stainless steel. Seriously. Being that the Elwood Haynes Museum was actually a residence, you might guess that wheelchair access is kind of an issue. It definitely is kind of an issue, though kudos must be given for efforts to make the mansion as accessible as possible. You go up a rather narrow, somewhat steep driveway and park in the back of the house. If you have a high vehicle or an RV type vehicle, the odds you're going to achieve this are slim to none. There's only a few parking spots, a likely indicator that visits to the museum tend to be in smaller groups. The guide who was present for our visit acknowledged that the vast majority of visitors are out of towners rather than locals, though they do host local student groups. They've concocted a rather large, wooden ramp designed to provide wheelchair access. It likely meets ADA requirements in terms of grade, though be aware the wood itself feels a little flimsy. For those with limited range of motion or upper body strength, it may be advised to have a companion or assistant with you. You then enter via a side door that leads to your standard residential hallway. As this was a turn of the 19th century house, you can easily guess that hallways are rather narrow. I had zero issues moving into each room on the first floor - a bathroom on the first floor is largely wheelchair friendly with appropriate rails. The second floor would not be accessible to a wheelchair user, while the third floor, a small area, is not open to the public. They also have a basement area that is not open to the public. There's also an attached carriage house that had three of Haynes's vehicles within it along with a safe that had been created from the materials he invented. The Elwood Haynes Museum really is rather fascinating, though it's a rather quick view with a maximum of 1-2 hours needed to enjoy the entire museum. Admission is free, though donations are welcomed and somewhat encouraged in a low pressure sort of way. The exhibit, in addition to the vehicles, includes a wealth of photos, documents, inventions and other items related to Haynes, a figure who contributed greatly to modern motoring yet remains relatively unknown when compared to many others. The volunteer who was present was friendly and knowledgeable about Haynes's history and worked at a comfortable pace in explaining the museum. This was definitely an unexpected gem during my time in Kokomo.

For history buffs, or car buffs, or fans of invention, this is a "must stop" place to visit while…read morein Kokomo. The home of Elwood Haynes is partly a time capsule showing the Haynes residence and all those wonderful antiques you might expect. The other part of the building is the museum tribute to Mr Haynes and some of the other famous inventors/inventions of Kokomo. I hadn't done any research before going, so I was surprised to learn how many incredible inventions were created/discovered by Haynes. What is most commonly related to is that Haynes designed, funded the building of, and drove the first commercially built auto in the country! Local inventors (The Apperson Brothers) owned a shop and were paid by Haynes to build the frame and moving parts of the first auto after Haynes had bought a one horsepower engine that ran on gasoline. At that time, gasoline was considered a waste product from natural gas production and it was another of Haynes' inventions that made gasoline more usable as a fuel. On July 4, 1994, Haynes successfully drove his vehicle for an hour, covering about six miles. But that was just some of what this man accomplished. He discovered a means for making brass at the age of 15. He also invented the small thermostat that is used to regulate home temperature. He also created numerous alloys, including stainless steel and Stellite (used in blading small turbines and numerous other tools/equipment that should not rust.) The museum shows photos throughout the building from Haynes' life. Upstairs, the rooms are not maintained as living spaces, but rather, as tributes to the other inventors and "firsts" that Kokomo is known for. You will see exhibits about the Appersons, the first pneumatic rubber tire, first carburetor, lots of Delco radio inventions, and even some canning innovations. And of course, there are lots of exhibits about alloys and their uses. The staff is friendly and goes the extra mile to make sure you have all the information you desire. Note: Although the garage is off limits, you can still see three of the first cars produced in Kokomo through the windows. Review #2486

This is such a beautiful museum, I always learn something new each time I visit…read more The staff are always open to questions and are always excited to talk about their favorite pieces. The community events they offer are such a treasure, and the rotating exhibits make every visit feel like the first time. I feel so lucky to live close by to have access to this amazing place. Don't forget to check out the staff's exhibit on the first level, everyone who works there is insanely talented!

Newfields is pretty neat. There's a nice little nature trail outside where you can take a brief…read morewalk and there's a small beer garden along the trail. The space is really nice. The staff is very friendly. Admission is $25. Some of the art I dug and some I didn't, but there was a dark room with a video board ceiling that showed a video of the moon and stars on the ceiling that is captivating. I could have sat there for 15 minutes and just gazed at the ceiling. It was beautiful and peaceful.

A sweet little gem of a museum. Pressed glass was made in and near Greentown all around the turn of…read morethe century in 1900 and this museum highlights the indiana Goblet and Glass Company. Many fine and very rare examples of pressed glass as well as artifacts from the factory are on display. The docent is very knowledgable about glass in general and Greentown's factory in particular. As of October 2012 the museum is open in the afternoons. Worth the short drive from Kokomo for antique pressed glass admirers because of the collection and the background information on manufactoring.

For only having eight cars, this is a great car museum. Each of the cars is in absolutely…read moreimmaculate condition and the owner exchanges which cars are in the museum throughout the year. The gal working was totally sweet, and placards were very helpful for those of us who know nothing about cars. My husband who does know about cars was extremely impressed. Interestingly, the cars have up-to-date plates; they are still driven.

The Stutz Car Museum opened on 2/13/2023 inside the Stutz building in downtown Indy. The museum is…read morelocated in a 10,000-square foot area that seems practically tailor made for such a museum. The museum is free to visit and is considered a boutique car museum that features nine cars - the majority were made by Stutz and all come from Turner Woodard's personal collection. The Stutz Car Museum does close periodically either for private events or due to the space being otherwise used. For example, it will be closed from 8/16/23 to 9/14/23 for the next Butter Art Exhibit at the Stutz. Otherwise, it's open Thursdays and Fridays from 4-8pm and on weekends from 10am-6pm. While I'm not quite ready to call the Stutz Car Museum a destination museum, it fits sublimely within this space and is a really fantastic little museum that really shows up the history of Stutz. You can reach the Stutz Car Museum via the newly established courtyard. It's really quite wheelchair friendly - there's a two-sided glass door entry and they've also installed a fantastic ramp that takes you to the vehicles. I was quite impressed. The woman who was working there when I visited was also super helpful and got the door for me on the way out. Visiting the museum only took a little time for me, though I was taking pictures of the cars and also enjoying some of the additional displays. The museum also includes benches where you can actually sit and talk and enjoy the museum. While I wouldn't necessarily drive just for the museum, I can't imagine visiting here and not checking it out. The cars are awesome including the Stutz Bearcat and the Stutz Blackhawk. It seems like they switch out cars on occasion, as well. I was particularly taken by the 1927 Stutz Safety 8 and the 1933 DV32 Stutz Hollywood. However, all the cars were super cool and fun to check out. I love the direction the Stutz building is taking and I just really love the addition of the Stutz Car museum. While it'll likely be another month before you can check it out, once it is open to the public again (it will still be there - just not open to the public) I definitely recommend checking it out. Food and drinks are not allowed inside the museum - a point worth making since it is close to both Amelia's and Turner's.