We made a trip to Indianapolis over the weekend where our 9-year old was in his element at the Sports Legend Experience at the The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which celebrates its Centennial this year. He does not remember the first time we took them, but I was blown away by the caliber of this outdoor space (and museum, of course). The sports park is divided into sections dedicated to basketball, football, baseball, hockey, soccer, racing, and had a quarter mile track that looped around the perimeter. Everything is super interactive and educational. Not to mention, the enormous treehouse! The weather was beautiful and we clocked three hours outdoors! Highly recommended for kids of all ages... including adults. read more

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My kids, my wife, and I, had a blast here. There is plenty to do for the family inside and outside of the kids museum. My kids liked the baseball area the most. We will definitely be coming back. read more

This experience is awesome, especially as an add on to The Children's Museum ticket. It includes an indoor area sponsored by Hot Wheels that focuses on cars and racing. Another area highlights several sports in a fun way - news broadcasts, free basketball shooting, faux locker rooms, etc. Everything is hands on. Outside provides a focus on individual sports by recreating spaces that focus on physical activity. A track for runners, soccer goals, football goals for field goals, cara for racing, baseball bases and more. A large treehouse had carvings that represent each of the sports. The space is very exposed to the weather elements. Our visit in July was blazing hot and kept our visit much shorter. It's hard to find shade even at the patio tables near the food and refreshments. I can't imagine working there and keeping up enough energy to deal with the guests. It would be great to return on a much cooler day. My kids could spend hours there engaging in the activities and meeting other kids. read more

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I recently took my boys to the Sports Legends Experience for a morning of playtime. We had been to The Children's Museum once during COVID so we were familiar with the precautions. I reserved tickets online for they day, and did not need to specify a specific timeframe (which i appreciate). Parking in the garage (free) was a breeze. We applied sunscreen, drank some water (it was hot!) and masked up in the car. Upon arriving if you're going to the sports Legends Experience you turn left off of the walk-in ramp. We were greeted by a friendly masked greeter and invited to scan our tickets on my phone - I loved that this was contactless. We played inside for a few minutes before venturing outside, as there was only one other family there snd it was feasible to maintain distancing. Anything that requires touching has a canister of wipes nearby with signage requesting to sanitize w/wipes before and after and trash cans for used wipes. Most indoor sports activities (if not all) were open. This alone could have been enough to get some good energy out for the kiddos with the sprints, kicks and speed drill activities. Next we went outside. It was hot! There were water stations set up to promote hydration. Most activities were open, but slightly modified. The big tree playhouse was closed. Wipes were plentiful at every sport area and activity. The staff were INCREDIBLE. Like, Disney incredible, with my kids! It was awesome. The food stands were open (Dippin Dots for the win!) and payment was contactless via a credit/debit reader. The one thing I wish is that there were more shade coverings in the outdoor area. We were in the full sun during our entire visit outside because there just wasn't shade to be found. We had a fantastic visit and the kiddos are ready to return again! read more

What a wonderful experience we had today!?!!! Omg, we absolutely loved visiting the Sports Legend at the Children's museum. We hadn't had an opportunity to visit just yet, but glad we waited. By the looks of things, this place would've been packed when it first opened. We've been members before and I knew they would do a great job on this expansion, but I have to say it exceeded my expectations! So first, let's talk about the museum part. You walk through the check-in area and find yourself in a basketball hall of fame sort of speak. This exhibit highlights basketball in the Hoosier culture. You see all kinds of memorabilia from famous basketball stars from Indiana. There's a couple cool interactive games to include a sort "live" session with Tamika Catchings from the Indiana Fever (WNBA). She goes through some stretching and defense moves to use on the court that our children really enjoyed. There's another cool activity where the player can "work on their 3-point shots that's really cool. I think the one my gang really liked was the jump test. Do you try and reach the same jump reach as a real basketball player. You know how tall b-ball players are so you know everyone was trying to reach the top:) The whole exhibit was really great! Next, you head outside. And that's where the real fun is happening. Literally every sport you could think of was displayed here. You'll find basketball, tennis, baseball, golf, football, race car driving, track, hockey-& even aerobics :). There was so much to do it was incredible! And per usual of the museum standard, everything here was top notch quality. So that was great. The weather was perfect for our visit do my children really got to check everything out and have fun. Definitely worth the visit and definitely worth the membership. A little FYI, they do discounts for military families. But just absolutely great time at a great museum. read more

The sports experience is amazing. You get to play so many different sports and the walk/run track has great exercises along it. I'm a huge fan of the soccer pitch to be honest. But the hockey and golf parts are fun too. You can even peddle your way to a racecar victory! I was here for an after dark event and those things are so amazing for those of us that don't have kids or want to leave the kids at home. Would recommend (and have) to anyone willing or unwilling to listen. read more

With us being frequent visitors and now as parents of a pre-K student at the school we have been watching the full construction process as it's progressed. I'm happy to say that the exhibit FAR exceeded our expectations and wishes. With 12 outdoor exhibits and 3 indoor exhibits encompassing physical fitness, sports history and tons of family fun we were blown away. With a General Admission ticket or membership, each guests can explore and discover... 12 outdoor sports experiences 3 indoor sports exhibits, including the National Art Museum of Sport The 60-foot tall Children's Museum Guild's Tree of Sports 5 floors of fun in The Children's Museum The 12 outdoor sports experiences include: Soccer Tennis Baseball Tree of Sports (tree house meets jungle gym) Racing Basketball Football Golf Avenue of Champions (The avenue features 16 individuals who have left a significant impression on sports history, who have defied odds, who have given back, and more. To learn how the legends were chosen, read Advisor Skip Berry's blog.) Hockey Fitness Path Track In the summer months it's open late so it's a great way to burn off some extra energy before bed when the crowds are low or to walk your baby to sleep! read more

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I wish they had this when I was a kid! I had no idea you could go inside the awesome tree! It has slides and is a great climbing and look out tree! This new addition to the museum is well worth the wait. It has basketball, football, hockey, golf, tennis, baseball, race cars, and much more! They have a track that runs along the outside perimeter of the experience. They have employees in each area to help guide you. They have an area where you can buy refreshments and food. They do have water bottle refill stations and water fountains available. They had tables with umbrellas to stay out of the shade. I suggest sunglasses and sunscreen on really sunny days. They also have a nice indoor part to this new addition. It has a lot of interactive displays. It's one of the neatest exhibits I've seen in a long time! They did a great job on it. read more

Sports Legends Experience - Museums Near Me - Indianapolis, Indiana

Just when you thought the Children's Museum couldn't be any better, they add this new 7.5 acre amusement park/art museum/collector's showcase to draw in kids who would rather be running around and playing than looking at things inside a museum. I would guess the target ages for the park are probably 5 on up to pre-teen, though there are some activities that older kids and grown-ups can participate in too. The official name is the Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience and that covers the amazing outdoor complex, the National Art Museum of Sport (Namos), the History of Hoops, and the World of Sport exhibits on the inside. The park is part of the Children's Museum and is included in your Museum entrance fee. (No plans for separate park fees at this time.) The good news is that you can still park in the museum's lot/garage and see all the fun stuff in the museum if you want, and then head over to the park through the central lobby when the kids start getting anxious to run and play. Once inside the lobby, instead of turning right (south) to enter the museum, you turn left to go into the indoor exhibits. (Note: Save your tickets, paper or digital, because you will need to show them each time you enter the museum or the park sections.) The indoor Hoops and World of Sport areas have items to look at, many with Hoosier ties. There are even some activities to participate in like broadcasting or trying to match Reggie Miller's crazy scoring binge against the Knicks during the playoffs. The Namos area has a lot of paintings and sculptures with sports themes. Each stop has information about the art and artist who created the pieces. And finally, I hit the outdoor area and was amazed at all the color and fun things to engage in. The main path through the park is the Avenue of Champions which runs to the north end of the park where it reaches the massive Tree of Sports. The tree appears to be a giant tree with large sporting equipment emerging through the bark. Inside, you can climb 25 feet in the air and look out over the park. The lower levels have slides that you can use as escape route (Note: The slides are designed for kids. I was having to bend my legs in some crazy ways to keep sliding through!) On either side of the Avenue, local teams have their logos on each of the sport centers. Pacers and Fever have multiple basketball goals and some exercises to sharpen your skills. The Colts have a mini field where you can run through tackling dummies and practice catching passes. The Indy Fuel have a street hockey version of their rink while the Indians have a home run derby area. The Indy Eleven have soccer skills, and the Indy 500 and the US Nationals Drag racing have pedal cars to allow kids negotiate those types of race courses. Around the different sports are three lanes of track. One is for walking. One is for running. A third (the inner track) has stops along the way where you are challenged to complete certain exercises with the equipment on hand. On the far end of the park is the golf complex. There are several 9-hole courses to play including one for toddlers, one for instruction, and two Pete and Alice Dye signature courses that are inspired by real golf course holes. I played the Red Signature Series B course and let's just say I won't be joining even the Senior tour anytime soon. For safety and fun, you use oversize plastic ended putters and a tennis ball to play. Each hole has different colored astro turf (different thicknesses too!) that represent the fairways, rough, sand traps and water. Of course, the ball rolls through the sand traps and water easily enough, but the course still is challenging. I noticed two of the nine holes were 90 feet in length, so you do have to put some "uumph" behind the strokes to get the ball to the hole. The park has concession stands, restrooms, and water fountains without having to go back into the museum. There aren't a lot of shaded areas, but that wasn't a concern in March. So, if you have kids (or want to play like one) who love trying new things and enjoy the physical activity of playing, this park is a Home Run (or Touchdown/Three Pointer/Ace/etc!) Review #715 read more

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This place has so much going on it fun and exciting but it's a great place to learn. When entering the outdoor space there are basketball courts on your left as you move on football-hockey and soccer. And one the right there's tennis-baseball and golf. Across the back is racing with a drag strip and a race track. And you can't forget about the tree it's amazing. The day we were there there were 74 bus loads of kids so needless to said the tree was very popular and with my two year old grandson it was just to much for him. But all around the Sports Legends Experience are tracks for walking - running and a fitness path. There is something for everyone to do. Pavilions and concession and restrooms outside also. read more

We have been members of the children's museum for years and we could not be happier that his new space opened up! What a wonderful new adventure for our kiddos and for us too! A real treat! This place does not disappoint - so many odes to Indiana and to athletic success stories around this great state and city! So many experiences for the kids and a neat way to try so many new things out! During the summer they will be open until 8pm - even after the children's museum is closed. We will be here at least once or twice a week to play and get the wiggles out! Be sure to check this place out! read more

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Man oh man... It does not get any better than this! I live in the Mapleton Fallcreek area and the Children's Museum is literally in my back yard. I take my kids at least 3-4 times a month! I LOVE it. Without the Sports Legends Experience (SLE), the Children's Museum is ahhhhhh-mazing by itself! Like, seriously, the most fun your family can have in Indy. But with the new Sports Legends Experience, this place has gone over the top! Some of my little one's favorite things to do at the Sports Legends Experience (she's 3) are: 1. Basketball courts: because there are rims her size, she really thinks shes a WNBA player :) 2. Tennis courts: This little girl seriously loves the two of us being able to play tennis. She can't return the ball but she sure loves thinking shes really playing. 3. Golf course: This was a WOW factor for me. There is a FULL golf course for toddlers and a separate one for older kids and adults. I mean, is that not the most amazing thing?!?! 4. Tree house: Her FAVORITE thing is the huge tree house in the middle of the SLE. I kid you not, she could play in that thing for hours! It seriously is SO AWESOME! I am excited for her to ride the go karts when she gets bigger. I think she will really enjoy that. We also love the food, drinks, and ice cream bar right outside. This place was done so well. I would give it 20 stars if I had the option! read more

This place is a blast! As if the Children's Museum isn't cool enough, they added this wonderful outdoor area that has multiple areas for kids to try out different sports. What's cool is that it's all kid sized and for all ages. During a private event, we had many kids aged kindergarten to teen ALL having a great time! They have done a great job representing most sports... including hockey, sports car racing, golf, and MANY more! Staff are helpful and will join in to help kids play! Also a must is the AMAZING climbing tree in the middle of the grounds. I can not describe it and pictures don't do it justice. It's a must see in person! Get out there and get active! read more