Exploration Station Competitors

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is extraordinary—always! Through its world-class exhibits, the museum strives to excite and encourage family learning and curiosity by providing limitless opportunities to create memories and foster a sense of discovery. The mission of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is to create extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. With 472,900 square feet and five floors of family learning, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the world’s biggest and best children’s museum. Here you can discover new worlds, talk with real experts, and see authentic artifacts in always-changing exhibits.

The Exploratorium is the global leader in informal learning, designed to ignite curiosity and inspire creativity in people of all ages. The world-renowned science museum creates original, interactive exhibits, on display at more than 1,000 science centers, museums and public spaces around the world. Dedicated to education reform in and out of the classroom, the Exploratorium is a premier professional development center for educators and a creator of award-winning educational resources. Since 1969, the Exploratorium has influenced generations of entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, teachers, students, children, museum professionals and everyday doers, reaching nearly 200 million people annually from around the globe. In the spring of 2013, the Exploratorium will move to Pier 15 in the heart of San Francisco's waterfront district, where it will celebrate a new era of experiences that encourage critical thinking and awaken wonder for generations to come. Founded in 1969 by Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, our mission is to create a culture of learning through innovative environments, programs, and tools that help people nurture their understanding about the world around them. We believe that following your curiosity and asking questions can lead to amazing moments of discovery, learning, and awareness, and can increase confidence in your ability to understand how the world works. We also believe that being playful and having fun is an important part of the process for people of all ages.

Minnesota Children’s Museum is dedicated to sparking children’s learning through play. Our vision: “Kids play more. Adults do, too. We thrive as a happier, healthier and more innovative community through the radiant power of play.” The museum, which first opened in 1981 and moved to downtown St. Paul in 1995, serves more than 460,000 visitors each year at its locations in St. Paul and Rochester, and reaches thousands more across the state through Smart Play Spots, Storyland exhibits and other programs. As the nation’s leading developer of traveling children’s museum exhibits, the museum is a trailblazer in creating immersive learning environments, reaching more than 10 million children and adults in the United States, Canada and Mexico through the nation’s largest collection of children’s traveling exhibits. The museum is consistently rated as one of the top children’s museums in the country by national media outlets such as Forbes and Parents and was named as a finalist for an Institute of Museum and Library Services Medal of Service, the nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries.