A day with dinos

Even grown-ups can have fun at
Indy's Children's Museum

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM LENAHAN

Mackenzie Lenahan, 3, stood in awe of the T. rexes-attacking-triceratops display. Dallas Evans, the museum's natural science curator, said scenes like this are engaging for viewers because they show how the creatures would have interacted — with hostility, in this case. "It's a pretty formidable beast," he said of the triceratops. "It could do damage to any T. rex ... pretty hard to take down."

JUST THE FACTS

WHAT: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST (one hour earlier than Cincinnati this time of year) daily through Labor Day. Closed Mondays from Labor Day through March 1.

WHERE: 3000 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis

PRICE: $11.50 for adults; $6.50 for children ages 2 to 17; $10.50 for senior citizens

PARKING: Available at Illinois and 30th streets

CONTACT: (317) 334-3322 or www.childrensmuseum.org

TICKET HINT:
GET 'EM NOW
The dinosaur exhibit is included with admission to the museum, but you'll need a special ticket with a time to enter the area. Your best option is to buy your tickets before heading to Indy. Call (800) 820-6214 or visit www.childrensmuseum.org.

GETTING THERE
Take I-74 West to Indy, and continue on I-74 West/I-465 West. Take I-65 North exit. Take Exit #113, the Pennsylvania Street/ U.S. 31/Meridian Street exit. Continue on 12th Street. Turn right on North Meridian Street. Museum is two miles ahead at the intersection with 30th Street.

Most museums, even if they have something cool like dinosaur skeletons, don't always display the goods the way they should.

The curators will set up the stuff, put some academic plaque next to it and let it collect dust while people shuffle past. Hence, museums become the kind of places where schoolchildren fear to tread, even when they get out of class for the day.

So let's take a moment to thank the people who run the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. They understand that kids (and adults) want some entertainment with their learnin'.

Recently, the Lenahan fam checked out the museum and its just-opened Dinosphere exhibit, a $25 million addition featuring several adult and juvenile specimens.

Let's start by saying that dino bones alone are a pretty good reason to make the two-hour trip; that the exhibit includes a 22-minute light-and-sound show surrounding a scene of two tyrannosaurus rex attacking a triceratops - well, big bonus there.

Dinosphere also features exhibits on dinosaur eggs and archeological digs, among other prehistoric topics; a strangely compelling look at dinosaur art over the past 150 years or so; and a laboratory in which scientists can clean up new bones as they arrive or study the ones already on display.

Throw in the rest of the five-story center - a child's nirvana of play equipment, race cars, video games, puppets and carousel horses - and you have a museum that is closer to theme park than theme paper. And it's even fun for grown-ups without little tykes in tow.

Jim Lenahan is the editor of Velocity Weekly in Louisville.

ANOTHER (CLOSER) OPPORTUNITY TO SEE DINOSAURS

You don't have to drive all the way to Indy to experience dinosaurs. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (2400 Vine St., Avondale) has Dino Zone, now through October 31. More than 20 animatronic dinosaurs roam the exhibit. Let your young paleontologist discover dinosaur fossils at the Dino Dig. Or the whole family can try out Dino Island - The Ride, a computer animated attraction.

Admission to Dino Zone is $2 for zoo members and $3 for non-members. Admission to Dino Island - The Ride is $3 for members and $4 for non-members (Zoo admission not included). The zoo opens at 9 a.m. Closing times vary. Call (513) 281-4700 or visit www.cincinnatizoo.org.