The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is turning 100!

Join us in celebrating a century of sparking memories, wonder, and dreams, and empowering and inspiring children to reach their potential. From our founding in a small carriage house, we’ve grown to become a nationally ranked destination and an international leader in family learning. We’ve created countless transformative experiences. But our focus is on an even more impactful future. As we enter our next 100 years, we do so with a renewed purpose and vision for meeting the ever-evolving needs of children and adults.

Discover objects and photos from The Children’s Museum Archive and Collection—highlights from a century at the heart of Indiana.

This exhibition is curated by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

El Peso del Papel (The Weight of Paper) explores the paradox of fragility and strength through a series of acrylic paintings that feature animals facing significant environmental threats in various ways. Inspired by origami, each painting reflects the hardship of the animal’s existence through the loss of its species, slowly becoming a representation of what the animal once looked like.

Greg was born in Indianapolis and raised by his parents, Jackie and Bryan, between Indiana and Illinois. He spent his summers at his grandparents’ farm in Morgan County, where he developed a keen appreciation for animal behavior and art. After finishing high school, Greg joined the army, expecting to use his military benefits to attend college after four years in the service. However, he found life in the military extremely rewarding and stayed there for over twenty years. Between 1990 and 2012, Greg was deployed four times to the Middle East and saw combat there. 

In this exhibit, Greg presents a combination of his whimsical work and also his more serious art inspired by his travels. 

Welcome Race Fans launched in 2016 as a collaborative project of the Indy Arts Council and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to connect visual art and artists to the 100th running of the historic race. One of the more familiar and iconic visuals associated with May in Indianapolis is the blanketing of the city with “Welcome Race Fans” signs and banners. The project builds upon and pays tribute to the annual tradition of Welcome Race Fans signs with original artwork created by Indiana artists.

This tradition continues today with a new cohort of artists each year. Please visit the north case to view the 2025 artwork series.

Silent Symphony is an animated, nature-focused dreamscape by Jessica Dunn (also known as Sesseka.) This 60-second animation takes its inspiration from Indiana’s biodiversity.  Native plants bloom over the course of the year from early spring to late autumn, with butterflies, dragonflies, and other wildlife flying through the animation as well. The goal of the video is to entertain, delight, and relax airport visitors of all ages as they travel down the main escalator on the way from their incoming flight down to Baggage Claim.

This ambitious, abstract composition stretches across 14,000 square feet of construction fencing at the Indianapolis International Airport. Transitions pays homage to Indy icons, such as checkered racing flags and the rainbow carpet from the old airport terminal. The artwork is made from more than 300,000 Put-In-Cups, a recyclable plastic product normally used for school spirit displays.