Jingle Rails returns to the Eiteljorg Museum

The Eiteljorg Museum Jingle Rails exhibit has become a must-see for nearly every local holiday list and a hands-down favorite for Indianapolis families.

In our first visit – a sneak peek before the public opening – we got a taste for just what the Eiteljorg will bring to the table {or the tracks?} in 2015. And the moral of this story is: YOU NEED TO GO. Pack up the fam, head downtown, and GO.

The what:

Jingle Rails is the Eiteljorg’s answer to holiday fun.

With eight sets of G-scale trains, they’ve teamed with Applied Imagination to create a wonderland of mini landscapes the trains travel through. There’s downtown Indianapolis complete with Lucas Oil Stadium and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

Then, Eiteljorg taps into their brilliant Western knowledge by creating and displaying sections of National Parks, the Golden Gate Bridge and more.

We talked with Cindy Johnson – a botanical architect with Applied Imagination – during our visit and she wistfully recounted how much she loves hearing families come through the exhibit and say “I remember! I remember hearing the train whistles by my house when I grew up. I remember riding in one for the first time. I remember…” and how those memories make Jingle Rails even more extra special.

What’s new?

Lots this year.

See Hunter and Emerson standing in the hallway in the photo up above? Guess what’s behind them: A brand new expanded track that now snakes outside the exhibit hall. Families will walk under this as they arrive, putting them directly IN the fun. Also:

• – A new, interactive kiosk with GoPro footage of the trains whizzing down the tracks
• – AND, a new ‘pod’ as the Eiteljorg team refers to them, or landscape. This year’s addition is an incredible Vegas theme, sitting atop a tilted roulette wheel. The Hoover Dam faces out from the back.

Anything else?

After you’ve had time to enjoy the exhibit, take another walk around and marvel at the fact that ALL landscapes, tracks, details, everything, are made from natural materials. Those aren’t shingles on the roof of the lodge – they’re leaves. Individually cut and crafted. Sticks for building blocks, a large cut tree stump for the roulette wheel. Marvel. I did. It’s breathtaking.

In all, if this isn’t already a holiday tradition for your family, make it one. Jingle Rails is worth the visit.

MORE INFO: Jingle Rails opens to the public November 21. Closing date is January 18, 2016. Tickets are $12/adults, $6/youth ages 5-17; kids 4 and under are FREE. Parking is also FREE in the underground garage with proof of museum admission and while space is available. The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is located at 500 W. Washington St, in downtown Indianapolis. Call {317} 636-9378 for more details or visit their website.

Are you loving the holidays in Indy? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @indyschild. And don’t forget to bookmark the Indy’s Child 2015 Holiday Fun section for all the scoop you’ll need on holiday events and happenings around Indianapolis this season!