The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

This exceptionally well-done, hands-on playland encourages children to question the world around them. Calling this place a children's museum is a misnomer -- with all the exhibits, displays and generally cool stuff there, it's plenty entertaining for visitors of all ages. One of the most eye-opening displays, "The Power of Children: Making a Difference," is a permanent, interactive area designed for children 8 and up. It tells the stories of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges and Ryan White. The Indy museum illustrates how these children impacted the world and truly does their stories justice. In the case of Anne Frank, her story is told through pieces of clothing, a replica of the diary on loan from Amsterdam, photographs and interviews with survivors who knew her. There's also a copy of her bedroom and the swinging bookcase that hid the stairway to the annex. The exhibit will leave even adults wanting to reread "The Diary of Anne Frank." The Ruby Bridges section has a replica classroom, video footage, a display about Indiana's slowness in responding to the desegregation order and a place for kids to post notes of what they might have said to Ruby had they been in school with her. The area on Ryan White re-creates his bedroom, showing that he was just a regular kid who contracted a disease that made Americans react with fear and sometimes hysteria. Quotes illustrate how he handled it all with an amazing sense of humor and grace. Other exhibits include "Dinosphere," "Fireworks of Glass," "Story Land," "Health House" and "Carousel Wishes and Dreams." In 2010, an exhibit about modern-day Egypt opened. You enter the display by walking through an Egypt Air airplane fuselage with actual seats and TV monitors teaching you a little of the language and offering tips to prepare for your "trip." Past that, you come into an Egyptian-theme marketplace/bazaar with all sorts of different native shops and vendors, along with information about housing and what it's like to live there. Admission charged.