Indianapolis Children's Museum

I just spent the day with my family at the outstanding Children's Museum in Indianapolis. It is continously reported as one of the best in the country. I honestly can't compare it to any others, but it definitely gets an A+ in my book.

A King Tut exhibit opened at the end of June and will remain until the end of October. The exhibit features artifacts and treasures from the "Boy King's" tomb as well as others. Admission to this area is in addition to the regular price of admission - even for members.

For those not willing to dole out the extra cash - $40 in the case of my family of 4 that has a membership - there is a "Take me to Egypt" exhibit separate from the King Tut exhibit that is included in the regular admission.

We spent the first hour of our visit today in this area. A representative of Egypt Air welcomed us at the entry of the exhibit and ushered us to seats in a cut out of a giant airplane. Fortunately, the 13-hour flight from Indianapolis was condensed to a two-minute video presentation about some of the highlights of Egypt and was followed by a very smooth "landing."

The exhibit room includes numerous hands-on exhibits and interactive displays - a currency exchange, ride in a tuk-tuk, design your own bracelet, listen to types of music. There are sample homes from a village and a city, showing what family life is like in Egypt. TVs in various areas place Sesame Street in Arabic and show a soccer game.

Periodically, kids can participate with staff members in a "sebou" ceremony. A ceremony involving dancing, singing and playing instruments to welcome a new baby into the world.

There's quite a lot to experience in the Egypt area.

Of course, we spent a couple more hours at the museum as well. There's currently a Star Wars exhibit with costumes, light sabers, and more that were used in the filming of the movies.

We checked out the trains, dinosaurs, and we had to ride the carousel.

We also spent 30 minutes in Lilly Theater watching an Egyptian-themed magic show.

Great fun at one of Indy's top attractions.