a capital idea

The boys and I are back home after an action-packed weekend in Indianapolis. We headed down Friday afternoon with my mom, my sister Loni, Craig (Loni's fiance), and Lilly (Craig's daughter). Dinner, pool time, and hanging out in our suite were pretty much the order of the night, because Saturday the fun started. We spent the day at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, and before we even got in the building, we saw (many of) the wonders of the world in miniature.

Our main purpose in going was to see the museum's really exhibit on Chinese terra cotta warriors. This is the only place in the United States they will be exhibited this year -- lucky us! They did a great job putting the exhibit together with plenty of things of interest for all ages. There were the actual warriors and artifacts in glass cases, but there were also full-size 3-D puzzles to give the kids an idea of the condition some of the figures were found in and how archaeologists pieced them back together. There was an area where you could use a mold to make your own miniature warrior or sculpt a face for one (my mom particularly enjoyed that part), and an area where kids could put on outfits, grab a weapon, and pose with the warriors.

 

After we finished exploring the warriors, we checked out the rest of the museum. Well, everyone else checked out the museum, while I sat with Henry, who had a complete meltdown and spent 20 minutes sitting on a bench (the most out-of-the-way bench I could find, which isn't saying much) screaming himself hoarse. I don't even remember what the fit was about, just that it was awful. But eventually, he got over it, just in time to join everyone to ride the carousel and play for a loooooong time at the water exhibit.

On Sunday, we visited Conner Prairie. This is the part of the trip I was most looking forward to. I had been there twice before (for a field trip in fourth grade, which is the year kids study Indiana history, and again my senior year of high school) and had great memories of making candles and churning butter and talking to the people in the village. Loni went in fourth grade too, but the rest of our party was on their maiden voyage, which was pretty exciting. If you've never been there, Conner Prairie is a living history museum (I guess now they call it an "interactive history park"), filled with costumed interpreters who play the roles of pioneers from the 1800s (so any mention of technology or modern events is met with a blank stare).

We started with the 1863 Civil War Journey, which is new since my last visit (Imagine that -- they built something new in the 20 years since last time I was there!) and is really amazing. The setup is that a town was invaded by Confederates, and you are visiting the day after the invasion. There are smoldering ruins near the train depot, and the proprietor of the general store is trying to put his merchandise back on the shelves so he can reopen. There's a temporary army headquarters where you can sign up to help fight defend the state. There are all kinds of special effects. It's a really neat mix of new technology and old-fashioned acting. I can't recommend it enough. Neither can these two soldiers, who were solemnly prepared to fight the good fight.

After that, we headed to the 1836 village (which is how I remembered it), where a man played the piano for us (a song by that newcomer Chopin) first thing. We visited the blacksmith's shop (which Max really didn't want to leave), dropped in on a lady cooking some biscuits in the embers of her fireplace, checked out the schoolhouse, and loaded boxes from the general store onto a waiting wagon. The boys engaged in an exciting game of "battle doors and shuttlecocks" with a brother-and-sister duo, which was downright hilarious. We were also lucky that it was kind of a dreary, overcast day, so the place wasn't crowded, which meant that we got extra attention from the people working there. After the boys finished playing their game, one of the guides tipped me off that I could take them to the inn and ask for work so they could earn a little money. So off we went, and the boys swept the inn floor and were rewarded with a half-penny each. They had the option of spending their half-pennies at the general store (to buy nails, or recipe cards, or marbles) but they each chose to keep theirs as a souvenir of a most excellent adventure.