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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Thru Oct 24, 2021
Hoosier Art Salon 97th Annual Exhibition
See artwork from Hoosier artists in this annual competition.
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Nov 13, 2021 thru March 21, 2022
Nikon's Small World
Celebrating photography through the microscope.
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Nov 26 thru Jan 2, 2021
Celebration Crossing
Experience the magic of the holidays during this redesigned celebration.
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Jan 22, 2022 thru May 15, 2022
How People Make Things
Bringing the manufacturing experience to life.
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Wander Our Galleries
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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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Oct 18, 2021 10:00 am - 11:00 amSold Out
Messy Mondays
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Oct 18, 2021 1:00 pm - 2:00 pmSold Out
Messy Mondays
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Oct 20, 2021 7:00 pm - 8:00 pmIndiana State Museum
Twilight Tales
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Oct 20, 2021 8:30 pm - 9:30 pmIndiana State Museum
Twilight Tales
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Oct 21, 2021 7:00 pm - 8:00 amIndiana State Museum
Twilight Tales
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Oct 21, 2021 8:30 pm - 9:30 pmIndiana State Museum
Twilight Tales
Latest BLog Posts
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Posted September 30, 2021
‘Very Elegant, Very Formal, Very Historical’
Getting married at Lanier Mansion is a Temple Family affair
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Posted September 28, 2021
The Transit Center Mystery Bottles
Museum staff recently discovered four sealed bottles containing their original liquids in one of our archaeological collections.
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Posted September 28, 2021
You Haven’t Seen These Steele
About 200 T.C. Steele paintings have been restored and another 100 are in various stages of restoration.
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Posted August 31, 2021
Whiskers for Votes
Sept. 4 is World Beard Day, why did Abraham Lincoln grow what is likely the most famous beard of all?
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Posted August 13, 2021
Bring the Family
Descendants of Levi Coffin see what their ancestor achieved
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Posted August 4, 2021
The State Museum Visits the State Fair
At the Indiana State Fair, a young person’s thoughts turn to roller coasters, deep-fried cheesecake and unusually large farm animals...
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Posted July 30, 2021
Trips and Tips
We still have plenty of summer left – lots of time to get in the car and take a day trip, an overnight jaunt or even get away for a weekend.
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Posted July 3, 2021
Celebrating Independence
Citizens of the United States will celebrate the Independence Day holiday this week, but did you know the Continental Congress actually voted in favor
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Posted June 28, 2021
She’s Seen It All
Over six months, Dawn Overend used some of her time during the pandemic to tour all of our state historic sites.
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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.
