55 Experience Gift Ideas for Kids and Families in the Wabash Valley
Chances are good that your kids don’t need any more toys. At most houses, toys seem to magically multiple, and sometimes it can feel like we just don’t need more stuff. If you understand this feeling, this list of Terre Haute and Wabash Valley experience gifts is for you!
40+ Local Experience Gift Ideas
Fun and Games
- Take out your frustration at Terre Haute’s NEW rage room–Anger Management.
- Head to Haute City Center for Bank of Pinball games
- Play a round of laser tag at Xtreme Lazer Tag
- Play (virtual) games at Terre Haute eBash or board games at Full Moon Games.
- Buy tickets to a Rex Baseball game or a college athletic events such as basketball, soccer, football, baseball, or volleyball with ISU Athletics. Multiple sports at ISU offer free admission!
- Check out a New Wave Pro Wrestling Match
- Pick up movie tickets for AMC, the Paris (IL) Theatre, the Brazil Theatre, or the Moon Lite Drive-In Theater in Terre Haute.
Local Memberships
- Kids and families love the Terre Haute Children’s Museum. It also gives you FREE admission to over 280 other museums!
- Already members? Why not add on a Ropes Course membership! You can find everything you need to know about the ropes course in THIS POST.
- Buy a family membership to the Vigo County Historical Museum
- Sign up for a library card to check out kits, rent movies, borrow books, or listen to audiobooks for FREE!
- Become a member at the Wabash Valley Railroaders Museum (May-October)
- Visit or join the CANDLES Holocaust museum
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Travel
- Spend the night in a local hotel and swim at their indoor pool
- Take a train trip to Chicago (Click HERE to read about our family’s train adventures!) and visit the Field Museum (for FREE)
- Splash and play in an indoor water park in French Lick.
- Buy a membership to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum or Indianapolis Zoo
- Get a season pass to Splash Island Waterpark in Plainfield.
- Take older kids to the City Museum in St. Louis
- Purchase tickets or a season pass to Holiday World. (Before you go, read our Holiday World tips!)
- Head to Casey, IL for a day trip to visit the Big Things.
- Ski at Perfect North, Nordic Mountain, Alpine Valley, or Wilmot Mountain (in Wisconsin) or Paoli Peaks (in Indiana). Read all about our day of skiing with kids at Paoli Peaks here.
Movement
- Improve your ninja skills at Terre Haute’s Ninja Warrior Training Facility, Ivy Fit.
- Bounce at Strikerz Play Land or The Bouncin Barn
- Join Upward Sports indoor soccer (winter) or basketball (fall)
- Play pickleball, learn how to play volleyball, dance, join a fitness class, and swim all year long with a family membership to the YMCA. (Childcare available.)
- Make plans to enroll in Vigo County Youth Soccer Association’s outdoor league in the spring
- Try Wabash Valley Tumbling and Gymnastics, Illiana gymnastics/tumbling classes, Tumble Express (in Brazil), or Terre Haute Cheer University
- Purchase passes to Wigwam Skate Center or Terre Haute Skateworld
- Join a league or train at Strive 365 indoor sports complex.
- Go bowling at Terre Haute Bowling Center or Vigo Bowl
- Swim all summer long with a family membership to the Country Club of Terre Haute
- Take swimming classes with the Terre Haute Torpedoes, Rose-Hulman, or Indiana State University
Music and Art
- Take classes at Makers Studio at 12 Points
- Take classes or buy art supplies at Muse Art Terre Haute.
- Try a “Paint Your Own Pottery” experience at Shewey’s in Honey Creek Mall.
- Join a class or take private lessons from the ISU Community School of the Arts.
- Reserve your child’s spot in next semester’s session of Terre Haute Children’s Choir
- Make music with Kindermusik or Terre Haute Music School.
- Enjoy a Swope Art Museum Membership or participation in the FREE “Art Start” preschool program
- Try pottery classes at the Deming Park Torner Center
- Buy tickets to the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra
Nature
- Invest in an Indiana State Park Entrance Permit. You can also turn your parks pass into a gift pack with a gift card and a subscription to Outdoor Indiana.
- Load up your bikes and head to the best mountain bike trail in Indiana for some exercise and family time.
- Take horseback riding lessons or ride horses at a State Park
- Visit the Exotic Feline Rescue Center
- Adopt a pet from the Terre Haute Humane Society or a fish from Atlantis
Theater
- Buy tickets to the ISU Performing Arts Series
- See a show at Rose Hulman’s Hatfield Hall
- Watch a performance by Children’s Theatre of Terre Haute
- Support local thespians by attending a show at Community Theatre of Terre Haute
Food and Drink
- Visit Brazil to experience Honeysuckle Hill Bistro
- Try a cooking class at Federal Coffee or Sons’ Spice Co in 12 Points
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- Visit one of Terre Haute’s local wineries and breweries: Terre Haute Brewing Company, Afterburner Brewing Co, Sycamore Winery, and Water Tower Estates Winery.
Did we leave out one of your favorite experience gift ideas? Let us know so we can update the list!
