Take a Trip Around the State
Welcome to the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites—a statewide museum network with 12 locations across Indiana. Here, we use our collection of artifacts (everything from mastodon bones to T.C. Steele paintings) and our state’s most culturally significant sites to tell larger stories around bigger themes. Whether you’re interested in art, architecture, history or science, we’ve got you covered. Come out and enjoy wide open spaces at our historic sites, explore three floors of fun at our downtown Indianapolis museum, and discover engaging online activities.
Explore Our Exhibits
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March 18 - Oct 29, 2023
Influencing Lincoln
Discover how the 19th-century Black community fought for full citizenship.
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Open thru Oct 15, 2023
Vintage Vision: Cars of the 1920s
Indiana was once a mecca of automobile manufacturing and wow, we turned out some beauties.
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Open thru June 25, 2023
Inspired by the Dunes
Frank Dudley's inspiration from the beauty of the Indiana Dunes.
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Wander Our Galleries
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An Evolving Collection
Gallery One
Interact with our unique collection of objects in playful and unexpected ways.
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The Animals that Shaped Indiana
Ancient Seas
Explore the marine life that once called Indiana home.
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Explore Indiana's Natural History
R.B. Annis Naturalist’s Lab
Explore Indiana’s natural history through your senses.
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A State of Change
Frozen Reign
Explore the Ice Age, beginning with a trip through an ice tunnel beneath a glacier.
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Indiana's Founding People
First Nations
Discover how ancestors of today’s Native Americans built vibrant communities in Indiana.
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Discover Diverse Landscapes
Natural Regions
Discover Indiana’s diverse and dramatic landscapes as early European explorers would have seen them.
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Indiana's Journey to Statehood
Contested Territory
Learn how Indiana moved from territory to statehood.
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Step into pioneer Indiana
19th State
Step into pioneer Indiana and learn why and how settlers made their homes in our state.
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People Who Lived in Early Indiana
The Hoosier Way
Learn how Indiana forged its identity as it emerged from the Pioneer era.
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Connecting Through Railroads
Crossroads of America
Learn how Hoosiers connected physically through railroads and shared messages through newspapers, books and music.
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Contributions to U.S. Milestones
Enterprise Indiana
Experience American milestones through the lens of Indiana’s contributions.
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Indiana's Influence on the World
Global Indiana
Demonstrating Indiana’s influence on a global scale.
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Hoosiers who made an impact
American Originals
Visit a room filled with the faces of famous Hoosiers.
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People Who Shaped Indiana
Legacy Theater
Providing a diverse cultural experience of Black heritage in Indiana.
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Visit Our Historic Sites
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Evansville, Indiana
Angel Mounds
A thousand years ago, southwest Indiana was home to a thriving community of Native Americans.
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Corydon, Indiana
Corydon Capitol
From Corydon’s colorful beginnings, Hoosier statesmen carefully built the foundations for the state we know today.
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New Albany, Indiana
Culbertson Mansion
The Culbertson Mansion reflects the affluence of a man once considered to be the wealthiest in Indiana.
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Rome City, Indiana
Gene Stratton-Porter
Explore the home of a beloved author, photographer, naturalist and entrepreneur.
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Madison, Indiana
Lanier Mansion
The perfect opportunity to encounter, explore and experience life as it was in the 1840s.
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Fountain City, Indiana
Levi & Catharine Coffin House
As conductors for the Underground Railroad, the Coffins helped more than 1,000 freedom-seekers to safety.
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Geneva, Indiana
Limberlost
The Limberlost Swamp was the perfect laboratory for author Gene Stratton-Porter to study nature.
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New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony
Explore the birthplace of two 19th-century utopian communities
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Nashville, Indiana
T.C. Steele
Hoosier painter T.C. Steele and his wife Selma built their home in 1907 amongst these rolling hills.
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Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes
Explore Indiana’s oldest city, where territory officials made decisions that changed the future of the entire Midwest.
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Metamora, Indiana
Whitewater Canal
Discover how this 1840s feat of engineering changed Indiana from a pioneer outpost to the “Crossroads of America."
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Programs
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Jun 7, 2023 10:00 am - 11:00 amIndiana State Museum
Small Wonders: Bees and Butterflies
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Jun 7, 2023 5:00 pm - 7:00 pmIndiana State Museum
Canal Nights | Nature Play Day
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Jun 10, 2023 10:00 am - 11:00 amIndiana State Museum
Small Wonders: Bees and Butterflies
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Jun 10, 2023 1:00 pm - 3:00 pmWhitewater Canal
Build A Boat
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Jun 10, 2023 1:00 pm - 2:30 pmIndiana State Museum
Young Explorers: Science of our Senses
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Jun 14, 2023 5:00 pm - 7:00 pmIndiana State Museum
Canal Nights | Color the Canal
Latest BLog Posts
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Posted May 15, 2023
A Designer Original
Katie Pourcho’s student-designed dress has been worn to the White House and displayed at the statehouse. Now, it has a permanent home in our house.
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Posted April 14, 2023
Why Booth Shot Lincoln
Booth vowed, “That is the last speech he will ever make.”
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Posted March 21, 2023
Saying Yes to the Dress
Two dresses created for Spielberg’s 2012 movie “Lincoln” made their way to the Indiana State Museum for the new exhibition “Influencing Lincoln".
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Posted February 3, 2023
Land Lovers
New exhibit features art by Jason Wesaw, a mixed-media artist from southern Michigan who’s a member of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Nation.
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Posted January 17, 2023
What is Hygge?
Winter can feel long, cold, dark and depressing, and Devin Payne wanted to do something to brighten the mood.
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Posted January 12, 2023
Do Try This At Home
This winter break, 260 Pike Township third-, fourth- and fifth-graders had no good reason to say, “I’m bored!”
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Posted December 15, 2022
The Song Remains the Same
Gene Stratton-Porter reminisced in one of her chapter books about some of the activities and preparations from Christmas holidays during her years.
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Posted November 22, 2022
The math of hanging a picture
When there's an art exhibit, staff members often comment not only about the pictures but the symmetry with which they’re hung.
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Posted November 22, 2022
Thanksgiving: A tradition centuries in the making
But do you know where this tradition came from, or when the national holiday actually came to be?
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Our Mission
To serve as a catalyst for informal lifelong learning that connects the stories of real people, places and things.
Our Vision
Be the leader in informal lifelong learning that is recognized, sought-after and celebrated regionally, nationally and globally.
