A day trip to Indianapolis

FOR THE KIDS

Barbie and Bob the Builder, Project: Can We Build It? Yes We Can!
WHERE Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N. Meridian St.
WHEN Barbie exhibit through February 2011, Bob the Builder Project through May 23, 2010.
MORE INFO Adult tickets $10.50, youth tickets $15.50

With Barbie and Bob the Builder, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is filled this year with exhibits about famous children’s icons.

With life-sized dolls flaunting designs from some of the world’s most renowned fashion designers, the Barbie exhibit comes to life for visitors of the museum. The exhibit is a tribute to 50 years of the fashion doll and the changes Barbie’s clothes have gone through during that time.

As the only licensed Barbie exhibit in the United States, the Children’s Museum takes guests through Barbie’s inception and her stamp on pop culture during the last five decades.

Bob the Builder and the Can-Do Crew make a pit stop at the Children’s Museum in the museum’s exhibit for the first part of the year. Guests learn about the 3 R’s — reduce, reuse and recycle — and help Bob the Builder build a community with their newfound knowledge.

“Cheetah: The Race for Survival”

WHERE Indianapolis Zoo, 1200 W. Washington St.
WHEN Opens Memorial Day weekend
MORE INFO Ticket prices vary throughout the year.

Starring the fastest animal on earth, the zoo’s newest exhibit is expected to take zoo guests on a fast track to learning about cheetahs and conservation of these animals.
From the south-central savannah of Africa, the cheetahs will make their debut at the zoo Memorial Day weekend. Visitors will be able to match their own speed against that of a cheetah using an LED light display.

THE HISTORY BUFF

With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition
WHERE Indiana State Museum, 650 W. Washington St.
WHEN Through April 11
MORE INFO Adults $7, youth $4

Indianapolis is the temporary home to this historical Library of Congress exhibit that will travel to only four other cities during its tour.

“The Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Committee worked to get it here,” said Kathi Moore, communications director for the Indiana State Museum.

Featuring artifacts from Lincoln’s life, including the Bible he took the oath upon during his inauguration and the contents of his pockets on the night of his assassination, the exhibit is expected to be popular enough to extend the museum’s hours during its stay.
Moore suggested visitors call ahead to get timed tickets, which do not cost any extra but will likely diminish the chance of a wait to see the exhibit.

Visitors should also check out the second Lincoln exhibit in the museum — With Charity for All: The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection— where guests will find the world’s largest private collection of private and personal memorabilia from Lincoln.
“Between the two exhibits, we have more than 400 artifacts from Lincoln’s personal and private life,” Moore said.

Moore said signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment will also be available for viewing.

“These are truly national treasures,” Moore said.

Pistols: Dazzling Firearms at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
WHERE White River State Park, 500 W. Washington St.
WHEN Through April 18
MORE INFO Adults $8, children and full-time students with ID $5

Indianapolis visitors can check out firearms of various presidents and Annie Oakley at the Eiteljorg through April 18.

In “Pistols: Dazzling Firearms at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians,” viewers can interact with an Annie Oakley-costumed interpreter as they learn about firearms used starting from the early 1800s.

Another facet of the exhibit is the focus on firearm decoration.

“It’s an exhibit that explores handgun decoration in the U.S.,” said Anthony Scott, communications manger of the Eiteljorg Museum. “It’s as much about the art as it is the pistol.”

Scott said engravers will be in the exhibit showing visitors how the firearms are decorated.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Indiana State Fair
WHERE Indiana State Fairgrounds, Corner of East 38th Street and Fall Creek Parkway
WHEN August 6-22
MORE INFO Lazy days, warm weather, deep-fried chocolate candy bars — it must be the Indiana State Fair.

Featuring 17 days of contests, exhibits and concerts, 2010’s end-of-summer tradition is already taking shape.

2010 marks the “Year of Pigs” at the Indiana State Fair, the sixth-oldest state fair in the country.

“We are going to have a lot of pig and pork-related programming,” said Andy Klotz, public relations director for the Indiana State Fairgrounds. “There will be a lot of stuff for pork lovers and pig raisers.”

Klotz said a committee and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture collaborated to choose 2010 to be the Year of the Pig. The committee picked pigs as its fair theme because of the immense impact pork has on Indiana’s economy.

“Indiana is the fifth-biggest hog raiser in the country,” Klotz said, adding that the pork industry puts three billion dollars into Indiana’s economy each year.

The Indiana State Fair wants to eventually use every major agriculture product that impacts Indiana’s economy as one of its yearly themes, Klotz said.

The fair may last less than three weeks at the end of summer, but planning for the event is a long process.

“We actually plan a year out,” Klotz said. “Some things we’ve started planning for 2011.”

Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Sugarland and comedian ventriloquist Jeff Dunham are all scheduled to perform this year at the fair’s Hoosier Lottery Grandstand.

Klotz said attending a show at night is a “good way to cap off a day at the fair.”
“People love seeing the country acts at the Grand Stand,” Klotz said. “People love seeing the shows with the fairs going on around them.”

Dunham’s performance will be the first time since the 1980s — when Jay Leno performed at the fairgrounds — that a comedian will take the outdoor stage. Klotz said that the outdoor atmosphere is unusual for such a performer, but storyteller Garrison Keillor has had similar performances in the past few years.

THE SPORTS FAN

NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship
WHERE Lucas Oil Stadium
WHEN April 3 and 5
MORE INFO Ticket prices vary.

The contenders for the NCAA basketball championship will be one step closer to the final game when they reach Lucas Oil Stadium in April. The games will be the first Men’s Final Four ever held in the venue, and the sixth held in Indianapolis. The last four times the games have been in Indianapolis, they were held at the RCA Dome. The first Final Four was held in the old Market Square Arena.

The Indianapolis 500
WHERE The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W. 16th St.
WHEN Race Day is May 30.
MORE INFO Throughout the month of May. Prices vary.

The race on Memorial Day weekend may be the big event, but May means a month-long celebration for the city of Indianapolis.

Starting May 3, the festival kicks off the biggest celebration in Indianapolis. May 6 and 7 is the annual 500 Festival Mini-Marathon Expo. On May 8, Indy’s streets will be full of runners during the annual OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and the 500 Festival 5K Run.

On May 8 and 9, the annual Indianapolis Motor Speedway Centennial Era Balloon Festival will take place, when nearly 50 hot air balloons will fly into
the sky.

Families can come out and enjoy activities at the track on May 23 during the Chase 500 Festival Kids’ Day. Racers will parade around downtown on May 23 during the 500 Festival Parade.

Finally, on May 30, the city will host the 94th Indianapolis 500. The drivers will race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a two-and-a-half mile track, in front of an audience that is considered to be the largest in the world for a live sporting event.