The Power of Children

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the world's largest children's museum. It is located at 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana in the United Northwest Area neighborhood of the city. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is 472,900 square feet (43,933.85 m2) with five floors of exhibit halls and receives more than one million visitors annually. Its collection of over 130,000 artifacts and exhibit items is divided into two domains: Arts & Humanities and the Natural Sciences. Among the exhibits are simulated Cretaceous and Jurassic dinosaur habitats, a carousel, a steam locomotive, and the glass sculpture Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling. The museum's focus is family learning; most exhibits are designed to be interactive, allowing children and families to actively participate.Founded in 1925 by Mary Stewart Carey with the help of Indianapolis civic leaders and organizations, it is the fourth-oldest such institution in the world. The current site became home for the museum in 1946; the current building was constructed in 1976 and has had four major expansions since then. The museum hosts thousands of activities annually, including plays at the Lilly Theater, classes and workshops for school children, traveling exhibits, and fund-raising events. With a 2008 budget of $28.7 million, it has 400 employees and 1,500 volunteers. Its financial stability is ensured by a large endowment that was first established in the 1960s and is governed by a board of trustees. In May 2021, the museum announced Jennifer Pace Robinson, a 29-year veteran of the museum, as its new president and CEO.

Fireworks of Glass Tower and Ceiling, also known as Fireworks of Glass, is a blown glass sculpture installation in the permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America. The tower sits on a glass base, a pergola ceiling, and rises through the center of the museum's spiraling ramp system. Created by Dale Chihuly in 2006, it is his second-largest permanently installed glass sculpture. Beneath the tower is an accompanying exhibit that describes the sculpture and the process by which it was made. The tower and pergola ceiling are two distinct accessioned objects in the Children's Museum's collection.

Broad Ripple Park Carousel is an antique carousel in The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. It was installed in 1917 at an amusement park near the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it remained until the building housing it collapsed in 1956. The ride's mechanism was destroyed, but the animals were relatively unscathed and put into storage by the park's owners, the Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation. The animals were carved by the Dentzel Carousel Company some time before 1900 but were assembled by the William F. Mangels carousel company, which also supplied the engine powering the ride. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis acquired its first two carved animals from the ride in 1965, and the last few wooden animals in 1973. The museum planned to sell some to finance the restoration of others until the director of the museum, Mildred Compton, was convinced by carousel enthusiasts that the museum should instead restore all the animals and recreate the working carousel. Restoration of the carved animals began in 1966 and was only finished with the restoration of the entire carousel in 1977. No space had been allocated for the display of such a large exhibit in the museum's planned new building, which meant some re-designing was necessary to allow its installation on the fifth floor. A 1919 Wurlitzer band organ model #146-B, a type manufactured only for carousels, was also installed. As restored, the carousel is 42 feet (13 meters) wide and has a total of 42 animals, including – as well as the usual horses – goats, giraffes, deer, a lion, and a tiger. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

The Schnull–Rauch House, sometimes referred to as the Victorian Manor and now also branded as The Manor at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, is a National Register of Historic Places-designated Romanesque Revival historic home constructed in the early 20th century at 3050 North Meridian Street, north of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1979, the building was donated by John Rauch Jr. to the Junior League of Indianapolis to be used for their headquarters and operated as an event venue and house museum. In 2009, the building was purchased by The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which sits on adjacent property, and is currently an event venue.

Balmoral Court, also known as The Balmoral, is a historic apartment complex located at Indianapolis, Indiana. The complex was built in 1916, and consists of three, 2+1⁄2-story, Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival style townhouse blocks. The blocks are arranged around a central courtyard and are topped by gable roofs with dormers. The building at the end of the courtyard features a pedimented portico with Corinthian order columns.: 5–6 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

The Buckingham is a historic apartment building located at Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built in 1909–1910, and is a three-story, U-shaped, Tudor Revival style brown-red brick building with limestone trim. It features four-sided turrets framing the three-bay entrance facade with loggia and oriel windows.: 7 It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Louis Levey Mansion, also known as the Pilgrim Life Insurance Company Building, is a historic home located at Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built in 1905, and is a two-story, Italian Renaissance style limestone dwelling consisting of a three bay by four bay main block with a one bay by two bay rear block. It has a semicircular bay on the rear facade. The front facade features a round arched entrance flanked by pilasters and the roof is ringed by a balustrade. The house was converted for commercial uses in the 1950s.: 2–3, 6 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Esplanade Apartments is a historic apartment building located at Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built in 1912 and opened for business with ads in the Indianapolis Star on September 1, 1912, and is a two to three-story, U-shaped, brick veneered building. It has simulated half-timbering and hipped roof with wide overhanging boxed eaves in the Prairie School and Bungalow / American Craftsman style.: 2–3 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Alfred M. Glossbrenner Mansion is a historic home located at Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built about 1910, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, Jacobethan Revival style brick dwelling with limestone trim. It has a porte cochere and sun porch with Tudor arched openings. It features a multi-gabled roof, stone mullions, buttresses, and tall chimneys. It was converted to medical offices in the 1950s.: 2–3 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

George Philip Meier House, also known as Tuckaway, is a historic home located at Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built in 1907, and is a two-story, Bungalow / American Craftsman style frame dwelling clad in cedar clapboard. The second story was added in 1912. It has a front gable roof and features a full width front porch and scrolled brackets on the overhanging eaves.: 2–3 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Benjamin Franklin Public School Number 36 is a historic school building located at Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built in 1896, and is a two-story, cubical, Romanesque Revival style brick building with a two-story addition built in 1959. It sits on a raised basement and has a hipped roof with extended eaves. The front facade features a central tower and large, fully arched, triple window. The building has been converted to apartments.: 5–6 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Historic Meridian Park Neighborhood is situated north of downtown Indianapolis, and located within the larger Mapleton Fall Creek Neighborhood. While the neighborhood is fairly small, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.The neighborhood began to be developed around the turn of the 20th century. It not only has a significant collection of American Craftsman or Arts & Crafts Style homes, but is also notable as one of Indianapolis's first suburbs.