Best Things to Do in Indianapolis, IN With Kids
Indianapolis's family anchor is the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the largest children's museum in the world by floorspace, and it deserves a full day on its own. Around it: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and track tour for racing-curious kids, the Indianapolis Zoo downtown, Conner Prairie's living-history village north of the city, and the free NCAA Hall of Champions if you want a downtown-walkable second museum stop.
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1Area photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The largest children's museum in the world by floorspace, and it uses the size well: a Dinosphere with real fossils, an immersive space exhibit, a full world-culture floor, and (seasonal, weather-dependent) a 7.5-acre outdoor sports play area. It's the single biggest reason families fly into Indianapolis with kids, and it earns that reputation.
Watch out: It's genuinely too big to see fully in a half day; plan a full day and expect kids to want to skip lunch to keep exploring. It's busy on weekends and during school breaks; a weekday visit is noticeably calmer. Some marquee exhibits rotate, so what's on when you visit varies trip to trip.
2Area photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum & Track Tour
Home of the Indy 500, and the museum holds a real collection of winning race cars plus Indy 500 history. The track tour add-on, when running, takes you around the actual 2.5-mile oval, which is a genuinely different thrill than looking at cars in a museum case, even at a modest speed.
Watch out: Track tour availability depends on the racing and event calendar, so check before you plan around it; some dates it isn't offered. Kids who aren't already interested in racing tend to move through the museum faster than parents expect.
3Area photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Indianapolis Zoo & White River Gardens
Sits inside White River State Park downtown, walkable from several hotels, and combines a solid zoo with an aquarium building and botanical gardens on the same ticket. Convenient for families who don't want to drive anywhere for a full activity day.
Watch out: It's a genuinely full-price ticket for a mid-size city zoo, not a bargain stop. Some animal encounter add-ons cost extra on top of general admission. Parking downtown adds to the cost if you drive rather than walk.
4Area photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Conner Prairie
A living-history village about 25 minutes north of downtown in Fishers, where costumed interpreters run an 1836 Indiana town: blacksmithing, period trades, and hands-on activities kids can actually do rather than just watch. The signature draw is a tethered hot-air balloon ride over the property, weather permitting, which is a genuinely rare thing to offer at a history museum.
Watch out: The balloon ride is weather-dependent and grounds without notice, so don't build the whole trip around it. It's a drive from downtown, not a walk-to attraction. Some of the historical interpretation leans slow-paced for very young or very high-energy kids.
5Area photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)NCAA Hall of Champions
A downtown, walkable, genuinely interactive sports museum near Monument Circle with basketball shooting stations, a mini football field, and Final Four history exhibits. It's cheap and short compared to the Children's Museum, which makes it the right filler for a half-day gap between bigger plans.
Watch out: It's small; don't plan a full day around it. Interest depends heavily on whether your kids care about sports at all; non-sports kids will move through it quickly.
Frequently asked
How many days do you need in Indianapolis with kids?
Three days covers the core: one full day at the Children's Museum, one half-day at the Speedway or the zoo plus downtown walking, and one day trip north to Conner Prairie. Two days works if you skip Conner Prairie.
Is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway worth it if my kids don't care about racing?
The museum alone is a shorter, lower-stakes stop, maybe 90 minutes, and still interesting for the cars and history even without a racing interest. The track tour is the part that specifically rewards car-curious kids; skip it if that's not your family.
Do we need a car in Indianapolis?
Downtown is walkable enough to cover the Children's Museum area, the zoo, and NCAA Hall of Champions without a car if your hotel is central. Conner Prairie and the Speedway both require driving or a rideshare, roughly 20 to 25 minutes each way.
What's the best rainy-day plan in Indianapolis?
The Children's Museum is almost entirely indoors and can absorb a full rainy day on its own. NCAA Hall of Champions and the aquarium portion of the zoo complex are the shorter indoor backups.
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Activity days work best when your resort is the right launch pad. Our Indianapolis family-resort guide ranks the whole-family-experience winners.
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