Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around Indianapolis - 2020

Since opening in 1964, the Indianapolis Zoo has emerged as a world-class facility, and it hosts more than a million visitors annually. Located in White River State Park since 1988, the 64-acre Zoo was the first to be triple accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American Alliance of Museums as a zoo, an aquarium and a botanic garden.

At the Indianapolis Art Center, it’s always about Your Art, Your Way! In offering quality learning for everyone from curious beginners to seasoned professionals, our state-of-the-art studios provide artists and students alike with a transformative environment for learning new skills and crafting creative connections with others. Staying dedicated to building community through art, we strive to inspire creative expression in people of all ages through our Access Art tuition assistance opportunities, outreach programs to underserved audiences, and year-round classes and exhibitions.

Of course, the libraries in the Indianapolis area are not really ONE place, but MANY places... but it's important to emphasize how valuable libraries are for family learning and fun. The libraries in our area are wonderful about posting their events to the KidsOutAndAbout calendar so you always can get ideas for free things to do with your kids that celebrate education and imagination. KidsOutAndAbout.com takes this opportunity to salute the wonderful children's librarians who serve our community with such dedication. They're proud that locals voted them #3 in best places to take kids this year!

The Indiana State Fair is the state’s largest multi-day event celebrating Hoosiers’ spirit and agricultural heritage. These 17 days celebrate Indiana agriculture and promote it to hundreds of thousands of people across Indiana, and beyond. Nationally recognized for offering great entertainment, showcasing youth, interactive agriculture education programs, premier facilities and a variety of unique, fun foods, the Indiana State Fair has been an annual attraction for generations of Hoosiers since 1852. For information on the Indiana State Fair and year round events, visit www.indianastatefair.com.

Zip City is an indoor adventure park. From our indoor zip line park to our indoor trampoline park with trampoline dodgeball, it’s a place where you can be active and social while challenging yourself and others. You’ll find a ropes course, climbing walls and laser tag in our over 70,000-square-foot facility, offering a mix of fun and challenging attractions guaranteed to get you moving all year round.

Newfields offers dynamic experiences with art and nature for guests of all ages. The 152-acre cultural campus is home to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is among the ten largest and ten oldest general art museums in the nation; the Lilly House, The Garden, featuring 40 acres garden, a working greenhouse and an orchard; as well as The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, one of the largest art and nature parks in the country. Throughout campus, guests young and old are invited to interact with art and nature in exciting new ways. From discovering new ideas in the IMA Galleries to getting fresh air in the art and nature park, there is truly something for everyone at Newfields.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is Indiana’s largest performing arts organization! For families, we recommend our Teddy Bear Series, our annual Yuletide holiday performances and Film concerts. For those who want to experience music through education, check out MYO - youth and family development program of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The program uses the life skills learned in music instruction to engage youth in activities that discourage at-risk behaviors and keep them committed to staying in school. You can learn more about all of our performances by visiting https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/education.

The Old National Centre, formerly the Murat Centre, is a beautiful multi-purpose facility that provides versatility for events of all sizes. Since constructed in 1909, the Old National Centre has been a significant architectural and historical landmark in the city of Indianapolis. From the luxurious Grand Lobby to the unique Middle Eastern stylings of the Egyptian Room, the Old National Centre always provides exclusive experiences unlike any other. No matter what size or style we are here to make your event a success and your vision a reality!

Smiley is a 25,000 sq foot facility in Castleton filled with the latest Virtual Reality technology. We have very rare and unique interactive games and rides for children of all ages. Our playgrounds are for age 9 months to 10 years old and our VR spaces are for ages 9 years and up! We also have an enormous indoor playground with trampoline basketball, tubes & slides, rock-climbing, obstacle course, fast raceway slides, and MUCH more! Our state of the art facility has a food court serving a variety of delicious treats like bubble tea, and Thai rolled ice-cream!

Located in White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis, the Indiana State Museum brings the best of the museum world to Indiana. Spanning three floors, the museum tells the story of the Hoosier state, and features a year-round calendar of exhibits that explore Indiana art, science and culture. Constructed completely from Indiana materials – including limestone, sandstone, steel, brick and glass – the building itself is a work of art, with icons representing each of Indiana’s 92 counties integrated into its exterior walls. Step inside, and you’ll be invited to experience Indiana’s past, present and future through scientific, cultural, history and art exhibits that help define our place in the world.

Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre, located at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, is one of the nation's longest continuously operating community theatres. Civic produces both large-scale musicals and popular plays, and offers year-round education programming.

The Ballet Theatre of Carmel Academy (BTCA) provides high quality dance education for boys and girls ages 3-18, in a nurturing and supportive environment. Programs include preschool through pre-professional classes, a Day Intensive Program, and a Soloist Initiative, and training methods include the American Ballet Theatre® National Training Curriculum. Faculty members come with a rich professional performance background in ballet, and delight in sharing their insights and expertise with their students. BTCA is also the home of Ballet Theatre of Carmel - a pre-professional ballet company presenting two full length productions annually.