Indianapolis Field Trips Guide

Field Trip Categories In And Around Indianapolis

Museums, Tours, And Local Landmarks

Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the world's largest children's museum by size and mixes dinosaurs, science, world cultures, history, space, and outdoor sports rather than limiting itself to preschool play. Dinosphere surrounds visitors with large fossil displays; Beyond Spaceship Earth connects to the International Space Station; The Power of Children examines young people such as Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White who faced major historical challenges. Outdoor Sports Legends Experience adds physical activity and sports science. Elementary and middle school students can spend a full day, while preschoolers need a selective route. School groups should choose two major galleries and one hands-on activity. The museum's strength is interdisciplinarity—fossils, civil rights, engineering, and athletics can all become evidence that children are capable of serious inquiry.
Street Address: 3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Web Address: https://www.childrensmuseum.org/

Indiana State Museum
Indiana State Museum tells the state's story from ancient geology and Ice Age animals through Indigenous cultures, statehood, industry, social change, and contemporary life. Large natural-history specimens, cultural artifacts, reconstructed environments, and hands-on displays allow students to connect limestone, glaciers, waterways, and resources with the human communities that developed in Indiana. Grades 4 through high school can compare natural and cultural history rather than treating them as separate subjects. The museum sits in White River State Park near several other attractions, so its modern canal-side setting can support an urban redevelopment lesson. Teachers should check current exhibits and make sure Indigenous history is presented as ongoing rather than ending at European settlement. A focused state-history trip can be paired with the Statehouse for civics.
Street Address: 650 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Web Address: https://www.indianamuseum.org/

Eiteljorg Museum
The Eiteljorg Museum focuses on Native peoples of North America and art of the American West, two fields that often collide in popular mythology. Its collections include contemporary Native art, historic Indigenous objects, Western paintings, sculpture, and changing exhibitions, allowing students to compare living Native artists with romanticized images of the West. Upper elementary through high school groups can study sovereignty, identity, collecting, and how artists construct ideas about land and frontier history. Younger students can focus on materials, animals, and storytelling. The museum has increasingly emphasized Native voices and contemporary practice, so teachers should avoid using historic objects as if Indigenous cultures disappeared. Pairing an Indigenous-made contemporary work with a nineteenth-century Western painting can produce a powerful discussion about who is doing the representing.
Street Address: 500 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Web Address: https://eiteljorg.org/

Conner Prairie
Conner Prairie is a large living-history and science site where historic homes, interpreters, farm animals, aviation experiences, and immersive environments cover several eras rather than one frozen 'pioneer village.' Prairietown interprets 1830s Indiana, while the 1859 Balloon Voyage connects visitors to early aerial observation and other areas explore Civil War-era events, Indigenous history, agriculture, and innovation. Grades 3 through 8 are ideal, though older students can analyze historical interpretation and whose stories are included. Hands-on trades and conversations with interpreters make work visible, but teachers should distinguish reconstructed scenarios from original primary evidence. Because the grounds are extensive and programs seasonal, schools need a route. The best visits compare two periods and ask what changed in technology, labor, transportation, and ideas about community.
Street Address: 13400 Allisonville Rd, Fishers, IN 46038
Web Address: https://www.connerprairie.org/

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum interprets the technology and culture surrounding the Indianapolis 500 at the track where the race has been held since 1911. Historic winning cars, engines, trophies, driver equipment, photographs, and track tours show how racing evolved from dangerous early machines on brick pavement to highly specialized modern cars. Middle and high school students can study aerodynamics, fuel, tires, crash safety, telemetry, and the economics of a global sporting event; upper elementary students enjoy comparing car shapes and speeds. The museum has undergone a major renovation and reopening process in the mid-2020s, so teachers should verify current galleries and tour access. A lap or track tour, when available, makes the 2.5-mile oval's scale and banking far more understandable than a display case alone.
Street Address: 4750 W 16th St, Indianapolis, IN 46222
Web Address: https://imsmuseum.org/

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