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Indiana Repertory Theatre adds its name to the list of 10 attractions and one affordable price for qualifying low-income families in Indiana to take advantage of fun and learning in Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Terre Haute. The Access Pass program helps those who receive state assistance visit select popular attractions at a greatly reduced rate of $2 per person per visit.
“The IRT is excited to extend our community reach through Access Pass and provide opportunities for all Hoosiers to experience the magic of live theatre,” said Suzanne Sweeney, IRT Managing Director. “Beginning in January 2018, we welcome participants to enjoy one or all of our remaining six productions on stage this season.”
Other participating member institutions include: Conner Prairie, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana State Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, Newfields, Terre Haute Children’s Museum, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, and Wonderlab Museum in Bloomington. Families that meet the requirements listed below can visit the participating locations for just $2 per family member per visit, for up to two adults and dependent youth living in the household.
Qualifying Programs for Indiana Residents
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- SNAP and Hoosier Works
- Hoosier Healthwise Insurance
Eligibility for Access Pass is if any individual in the immediate household is enrolled in any one of the state assistance programs listed above.
“The creation of the Access Pass is a wonderful way the museum and its partners reach thousands of Hoosier families throughout the state to ensure all children and families, regardless of income are able to learn and grow together,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Required Documents
- Hoosier Healthwise or Hoosier Works Enrollment Recertification Letter, issued by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. A letter must be issued in the primary adult cardholder’s name and verify program enrollment for the current year.
- Verification of benefits may also be accessed from the Indiana Family Social Services Administration Benefits Portal, www.ifcem.com. Click on "Check Status / Print Proof of Your Eligibility".
- Indiana State-issued photo ID card—either a Driver’s License or State Identification card. The name on the photo ID must match an adult name on the recertification letter. Employee or student IDs and out-of-state IDs are not accepted.
To enroll in or renew an existing Access Pass, qualifying families can visit any of the participating venues listed below with the exception of Indiana Repertory Theatre. Qualifying adults must be present with required documentation and completed Access Pass application when enrolling or utilizing benefits. Discounts will not be honored if required documentation verifying enrollment eligibility is not available. Download the policies to be sure you qualify.
Here’s what the member attractions are featuring in 2018:
Conner Prairie
At Conner Prairie, you can learn new skills and put your hands and mind to work in our new Makesmith Workshop. This new, 500-square-foot space will allow visitors to hone their skills while exploring historic making and trades through numerous hands-on activities. Visitors throughout the year will have the chance to work with textiles, wood, metals and more. Staff will guide visitors through projects and help them acquire new experience with tools and materials. Makesmith Workshop is a new permanent experience inside Conner Prairie’s Welcome Center.
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
The Reel West exhibit explores morality, diversity and American identity as depicted in the Western film genre and how Hollywood movies and television shows shape our understanding of the world around us. Visitors will see film costumes, props, memorabilia, paintings, movie posters and images from the early silent Western films to mid-20th century classics up through today. The Reel West will appeal to casual movie fans, serious film buffs, those who remember iconic Westerns and those new to the genre. For a detailed list of opening day events, as well as monthly related programming through the run of the exhibition please visit eiteljorg.org.
Indiana Historical Society
The Indiana Historical Society brings history to life for all ages through immersive time-travel experiences, hands-on interactives and cutting-edge technology. Learn about one Hoosier’s experience in battle during the Civil War inside the multimedia experience You Are There 1863: Letter Home from Gettysburg, or take a look at the impact professional football had on Indiana with Indianapolis Colts: The Exhibit (opens March 10, 2018). Guests can let their fingers do the walking through virtual time travel journeys with the touchscreens in Destination Indiana, learn about conservation efforts and how to mend paper in the W. Brooks and Wanda Y. Fortune History Lab, and enjoy live music in the Cole Porter Room. With downtown parking that is validated with a visit to IHS, visitors can also spend time exploring downtown or walking along the historic Central Canal.
Indiana Repertory Theatre
In the 2017-2018 season, IRT will present six productions suited for patrons of all ages. The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse, part IRT’s annual Exploring Stages program, presents Storytime theatre to patrons aged 3 to 8-years-old. Meanwhile, Romeo and Juliet—a heartbreaking love story told across generations—speaks directly to younger and older audiences alike. The remainder of the season includes A Raisin in the Sun, Appoggiatura, Looking Over The President’s Shoulder and Noises Off. To learn more visit irtlive.com
Indiana State Museum
An exciting lineup of exhibits is coming to the Indiana State Museum in 2018. The next phase of a multi-year renovation of all permanent galleries will be unveiled in March, including an updated Ice Age gallery highlighted by Fred, a 13,000-year-old mastodon skeleton discovered near Fort Wayne. “The Power of Poison,” a blockbuster traveling exhibit from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, educates visitors on the effects of poison in nature, myth and legend through April 22. “Lois Main Templeton: A Life Reinvented” explores the life and work of a Hoosier artist and runs March 10 through July 29. And, don’t miss “Color: A Fashionable History,” open June 2 through Aug. 19.
Newfields, a Place for Nature & the Arts
Newfields offers dynamic experiences with art and nature for guests of all ages. The 152-acre cultural campus features art galleries, lush gardens, a historic mansion, performance spaces, a nature preserve and sculpture park. Starting in April, say hello to spring at Newfields. Discover hundreds of thousands of blooms in The Garden with the return of our strolling garden experience, explore new exhibitions in The Indianapolis Museum of Art, including Bes-Ben: The Mad Hatter of Chicago. Visit in June, for Summer Wonderland: Spectacular Creatures a fun-filled sculpture exhibition featuring hundreds of brightly colored animals all around campus.
NCAA Hall of Champions
Bring your family to the NCAA Hall of Champions and engage in a little friendly competition with our newest exhibit, “Trivia Blitz”. Participants will have to be quick as they are presented questions that could include video, an image or a few clues. If you prefer something that doesn’t involve trivia, check out another new game, “Make the Grade”. Match items and release sports so that you don’t end up sitting on the bench. Both can be found on the second floor which is brimming with hands-on, interactive exhibits. Witness a tennis serve at nearly 100 miles per hour, test your vertical jump or take a shot from the free throw line in our 1930’s replica gymnasium. This is just to name a few. It is the perfect opportunity to experience NCAA sports first-hand.
Terre Haute Children’s Museum
In 2018, visitors to the Terre Haute Children’s Museum will get a chance to challenge their minds and their bodies! From January 27 through May 6, the Museum will host BRAIN TEASERS 2, a collection of hands-on puzzles that require visitors to use creative thinking and problem-solving strategies to come up with a solution. Can you separate two linked metal hearts and then reassemble them? Arrange standard geometric shapes to create startling new ones? Solve a maze that is apparently unsolvable? In BRAIN TEASERS 2, you can! And, this summer, visitors to the Terre Haute Children’s Museum will have the opportunity defy gravity as they navigate obstacles, "walk the plank," and then zoom down a zipline on a new, indoor Ropes Challenge Course. The two-level Ropes Challenge Course will consist of more than 20 different elements, such as walking a rope bridge, balancing on a rolling log, and climbing across a horizontal net, before reaching the zipline. The lower level of the course will be approximately 10 feet off of the ground, and the upper level will have guests navigating approximately 20 feet up in the air. The Ropes Challenge Course will open to the public in mid-June 2018.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
Listed in the New York Times as one of the 10 Coolest Museums in the World, The Children’s Museum gets even bigger with the addition of Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience. The 7.5-acre addition opens March 17, 2018 and invites families to have fun and stay healthy and fit by trying new sports activities when they visit. Key components include:
- Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever Basketball Experience
- Old National Bank Sports Legends Avenue of Champions
- Indianapolis Colts Football Experience
- The Sports Legends Pavilion and Plaza presented by the Efroymson Family Fund
- Pete & Alice Dye-designed Golf Experience presented by Henry and Christine Camferdam
- The Children’s Museum Guild Fantasy Tree House of Sports Climbing Experience
- Wiese Field donated by Elizabeth Bracken Wiese and J. Frederic Wiese, Jr.
- Jane and Steve Marmon Running Experience
- USTA Family Tennis Experience presented by Rheta and Seymour Holt
- Subway Soccer Experience
- Indy Fuel Hockey Experience
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pedal Car Racetrack Experience
- Church Brothers Collision Pedal Car Drag Racing Experience
- Cory Servaas Family Fitness Path
- The World of Sport
- History of Hoops
- The National Art Museum of Sport (NAMOS). This 1,000 piece collection fuses art, creativity and human achievement in sports and movement. In doing so, the paintings, prints, and sculptures are changing the face of a traditional art collection and how it is being used to inspire intergenerational learning with a new experiential hands-on component making it very unique.
Wonderlab Museum in Bloomington
WonderLab is pleased to announce: Cubelets: Tiny Robots! - the newest museum experience for scientists of all ages. Cubelets small, magnetic blocks, can be snapped together to make an endless variety of robots with no programming and no wires. Robots drive, respond to light, sound, and temperature, and have surprisingly lifelike behavior. Come and experience Cubelets - a hands-on way to learn the basics of computer science.
New in 2018 - WonderLab at Home - Enjoy WonderLab from home with WonderLab’s new science blogs and YouTube Channel! Read about your favorite animals featured in WonderLab ALIVE!. Delve into questions and musings at Thoughts Behind the Wonder and keep up with important museum information via Wonder News. Check out WonderLab’s YouTube for a sneak peek behind the scenes and more.
The WonderLab Museum of Science, Health, and Technology provides hands-on science learning to with exhibits and programs for people of all ages. The museum is in the heart of Bloomington’s cultural district, just along the B-Line Trail. Operational hours are Tuesday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday: 1 – 5 p.m. Visit wonderlab.org or follow us @wonderlabmuseum on Twitter and Instagram, WonderLab Science Museum on FaceBook.
High-resolution photos are available upon request by contacting each individual attraction.
Contacts for more information:
Duane Brodt Brodt@connerprairie.org
Carol Bennett bennett@connerprairie.org
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
Bert Beiswanger bbeiswanger@eiteljorg.com
Hyacinth Rucker hrucker@eiteljorg.com
Brandi Banter bbanter@eiteljorg.com
Bryan Corbin bcorbin@eiteljorg.com
Indiana Historical Society
Amy Lamb alamb@indianahistory.org
Natalie Palmer nplamer@indianahistory.org
Indiana Repertory Theatre
Danielle M. Dove ddove@irtlive.com
Carolyne Holcomb cholcomb@irtlive.com
Indiana State Museum
Hannah Kiefer hkiefer@indianamuseum.org
Newfields
Stephanie Perry sperry@discovernewfields.org
Mattie Lindner mlindner@discovernewfields.org
NCAA Hall of Champions
Kelly Dodds kdodds@ncaa.org
Terre Haute Children’s Museum
Lynn Hughes lhughes@terrehautechildrensmuseum.com
Tess Jacks tjacks@terrehautechildrensmuseum.com
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
Kimberly Harms kimh@childrensmuseum.org
Leslie Olsen leslieo@childrensmuseum.org
Wonderlab Museum in Bloomington
Karen Jepson-Innes kjinnes@wonderlab.org
Catherine Olmer catherine@wonderlab.org
Aleisha Kropf marketing@wonderlab.org
