Indiana Historical Society Review

Great museum with lots to see! Downstairs there s a restaurant & patio for eating next to a beautiful canal district! Must stop in Indy!

Everyone must go u will injoy it we did as a family

At my most recent visit, the L.S. Ayres & IN Constitution interactive exhibits required "suspension of disbelief," but for those willing to play along, it was an amusing way to learn. Children brought to them were puzzled and probably understood little of what they were seeing.The T.C. Steele art exhibit gave a once-in-a-lifetine chance to see a large group of privately held and seldom-exhibited paintings by Indiana's iconic painter. The interactive computer-based history room is the one area where a visitor could spend hours digging into specific areas of IN history. Other exhibits were restricted to panels with text and photos about various aspects of state history. Friendly and helpful docents were ready for conversation about the exhibits. The Cole Porter room has brief biographical information & photographs, but the highlight for me was the charming and talented young lady who sang Porter songs on request. While I enjoy my visits, be aware this is a small museum as part of IHS's larger missions. Unlike, say, the Indiana State Museum, it's not a place where most visitors would enjoyably spend the day. It will be best appreciated when visited for the special exhibitions or specific research. Happily, there is convenient parking in the museum's adjacent lot (but it is small and at times full).

Great exhibits, friendly staff, free parking with admission! Really enjoyed the Festival of Trees.

It is a good museum. We went for circus day, my kids had a lot of fun. The fundraiser had reasonably priced activities and a fantasitc facepainter/ballon twister and the magic show and animal shows were awesome. My only complaint and reason i gave 4 stars is the food his super pricy and nothing wonderful... 10 dollars for a grilled chees sandwich... That crazy!!! Otherwise it was a great time

Colts exhibit is really cool and the tons of Christmas trees

Free for teachers. Unique live rooms, where actors transport you back in time, so could be a different experience each time. The drug compounding room had great actors, other rooms such as canning fruits had actors not as into it so the experience wasnt as good.

Live "you are there" sessions with actors who know their history and play it out for you. Was not crowded which is a bit of a shame. They contextualize the history and their exhibits will hold the attention of fourth graders through senior citizens.

I can never thank the IHS enough for the Dragtivism event and the work they are doing towards inclusivity of all Hoosiers. And the building itself is so beautiful! All Hoosiers should visit the IHS building at least once.

Such great museum! I love the Festival of Trees, and the Madame CJ Walker exhibit was well done.

It is nice to see they have exhibits about people of color which reflect positive things in our lives. The Walker exhibit is great. We need more exhibits with people of color.

These people doing amazing job of keeping Indiana history alive. It's in a beautiful part of downtown right on the canal. While you are checking out the museum or heading to your next meal down below check out the schedule for the summer events. They have concerts All Summer Long Outdoors where you and your family and friends can sit along the canal in the lawn listening to the band

Very helpful and most informative, especially those in the Cole Porter Room-very inviting!

Excellent museum on Indiana state history. The museum does a good job of sharing history of all Hoosiers--regardless of race or gender. The exhibits include information on prominent Hoosiers including both blacks and whites. The Cole Porter exhibit is excellent and includes a singer who sings his songs as well as shares information about his life and work.

Its a great place full of friendly people and cool stuff you will have a blast here .Highly recommend this place.

You need to book reservations but this is still a fascinating place to visit. The reservations are just to make social distancing easier so the experience can still be enjoyable. If you're going and want a bite to eat, the Cafe is open from 11 to 3, we missed by 7 minutes but several people told us the new vendor has outstanding food. We'll be back and hopefully try the new menu.

Went to a wedding reception here. Great space and charming. The acoustics are not the best for a band, but it worked.

So much fun to see history come to life with actual performers reenacting vintage era events!!!

Love the IHS so glad Indianapolis has this place and thankful for their community efforts. We love volunteering here! #WeDoHistory

Gorgeous museum!! Must see if you're in the neighborhood!!

I love the various exhibits. Especially the you are there ones.

Angel Mounds exhibit is really good; Cole Porter exhibit is very nice.

A lovely museum full of information about Indiana past and present.

The archives section is very helpful and professional. I was able to view a relative's original enlistment documents for Civil War.
Building is updated and has free (validated) parking if you're visiting archives.

Everything you would want to know about Indiana history

The Christmas tree event we went to was fun and the were some neat exhibits we got to see in the process

Went on a 'free day'. We hadn't been to the Historical Society in several years and really enjoyed it. There were several other events going on at the same time (Circle Center Classic I believe), which made getting there a bit of a challenge because of the roads blocked. But it cut down on the number of people at the Museum which made it nice to browse and enjoy the various exhibits. Considering a membership for return visits.

Great place to learn about and experience history in Indiana....

Great place to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Indiana.. Friendly and helpful staff..

Fun time. Got to see 80 Christmas trees. Multiple live historical experiences. Will validate parking if you park in their garage. On canal so fun views. Nice cafeteria type area as well. Friendly staff and decent prices for what you get.

Walk The Talk was awesome here! Fantastic live speaker series in a wonderful venue!

Bring your groups here for a visit. They have Christmas trees on display here every winter.

Saw 80 decorated Christmas trees for various companies. Creative, beautiful, thought-provoking. Each one was awesome in their own way! Voted on top three favorites. Will return next year for sure!

This is a very nice place to visit. It is very nice to see inside and I recomend that you go and have a great! time and go back again you will love it.

They have nice exhibitions in a beautiful and it is next to a big parking building!

Excellent museum in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. I love every trip it's always fun and educational.

I have been a long-time fan of the Indiana Historical Society. However, the last couple of visits have been lackluster. Perhaps since I attended their free Thursdays in summer events, they didn't feel the need to provide a full program. However, this would be a great opportunity to gain new members.
And, I am still hoping for the return of the Member Plus 1 membership.

Fun place! Got to take a trip back in time, with Civil War era, World War 1 & 2 and lots of Indiana History!

Festival of Lights, Holiday Trees, 80 sponsored with unique themes.
On display Dec 2017.

Wonderful wedding venue, enough space inside and out for any weather conditions

We had a great time. There were plenty of things to do. The magic show was funny and she loves Silly Safari. I am sad that the Circus is gone.

Great place with plenty of live and engaging historical exhibits. I really enjoyed the Civil War living exhibit, and the Cole Porter room. A must see if you're travelling to Indianapolis

We go every year to look at the Christmas trees. Our daughter loved it this year.

Indiana history at an interactive level. Wonderful experience!

An interesting place, to be sure. The live interactive exhibits were a bit awkward. We got an eerie amount of personal attention. Interacting at the actors was not fluid. It was not clear what kind of interaction we were supposed to be having.

I went to see their 92 different themed Christmas trees and really enjoyed myself. The staff who played the role in the exhibit with the preacher did a great job! He was pretty versed on religion as well as Indiana history. We were also given a little lesson on how they preserve old Indiana manuscripts-fairly fascinating.

This museum goes above and beyond. Words do not describe how highly recommended.

Festival of Trees was excellent! The "You Are There" scenarios were very well done and accurate.

Beautiful venue, and very friendly staff. Can't wait to host our event here!

I took a class to the Indiana Historical Society to begin a project as I do every year. It is amazing! The live rooms in which people learn by being immersed in an actual picture are maybe the most engaging activity I've ever seen for children of any age. These experiences are constantly chamging, so you can go back again and again. The classes explaining how documents are preserved, repaired, and studies are also fantastic. I could spend hours in the interactive archives of Indiana history. I highly, highly recommend putting Indiana Historical Society on the list for family, class, or individual outings.

Wonderful representation of Indiana history! Loved the Cole Porter room and listening to a fabulous singer.

Complete a mystery solving event. Great atmosphere, friendly staff. It was a great evening. Won prize for the best costume

We've visited twice for the Festival of Trees in December. Great exhibit, gift shop, and restaurant

Great place to learn and experience Indiana history.

We enjoyed the Women Behaving Badly evening. So informative and very well done.

It was interestingin some parts but some parts were just boring and not immersive enough to entertain and teach at the same time

Best place to park for a quick walk to the convention center. $20 daily parking. Someday I'll make it inside!

If you're interested in the history of Indiana and the Northwest Territory, this is a must visit. Great research library.

I found the reenactments very informative for the history being portrayed.