With a new Dali experience at Newfields, and a moving exhibition of Nelson Mandela at the Children’s Museum, Indianapolis is the perfect spot for a weekend trip away from Louisville. Indianapolis has been in a renaissance the past few years, and from the remnants of a midwestern industry town that once produced almost as many vehicles as Detroit, “Indy” has bloomed into a metropolis with a cool social vibe and big city atmosphere in a manageable size.
Indy has quickly become more than its big race and Colts football. If you’re looking for a weekend trip, Indy should be on the list.
From dancing at the Alley at the Cabaret to unique eateries like the Garage Food Hall, and the famed Children’s Museum, spending a weekend in Indy is proper fun for the whole family.
We went to Indy on an invite from the Newfields museum which is celebrating their new immersive experience, “Dali Alive.”
The Dali Alive experience is a fully immersive video, sound, and art experience where visitors are transported through the chapters of Salvador Dali’s life and works. From his beginnings in Spain through his relationship with his wife Gala, his time spent in America, and his return to Spain through the end of his life.
After the Dali experience we walked the grounds of the museum to the Beer Garden for lunch and then on to the growing outdoor sculpture collection. The beer garden serves salads, pretzels and brats along with several brew options.
Opening officially this year is the new Home Again exhibit with sculptures exploring the ideas of home and shelter.
That evening we were invited to the Indy Shorts Awards, a Summer Nights film event. A headache from too much time in the sun kept us away from this event but the pictures speak volumes.
For our dinner that night, we made our way to the amazing Garage Food Hall in the Bottleworks District. Our favs were Lil Dumplins’ Noodle Bar and Chapati Beta.
The final day of our Indy excursion was spent in the Children’s Museum. Our son is 11 and I think we reached the max age for the interior of the museum, and rain kept us away from the sports options outside but he did enjoy the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secret of the Sewer Exhibit, and Mandela: The Official Exhibition.
The Ninja Turtle exhibit gave kids the chance to explore life in the NYC sewer like the turtles, including games, giant characters and other interactive ways for kids to “hone their ninja skills.”
The Mandela exhibit gave us a chance to slow down our pace and have some deep conversations about the world during South Africa’s apartheid years, and how the US has struggled — and still struggles — with our own past of segregation. This exhibit is definitely best with children who understand, and can process some of the tough feelings brought up by the exhibit. It was hard explaining that not many years ago the signs like the ones pictured below were mounted in many places throughout the United States.
There really is so much to Indianapolis now. It’s been having a pretty cool revival over the last few years and it is definitely a good place to escape.
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 13, 2024.
