Exhibits

Step into three-dimensional re-creations of historic photographs complete with characters that come to life in You Are There, or take virtual journeys throughout the state in Destination Indiana. Pull up a stool at the cabaret and immerse yourself in the music of Hoosier legend Cole Porter in the Cole Porter Room. Learn about conservation in our W. Brook and Wanda Y. Fortune History Lab.

Current Exhibits

Now through January 27, 2025 – Chuck Taylor All Star. In many ways, Indiana represents the heart of basketball in the United States. Its history has no shortage of iconic moments or people who are famous for changing or contributing to the game, such as Oscar Robertson, John Wooden and Larry Bird. One Hoosier devoted his life to the game whose name nearly every basketball fan in the United States knows, with his fame extending beyond the bounds of basketball. Though few know much about him, the man is Charles Hollis Taylor, better known as “Chuck” Taylor — the man behind the name on that famous shoe — the Converse All Star.

Now through June 3, 2023 – 12 Indiana Authors You Should Know. The latest Lanham Gallery exhibit explores 12 Indiana authors who wrote about such themes as westward expansion and travel, women’s rights, social reform, historical writing, children’s literature and war experiences. Inevitably, the Hoosier authors displayed in the exhibit were influenced by Indiana’s culture, nature, politics and society, but their writings also shaped local and national literature.

Now through August 2024 – Eva Kor from Auschwitz to Indiana. Learn the remarkable story of Eva Mozes Kor, who survived Auschwitz as a child and the experiments of Dr. Joseph Mengele, and grew up to be one of the most influential Holocaust educators and activists in the world. She ignited a global manhunt for Mengele, organized other survivors, and educated millions about what happened during the Holocaust and about her vision of empowerment and forgiveness.

Now through August 2024 – Dimensions in Testimony. A new feature allows visitors to take advantage of advanced filming techniques to have inviting one-on-one conversations with Eva Kor – a Holocaust survivor and eyewitness to history. On loan from CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, USC Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony allows visitors to converse with an interactive biography of Eva via a hologram-like projection. Guests can hear her personal testimony and ask questions that are of interest to them — learning more about her story in her own words.

Now through August 2023 – Documents that Shaped America. America’s founding was influenced by many different writers, philosophers, politicians and leaders. In this exhibit, the Indiana Historical Society showcases many of these significant historical written works such as a 1350 edition of the Magna Carta, a first edition 1788 U.S. Constitution (one of five known copies), a first edition of the Gettysburg Address, and an early edition of Life & Times of Frederick Douglass (1893).

The Past in Our Present

Focusing on the way history can help us understand our present is the purpose of our gallery exhibit called The Past in Our Present. The gallery contains frequently-rotating materials reflecting current events — showing the timely nature of what some would deem ancient history. The current exhibit, located in the Herbst Family Gallery, explores the topic of inflation. While we hear about inflation on an almost daily basis and feel it each time we visit the grocery store and gas pump, many of us know little about how it has affected the United States in the past, its evolving definition or the role Hoosiers played reacting to inflation in the past. The exhibit closes on Oct. 28, 2023.

Cole Porter Room

Come into the Cole Porter Room – designed to evoke the style of New York’s famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

W. Brook and Wanda Y. Fortune History Lab

In the History Lab, go behind the scenes of a real conservation lab and explore the technology used to preserve the IHS collection.