30 Indoor Play and Entertainment Options for the Terre Haute Area
When the weather cooperates, people who live in Terre Haute find plenty of things to do outdoors. We have great parks, trails, and outdoor play areas! But when it’s too cold, snowy, rainy, or hot to stay outside, families sometimes have trouble finding good indoor entertainment options. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best indoor places to play and indoor entertainment options for the Terre Haute area! Check out these local favorites.
1.) Put on your skates and take a trip to Terre Haute Skate World or the Wigwam Skate Rink.
2.) Get your bounce on at Bouncin’ Barn or Strikerz Play Land.
3.) Bowl a few games at Vigo Bowl or Terre Haute Bowling Center.
4.) Feeling like a Ninja warrior? You’ll love Ivy Fit! Ivy Fit is an American Ninja Warrior training facility for all ages. They have 3 separate courses: kids, balance, and adult.
5.) Let the kids play while you eat at Chick Fil A Terre Haute. Families are encouraged to join the CFA team for family night and special events throughout the year.
6) Clabber Girl is definitely a Terre Haute treasure. Not only is it a great local place for breakfast or lunch, but the attached historical museum is free! Our girls love to (carefully) pretend in the grocery store and saloon.
7) Barnes and Noble at ISU has a small coloring table and bean bag chairs for kids to lounge in while you browse. They also host seasonal events for kids.
8) Play games and eat cereal at Terre Haute’s cereal bar, the Milky Way Cafe! Click on over to see our photo review.
9.) Bogey’s Family Fun Center has go-karts, an arcade, batting cages, playland, and mini golf.
10.) Up for a swim? Take a dip (and have a scoop) at Yogi’s i Cafe & Funzone in Brazil.
11.) Feeling creative? Why not paint your own pottery at Shewey’s in the Honey Creek Mall!
12.) Keep active at the Vigo County YMCA. Children can hang out in Child Watch, join a class, or spend some time playing with friends at Kids’ Night Out.
13) For a more somber outing, pay a visit to Indiana’s only Holocaust museum (CANDLES), which is located right here in Terre Haute.
14) Climb a tree, spy on hissing cockroaches, put on a puppet show, shop at the grocery store, drive a racecar, or splash in the water table at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum. You can read why we’re devoted members of the museum in this review (spoiler alert: your Terre Haute membership gives you access to hundreds of other museums all over the country for FREE!). Also, parents with young kiddos should definitely check out Tot Time.
Big kids will also love the museum’s newest edition, the Ropes Challenge Course! Read all about it in our photo review.
15.) The Vigo County Public Library remodeled its Youth Services area in 2015. You can read more about this fantastic space HERE.
16.) Watch a wrestling match with New Wave Pro.
17.) The theme (breakfast food) always seems to surprise newcomers, but the Honey Creek Mall play place is a classic place to take the kids to play.
18.) Use our Active Classes and Sports Guide to find the perfect tumbling, soccer, martial arts, or swimming class or team. Illiana gymnastics hosts open gym for toddlers and preschoolers in gyms! Dates and times are listed in our monthly calendars.
19.) Although it might be a stretch to call it “entertainment,” my young kids like to join the mall walkers at Meadows Shopping Center. This smaller, indoor mall has long hallways that are great for burning off some energy. Bonus: the mall is working hard to attract families with special events such as trick or treating and visits with Santa.
20.) Errands are more complicated when you’re shopping with kids, and I’d be lying if I said the mention of “running errands” at our house didn’t usually results in whining or fits. However, our kids look forward to visiting the chicks and bunnies at Rural King (in the spring and summer), riding the penny horse at Meijer, and looking at the puppies and cats at Petland and PetSmart.
21) From May through October, you can take a virtual trip through the Wabash Valley Railroad Museum.
22) Take a field trip to the Dobbs Park Nature Center. This nature center is a Terre Haute icon. You can watch birds out the window, put together a puzzle, or spend some time hanging out in front of the reptile and fish aquariums. For a very small fee, you can also gather a group of friends for class taught by the nature experts.
23.) Relive history by visiting the Vigo County Historical Museum, which will soon move to its downtown location!
24) Don’t let the fact that the Swope is an art museum keep you from bringing the kids to this local treasure. This museum (admission is free–although donations are accepted/encouraged) is open to the public. On Tuesday afternoons, they offer free classes called “Art Start” for toddlers and preschoolers.
25.) During our recent visit to French Lick (read about it HERE), our young girls (ages 4 and 6) had a blast playing laser tag. As it turns out, there’s a laser tag facility (X-Treme Laser Tag) in Terre Haute, too!
26.) Take a field trip to Atlantis Aquatic Gardens (1550 N 13th St. in Terre Haute, IN 47804). Atlantis is not just a store–it’s also an interesting place to wander around and look at animals. Fan favorites include the bearded dragon, fish (that you can feed), birds, a mountain lion, an alligator, and a giant tortoise.
27.) Need a low-energy activity? Take in a live event through the beautiful Indiana theatre, ISU Performing Arts Series, Rose Hulman Hatfield Hall, Terre Haute Community Theater, or Children’s Theater of Terre Haute.
28) Once Upon a Child has special kids’ activities throughout the year. Whenever possible, we include this info in our seasonal calendars.
So tell us, what’s your favorite? If we accidentally left out an indoor, family-friendly business that you love, let us know so we can fix our mistake!
