Greetings, AEA365 readers! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. Registration for this year’s conference is officially open, and our local hosts at the Indiana Evaluation Association (IEA) are working with the AEA team to ensure our time in lovely Indianapolis is a fulfilling one. This week’s posts feature the voices of IEA’s members. Happy reading!
Hi! I’m Susan Foutz, Director of Research and Evaluation at Indiana’s most visited cultural organization, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Founded in 1925, we are proud to as our role as a community anchor and tourist attraction. I’m sure you know that Indianapolis is home sports teams and world-class sporting events, from the Colts, Pacers, and Fever, to Big Ten conference events, and the Indy 500. As a mid-sized city and state capital, Indianapolis also has a lot to offer in terms of arts and culture. Here’s a round-up of fall exhibits at local museums, organized by their distance from the conference location at the JW Marriott.
Easy walk:
- The Eiteljorg Museum features art about the American West and art by Native American artists. It is directly across from the JW Marriott. Visit Native Art History is Made Here to see works by contemporary artists.
- Across the street, you’ll also find the Indiana State Museum. Check out Influencing Lincoln: The Pursuit of Black Freedom and Gallery One, a reflection on how and why museums collect objects. (And also a great gift shop for Indiana Soveniers!)
- Walk along the canal and visit the Indiana Historical Society. This museum takes a unique approach in their You are There exhibit series, recreating historic people and settings. Currently on view are the stories of Chuck Taylor (yes, the shoes!) and Eva Mozes Kor, who moved to Indiana after surviving the horrors of the Holocaust.
- Nearby you’ll also find the Indianapolis Zoo, known for its orangutans, and the NCAA Hall of Champions. Yes, Indy has been home to the NCAA’s main office since 1999!
Hot Tip:
Rent a scooter to get around town! Indy is known for all the scooter traffic, so try one out! Just remember to use the car or bike lanes, not the sidewalk, when operating a scooter. See the city’s guidelines for users for more info.
By Car or Bus:
- The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is downtown and walkable for those with comfy shoes. It is also right across the street from the Madam Walker Legacy Center (featured in another of this week’s posts). You’ll see items owned by the Indy native, including his typewriter and Purple Heart.
- The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children’s museum in the world. Visit our new temporary exhibit Sacred Places, developed in collaboration with the featured communities. Featuring Jordan, Curaçao, Mali, Nepal, Thailand, and Rapi Nui the exhibit highlights what local members of each community value about their religious traditions.
- Newfields is an amazing stop, north of downtown, only two miles from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Newfields is home to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 52 acres of horticulture in The Garden, the historic Lilly House, and the 100-acre Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. Immerse yourself in The LUME Indianapolis featuring Van Gogh with 30,000 square feet of iconic digitally projected post-Impressionist work. In the evenings, enjoy the spook-tacular spectacle of Harvest Nights.
- West of downtown is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. The museum features race cars from the early days of racing until now and is located at the track where the world famous the Indy 500 occurs each May.
- Further north in Fishers, make a trip to Conner Prairie. The outdoors living history museum offers breathtaking balloon rides, an outdoor landscape perfect for taking in the fall foliage, and a nationally-recognized corn maze perfect for getting lost in!
We’re looking forward to the Evaluation 2023 conference all this week with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to contribute to AEA365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to AEA365@eval.org. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.