The Pigeon and Pals / Mo Willems at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis currently has a Pigeon + Pals exhibit. Check out my feelings on the exhibit, plus other awesome exhibits for toddlers to enjoy when you visit!
Mo Willems is a favorite in our house. Camden loves the Pigeon books, all things Elephant and Piggie, and Knufflebunny, too. His current favorites are Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and A Big Guy Took My Ball. He won’t go to bed without readying that last one – I lost it one night and it was just about meltdown-city.
So, when I heard that the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis was going to have a Pigeon + Pals exhibit, featuring all the Mo Willems characters, I knew we had to go!
Note: This is NOT a sponsored post; I’m just sharing my experience with you.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
We live just a couple hours from the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. It is the biggest children’s museum in the country – it’s more than 49,000 square feet of play area for kids!
There are a ton of exhibits; there’s enough that you’ll have trouble seeing everything in one visit! When I was a teacher, we used to take our 2nd graders on a field trip there, and I saw a completely different side of the museum going with a toddler versus my 2nd graders.
Some of Camden’s favorite exhibits were the Pigeon + Pals (of course), which I’ll talk more about below.
He also loved the train exhibit in the basement. Kids can ride the train (it vibrates and feels like you’re really on the train), and they can play at the train tables or sell tickets to ride the train.
Another favorite was the Playscape, which is just for babies and toddlers 0-5. There is a climbing area, a sand table, a water table a soft play area for babies, and a block play area. The music center does music classes a few times a day, and in between, kids can explore the instruments.
Surprisingly, he also obsessed over the Greece exhibit. Camden loved pretending to ride on a plane, cooking in the Greek restaurant and driving the boat and fishing. In fact, he is still pretend-fishing and boat-driving at home!
Oh, AND! The carousel, fun house and retro diner play area was another favorite. He could have made soda-shop creations until the end of time!
The Pigeon + Pals (Mo Willems) Exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The Children’s Musuem of Indianapolis Pigeon + Pals exhibit was the one that originally prompted me to make a special trip to the museum.
We went on a Saturday and got there almost when the museum opened. We had to wait in a short line to get into the Mo Willems exhibit, but it was a less-than 5 minute wait.
Once we got inside, it was pretty busy, and it was a little overwhelming to Camden. But that didn’t stop him from having fun! The first thing he wanted to do was drive the Pigeon’s bus! He made Oma drive with him; it was so cute! He enjoyed playing the game to feed the Pigeon and the Duckling cookies. There’s a game where he got to launch a hot dog at the Pigeon (from The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog).
Knufflebunny was hidden in a washing machine, and kids could turn the wheel to tumble the clothes and spot Knufflebunny. There were giant blocks to stack and flipbooks to turn and so much more.
There was plenty for a kid Camden’s age to do, but there was also a lot he would have enjoyed if he were older as well! Kids of any age will love the Pigeon + Pals exhibit if they love Mo Willems.
The exhibit is a limited-time exhibit through May, so get there soon!
Tips for Your Trip to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
- Buy your tickets online: the earlier you buy them, the more savings you get. Plus, I loved not having to wait in an extra line when we got there.
- Get there early: We got there almost right when the museum opened, and there was still a line to get into the parking garage (parking is free). We had to park almost at the top.
- Make a plan: Scope out the exhibits you want to see and plan to hit those first. The Playscape had a short waiting line when we were there, as did the carousel and the Mo Willems exhibit. Nothing else made you wait in a line to play.
- Take a few dollars: the carousel costs $1/person, so bring some money if you want to ride it.
- You can bring your own food in – there is a large cafe, but the food is typical tourist-attraction-prices.
- If you go from March 7 – April 11, you’ll get to see the Pigeon + Pals exhibit plus the Chocolate Slide will be set up! This is a huge, two story slide, and adults CAN go down with toddlers. It’s going to have a line, but it is so fun and worth it! (Both exhibits are included with regular admission.)
Stacey
We love Mo Willems in our family! We are also pretty close to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum and can’t wait to take our kiddos. This information is helpful! 😍