The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is in the midst of a fun-filled outdoor season in the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience®. If you haven’t visited yet this year, there are new offerings to know about.
Summer Kickoff
With the official start of summer just around the corner, the museum will welcome the season with a new event, Summer Kickoff, Friday, June 13, with special activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids can meet and take photos with mascots Blue, Boomer, Freddy Fever, Nitro, Zeke and the museum’s Rex. Local sports teams will be on hand with giveaways, and young athletes can take part in fun sports challenges and contests.
Summer Kickoff is included with general admission and membership.
100 Ways to Play
In celebration of the museum’s 100th birthday, Riley Sports Legends Experience staff have created 100 challenges for guests in 100 Ways To Play, a new series of family-oriented games that will vary by day.
You could play Knockout on a basketball court or kickball on the baseball diamond. You could hit tennis balls at targets for points or maneuver through an obstacle course to score a goal on the hockey rink. Or the coach might teach you a game you’ve never played before! Coaches ensure success by adapting challenges to suit the number of players and participants’ ages.
Centennial Ferris Wheel
Summer is also the perfect time to take your visit to new heights by hopping aboard the Centennial Ferris Wheel. From 12 stories up, you can take in sun-soaked views of the museum campus, downtown skyline and surrounding areas. An additional ticket is required.
New Food and Drink Items
For a break from all the action, visit the concession stand at Kohler Pavilion for new food and drink items. The Taco Experience is now serving made-to-order chicken and steak tacos and burritos. Grown-ups can sip alcoholic beverages, including options by Sun King Brewery, sold exclusively outside. A new nonalcoholic choice is bottled teas by local favorite Tea’s Me Cafe, owned by Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings.
A Fun Environment for All
Despite everything that’s new, one aspect of the Riley Sports Legends Experience remains the same: to provide a fun, inclusive environment in which kids of all ages and abilities have the chance to try out sports that are new to them and learn new skills. Trained coaches are there to help and offer gentle encouragement.
“As coaches, we approach every day with a family-learning mindset, focused on creating memories and learning experiences for every member of a family,” says Amber Miller, program manager for the Riley Sports Legends Experience. “If a family or child is timid toward something, we are always there to support them by showing them how fun trying new things can be and that mistakes are going to happen and that is just fine — that’s how we get better!”
The Riley Sports Legends Experience is included with general admission and membership. It is open until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month and closes for the season on Nov. 2.
