Families on a fixed or lower income often can’t afford to visit museums or attractions. The Access Pass presented by GEICO can help because it ensures that all families, regardless of income, can enjoy valuable learning opportunities at a greatly reduced price.
Those who qualify through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Hoosier Works, or Hoosier Healthwise Insurance can visit participating locations for just $2 per family member, per visit. “The Children’s Museum recognized that it can be challenging for families who need assistance to visit multiple museums or attractions so it created the Access Pass program to help families who may not otherwise be able to visit cultural attractions in an effort to make them more accessible for all,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Today, there are a total of 12 cultural attractions across the state that are proud to offer Access Pass discounts. Participating attractions include: Conner Prairie, Eiteljorg Museum, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, Newfields, Rhythm! Discovery Center, Terre Haute Children’s Museum, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and WonderLab in Bloomington.
With more than 6,500 families enrolled in the program, there were nearly 58,000 visits to Indiana attractions in 2019 that resulted from families who were able to visit thanks to the Access Pass. One of the biggest benefits of this program is that it helps families visit a wide variety of attractions.
Access Pass member institutions include:
In each case, please click on the hyperlink for admission prices, dates, hours and special programs.
Spanning more than 1,000 wooded acres in Central Indiana, Conner Prairie offers various outdoor, historically-themed encounters and indoor experiential learning spaces that combine history and art with science, technology, engineering and math to offer an authentic look into history that shapes society today.
Celebrate the accomplishments of powerful artists and women in 2020. Admire the incredible black and white photographs by artist Horace Poolaw in For A Love of His People: The Photographs of Horace Poolaw, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Touch the artwork in a one‐of-a‐kind exhibit featuring the sculptures of artist Michael Naranjo in Please Touch! Learn about the accomplishments of quilters and the ways in which women in the West documented their experiences through Quilts: Uncovering Women Stories.
Hear the voices and stories of powerful women artists that comprise part of the Powerful Women: Contemporary Art from the Eiteljorg Collection. Immerse yourself in contemporary Western art during the Quest for the West exhibit. View the resiliency and power of western ranch women through the lens of photographer Barbara Van Cleve in Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women. Be sure to join us for our other events, including our Summer Under the Sails concerts, Juneteenth, Indian Market and Festival, Day of the Dead, and our annual holiday exhibit, Jingle Rails.
The Indiana Historical Society brings history to life for all ages through immersive time-travel experiences, interactives and cutting-edge technology. Guests can drop in on Indianapolis icon and self-made millionaire Madam C.J. Walker and some of her employees in the office of the factory where she built her beauty product empire. Later in the year, step into an Indiana recording studio that hosted the likes of Hoagy Carmichael with You Are There 1927: Gennett Studio (opens March 7, 2020) and take a look back at Indianapolis’ 200-year history with a content-driven exhibit and back-in-time experience with You Are There 1920: Celebrate Indianapolis (opens Sept. 19, 2020). Guests can let their fingers do the walking through virtual time-travel journeys with the touchscreens in Destination Indiana, learn about conservation efforts and how to mend paper in the W. Brooks and Wanda Y. Fortune History Lab, and enjoy live music in the Cole Porter Room. With downtown parking that is validated with a visit to IHS, visitors can also spend time exploring downtown or walking along the historic Central Canal.
Morning After Grace (Jan. 14 – Feb. 9, 2020) is a comedy with heart in which neighbors in a Florida retirement village wake up to find their lives have completely changed. The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Feb. 1 – March 1, 2020) revolves around a family rooted in love that learns about prejudice the hard way as they find themselves in the middle of a violent event that makes history. The magic of make-believe comes to life in The Little Choo-Choo That Thinks She Can (Feb. 18 – March 1, 2020) as a brother and sister invent a train full of friends and a big, big hill to get over. Agatha Christie’s Murder on The Orient Express (March 3-29, 2020) is the ultimate whodunit. The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (March 25 – April 19, 2020) takes the audience on a surreal journey through past & present as a Chinese immigrant forged a new identity to earn precious American dollars to send home to his starving village. Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (April 14 –May, 10, 2020) tells the story of how three sisters and their widowed mother lose their family home and create new lives for themselves in a tiny seaside cottage.
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites
Uncover Indiana’s secrets at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, featuring unique exhibits and hands-on experiences that showcase the real people, places and things that helped shape Indiana’s story. 2020 will provide a year’s worth of engaging content. Little ones will love Firefly Landing, a new early childhood learning space featuring interactive story times, sensory tables and hands-on activities. Create a crazy chain reaction and discover the world of wacky inventions inside Rube Goldberg: The World of Hilarious Invention! (Jan. 18 – May 10, 2020). Explore artworks born of women’s activism for various causes in Cause and Æffect, (March 28 – July 6, 2020). Learn what love and forgiveness mean to you and others inside XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness (May 23 – Sept. 7, 2020).
The Indiana State Museum is also opening a year-long exhibit on the opioid crisis, where visitors can discover personal stories from real Hoosiers affected by opioid use disorder, explore the science of substance use disorders through hands-on interactives and learn how we all can work together to help manage this crisis. FIX: Heartbreak and Hope Inside Our Opioid Crisis (Feb. 1, 2020 – Feb. 7, 2021).
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
From the Vault presented by Bank of America (now – April 20, 2020), features rare and significant pieces from the IMS Museum collection. This exhibit provides a glimpse into the incredible automotive and motorsports treasures in including rare or one-of-a-kind race cars, automobiles, trophies, artwork, and artifacts. Each item has a truly unique story about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and worldwide passion for racing and automobiles. Five new cars will be featured each month. Permanent Exhibits include winning cars from Indianapolis 500s through the years, the Tony Hulman Theater at which visitors view a film about the track’s history and a fun photo opportunity in which visitors can sit in a race car to have their photo taken.
Families get to experience all 24 NCAA sports through interactive exhibits. Located in beautiful White River State Park in Downtown Indianapolis, the NCAA Hall of Champions boasts two-levels of interactive exhibits including a 1930s replica gymnasium, sports simulators, vertical jump, trivia challenges and more. The newest exhibit, Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Making an Impact is featured on the second floor (now – March 1, 2020) explains how NCAA HBCU schools are celebrated for their history and accomplishments through rich traditions and legacies. Beginning in March, there will be a photo display in the Gallery featuring NCAA basketball tournaments that took place in Indianapolis. This exhibit will focus on the student-athletes, coaches and fans that made these tournaments so much fun to watch. Throughout the year, guests can also participate in scavenger hunts any time they visit for a chance to win prizes.
Newfields, A Place for Nature & the Arts offers dynamic experiences with art and nature for guests of all ages. The 152-acre cultural campus features art galleries, lush gardens, the historic Lilly House mansion, performance spaces, a nature preserve and sculpture park. This spring don’t miss the return of Newfields crowd favorite Spring Blooms experience. Discover hundreds of thousands of vibrant blooms around every corner in The Garden. Inside the Indianapolis Museum of Art, guests can go back in time to the 30s & 40s travel scene as they discover our new exhibitions Journey Into Light: Travels with JMW Turner and Edward Hopper and the American Hotel. Enjoy the tasteful side of these exhibitions with Newfields’ third culinary pop up, Pop Up: Pie. Indulge in sweet and savory pies made with local vendor ingredients, all while sipping coffee in a diner booth. Continue your family tradition this summer and come enjoy a film under the stars at The National Bank of Indianapolis Summer Nights Film Series. Later in the year, Newfields’ seasonal celebrations, Harvest and Winterlights, will return with something for everyone to enjoy!
Rhythm! Discovery Center is the world’s only interactive drum and percussion museum. Founded by the Percussive Arts Society in 2009, Rhythm! serves as the definitive place where the history of percussion is preserved, celebrated, and shared. Located in downtown Indianapolis, Rhythm! features unique, interactive exhibits highlighting a rich collection of historic artifacts and hands-on percussion instruments. Drawing upon cultures from around the world, Rhythm! offers an incomparable experience in exploring the universality of rhythm and percussion, and its role in shaping communication, music, art, performance and society. Rhythm! also offers a diverse array of educational programming designed to supplement its interactive exhibits, providing a place for everyone to explore first-hand the world of percussion. Learn about playing techniques, delve into individual instruments, and enjoy musical performances from local and national performing groups.
Grab a hardhat and head to the job site at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum for the Under Construction Exhibit. Children of all ages will be able to try their hand at drawing, driving, lifting, welding, and assembling as done by the electricians, operators, plumbers, architects, bricklayers, and many more tradespeople who create the world around us. As a special treat, all guests will also be able to watch with a birds-eye view as the Terre Haute Convention Center is built across the street. After learning about construction and the building trades, kids will have the opportunity to defy gravity as they navigate obstacles, “walk the plank,” and then zoom down a zip line on a new, indoor Ropes Challenge Course. The two-level Ropes Challenge Course consists of more than 20 different elements, such as walking a rope bridge, balancing on a rolling log, and climbing across a horizontal net, before reaching the zip line. The lower level of the course is approximately 10 feet off of the ground, and the upper level has guests navigating approximately 20 feet up in the air. Plan ahead because the Ropes Challenge Course has special hours.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The world’s largest children’s museum is leading a dinosaur dig to recover authentic Jurassic Period fossils. More than 15 tons of bones from last year’s dig season are now being cleaned in two paleo prep labs where visitors can talk to the researchers who actually unearthed them. The fossils will be articulated and eventually displayed in Dinosphere. During this Olympic year, families can get their game on in the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience by playing basketball, football, hockey, soccer, golf, baseball, tennis and racing pedal cars. The Pigeon and Pals! A Mo Willems Art & Play Exhibit (Feb. 8–May 10) is a great place for families to spend the day with the characters of beloved children’s book author Mo Willems. There is a storm brewing in Wild Weather (March 14 – Jan. 10, 2021) where visitors fly through a hurricane, swirl along a tornado’s path, track turbulent cloud formations, map lightning strikes, and stand in the midst of a raging winter storm. Barbie You Can Be Anything ™: The Experience™ (March 30 – spring 2021) will showcase the iconic Barbie doll that has been around for six decades. Explore 15 different careers and learn about more than 200 jobs Barbie has had over the years. Learn from powerful women throughout history who have broken down career barriers for women.
WonderLab Museum in Bloomington, Indiana is a one-stop-shop for all ages, hands-on
science. Every corner of WonderLab is packed with experiences that reward curiosity, encourage exploration, and foster lifelong learning. Drop by Science Sprouts Place, with exhibits designed for children birth-through-age-three and their caregivers; scale the two-story Grapevine Climber, or visit the live animals.
Dig into SandScapes, the augmented reality sandbox, rest on the Bed-of-Nails, or experiment with bubbles. Join in the fun during recurring programs like Discovery Time, Coder Dojo, Dive Deeper with a Marine Biologist or try your hand at the STEM Sunday engineering challenge. Be sure to visit during WonderLab three day BubbleFest, September 5-7, 2020 during Labor Day weekend, for soapy, slippery science. Adults 21 and over can put inhibitions aside and rediscover the power of play during one of the many WonderLab: After Dark specialty themed events. WonderLab After Dark: Chocolate on Saturday, February 15; or WonderLab After Dark: Spy Academy, on Saturday, May 2. At Wonderlab, the joy of discovery is ageless.
Required Access Pass Documents
* Hoosier Healthwise or Hoosier Works Enrollment Recertification Letter, issued by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. A letter must be issued in the primary adult cardholder’s name and verify program enrollment for the current year.
* Verification of benefits may also be accessed from the Indiana Family Social Services Administration Benefits Portal, www.ifcem.com. Click on “Check Status / Print Proof of Your Eligibility”.
* Indiana State-issued photo ID card—either a Driver’s License or State Identification card. The name on the photo ID must match an adult name on the recertification letter. Employee or student IDs and out-of-state IDs are not accepted.
To enroll in or renew an existing Access Pass, qualifying families can enroll online at childrensmuseum.org/access-pass or visit any of the participating venues listed below with the exception of Indiana Repertory Theatre and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Qualifying adults must be present with required documentation and completed Access Pass application when enrolling. Discounts will not be honored if required documentation verifying enrollment eligibility is not available. Download the policies to be sure you qualify.
Visit Guidelines
To receive Access Pass discounts once approved, at least one named cardholder must be present for
any visit. The named cardholder must present their Access Pass card and Indiana State-issued photo ID at the time of admission. Guests and youths not included on the account are not eligible for discount.
