Indianapolis Children's Museum

Below are some of the interesting things we did while we waited for our time slot to enter the Tut Exhibit. They tried to control the crowds so there were certain times posted on your ticket stating when you could enter the exhibit. You could stay as long as you wanted but you could not re-enter once you left the viewing area.

As you enter the museum using the pedway from the parking garage this is something to see.

A dinosaur peeking in the window with a young one along side appearing to be half in and half out. Sure nuff when you get inside there they are peering down at you.

Judie and Pat quickly toured the book store/gift shop and moved on to the Dinosaur display. I peeked in and saw the Pterosaur/Pterodactyl flying above. Not sure where Clara was?

Just outside the Dinosaur entrance were these magnificent paper dragons hanging from the ceiling.

I stayed in the Dinosaur exhibit for a short while, but quickly got overwhelmed. I wandered off downstairs and came upon the Reuben Wells.(and you know how I like trains). So this grabbed me right away. Therefore I have to tell you about it. lol

Reuben Wells: Hoosier Locomotive of Distinction

Indiana's first railroad, the JM & I – Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis, opened in 1836, reached Columbus in 1844 and Indianapolis in 1847. At the south end was the Madison Cut, an engineering marvel for the times.

Madison Cut opened to traffic in 1841, the railroad used eight horses driven in tandem to pull each car up the climb of 5.89 per cent and it would attain a length of 7,012 feet. This gave the Madison incline the dubious honor of being the steepest line-haul grade in the country. Most every railroad had a locomotive that became part of railroad folklore. The B & O had its Tom Thumb and there was the Casey Jones and the Wabash Cannonball, to name a few. On the Madison line, the hero of the iron rails was the Reuben Wells.

The master mechanic of the Jeffersonville shop, Reuben Wells, himself; determined that the problem of the steep incline at Madison had to be solved. Wells believed that a properly located center of gravity and enough weight to assure adhesion to the track would enable his engine to climb the grade.

The Reuben Wells, named after this master mechanic, was designed and built in the JM & I shops at Jeffersonville. This was the first locomotive to successfully operate on the grade by adhesion, without using the cast-iron rack and pinion. It went into service in 1868 and was actively used until about 1905.

The World's Largest Water Clock

After we toured the Tut exhibit, tired from standing and walking, we sat and stared at this clock for awhile. We were sitting in the lobby across from the clock when I snagged someone to take the picture of the 4 of us the in Tut blog . This fascinating clock keeps time so accurate you can set your watch by it.

What time is it Pat? (hours are on the left and minutes on the right)

Above you can see some of the school children waiting on the mezzanine for their time to enter the Tut exhibit.

Try to read the large poster to learn how the world's largest water clock works. How does gravity and vacuum suction interact to keep the giant pendulum moving? The magical moment happens when the water clock strikes 1 p.m. and the clock's 12 globes slowly drain to start over.

Pat and I wandered away to view the Stars of the Pharaohs. While Clara and Judie vegged out. We figured we would take it easy and unwind while star gazing. The chairs are much more comfortable and laid back in a planetarium. Surely someone would wake us up when the show was over? The presentation took us back to the skies of ancient Egypt.

The rising of the star (we call Sirius), the Egyptians called Sopdet or Star of Isis was used to predict the annual flooding the Nile River. Sopdet was also called the Nile Star because of its annual appearance just before dawn at the summer solstice, June 21, heralding the coming rise of the Nile, upon which Egyptian agriculture depended. The show renacted the mythological creation of the Egyptian universe and talked about the celestial connections to how they used the stars to tell time, and make a workable calendar. The Sun, Sah (the star we call Orion), and the ancient Pole Star were used to align Egypts monumental temples and pyramids.