The 5 Most Underrated Museums Worth Visiting In Indiana, According To Reviews

The Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. get a lot of attention, with the gigantic National Museum of Natural History alone getting roughly 4 million visitors in an average year. In the Midwest, most people associate museums with Chicago, which has over 60 of them, ranging from the world-renowned Art Institute to lesser-known spots like the Money Museum. America's metropolises aren't the only places with unique exhibits to explore, though. Indiana has its fair share — 234 to be exact, according to the data platform Cause IQ. In fact, Indianapolis isn't too far behind Chicago in its total museum count, with 47 across the city.

Some of Indiana's museums are pretty popular, too. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis was voted the No. 1 children's museum in America, for instance, while the Indiana Motor Speedway Museum won the 2025 Museum of the Year honor from the International Historic Motoring Awards. Others are more under-the-radar, however, and feature some very unique collections that celebrate everything from monster trucks to medicine. Here are five museums in Indiana you may not have heard of that are worth going out of your way to see, based on visitor reviews from sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google.

As the world's RV capital, Elkhart is already a popular stop along Midwest road trip routes. And there's another reason to add it to your itinerary: it's home to the Hall of Heroes, one of the world's only superhero and comics museums. Hidden in an unassuming building on the north side of Elkhart just south of I-90, the Hall of Heroes houses over 70,000 comic books, including rare ones like first-edition Marvel comics. The collection also includes movie props like Captain America's original shield, original comic art, and more than 10,000 toys. Along with exhibits, there's an arcade area where you can play pinball or games like X-Men and Marvel Superheroes for free with your $10 admission ticket.

While comic books are the centerpiece of the museum, they're not all it celebrates. Fans of superhero movies and TV shows will also find lots of stuff to pique their interest, and the exhibit on Saturday morning cartoons is sure to trigger some nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the '60s through the '90s. As one visitor said on TripAdvisor, "Even if you're not so much into Superheroes this is still a cool museum. It's well laid out, they have a fantastic collection on display."

Another reviewer who visited with his family said, "Admittedly, the visit was more for myself than my wife and daughters, but they did enjoy the experience as well," adding that "the experience was well worth our time and money." One of the biggest surprises for many visitors is how much stuff the museum packs into a relatively small space. Most people spend between 45 and 90 minutes perusing the exhibits and playing in the arcade, and if you have any questions, owner Allen Stewart is often at the counter and happy to answer them.

Many of Indianapolis' museums are located between the White River and I-70, in the core downtown area covered by the 8-mile Culture Trail. The Indiana Medical History Museum is a bit outside of this central zone, in the Hawthorne neighborhood about 3 miles west of Downtown, which is one reason it's often overlooked despite containing a fascinating collection of medical oddities and intriguing discoveries.

The Indiana Medical History Museum is housed in the Old Pathology Building of the former Central State Hospital. The space was used to research mental illness from 1896 until the 1960s and is America's oldest surviving pathology facility. Areas open for visitors include the laboratories, autopsy room, and teaching amphitheater, and you can also see preserved specimens in the anatomical museum. There's so much to see that a common complaint from past visitors is that an hour-long tour felt a bit rushed, as one visitor wrote that they could've spent that long just in the anatomy museum alone. Along with the collections inside the buildings, the grounds also have a medicinal plant garden containing more than 120 species. You can explore the garden on your own for free or take a free guided tour on the first and third Saturdays from June through September.

A guided tour is required to explore the museum and can be booked in advance online. Tours are offered Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and cost $10 per person for adults. You don't need to have any medical knowledge to enjoy the museum since the guides are knowledgeable and eager to answer questions. One visitor on Google said she, "Went into this tour with the lowest expectations" and was impressed by the building's history and kind staff. "Overall, this museum was a pleasant surprise."

There is a lot of love for motor vehicles in Indiana. Along with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway mentioned in the intro, the Studebaker National Museum is one of the best things to do in South Bend, the World of Motorcycles Museum in Winamac displays an impressive array of vintage bikes, and Elkhart's RV Museum is a surreal romp through the history of motorhomes. But arguably the most underrated of the state's vehicle collections is the International Monster Truck Museum, which one visitor called a "hidden gem" in a Google review, adding, "It's worth the drive even if you aren't a monster truck fan." A TripAdvisor reviewer echoed this and said, "My entire crew has never been to a monster truck show. We went looking for something cool and interesting — and we were not disappointed!"

The International Monster Truck Museum is in the small town of Butler, Indiana, about a 40-minute drive north of Fort Wayne. The permanent exhibits include historical monster truck memorabilia, along with models, toys, and trophies. There is also a rotating collection of real, working monster trucks that kids can climb on, if they're so inclined (you can call ahead to find out which vehicles are in-house during your visit). If you want to see those monster trucks in action, check the upcoming events calendar before you plan your visit. The museum puts on monster truck shows throughout the year, family-friendly events that also include activities like monster truck rides. The museum itself is open daily with a $10 admission fee for adults, and most visitors report staying for over an hour.

Peru, Indiana, is a charming little town known as the "Circus Capital of the World." Located about 80 miles north of Indianapolis and 60 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, Peru might seem a strange place for acrobats and exotic animals. This history dates back to local man Ben Wallace, who started a traveling circus in the 1880s. His hometown eventually became its winter headquarters. By the early 20th century, not only had Wallace's circus grown, but other big top troupes wintered in Peru, too, a tradition that continued until the 1940s.

The former Winter Quarters, where Wallace's circus repaired wagons and trained animals, is now the International Circus Hall of Fame. The five original buildings are all National Historic Landmarks, and you'll find house costumes, wagons, props, and other artifacts available for visitors to peruse. Its main season is from May 1 through October 1, when it's open Wednesdays through Saturdays with a $5 adult admission. Visitors can still come from October through April, but they'll need to call first to make an appointment. The best time to visit is during Circus Days in early June, a free event with performers, games, and food vendors that recalls the festive atmosphere of the circus heritage it celebrates.

One reason the Circus Hall of Fame gets overlooked is that it doesn't look like much from the outside. The museum is volunteer-run and relies on donations for upkeep, which means the buildings are a bit rough around the edges, though visitors are often surprised by the extent and quality of the collection inside. One reviewer described it as an "Awesome gem hiding out in the middle of a field in central Indiana," while another Google reviewer said, "There is so much history on the grounds to see and hear about...definitely worth a visit!"

The walkable gem of Vincennes is the oldest city in Indiana, founded in 1732 when the area was still a French territory. Most people know the town for historic sites like Fort Knox II, an important military outpost in the early 19th century, when Zachary Taylor was an Army Captain and William Henry Harrison was the territory's governor. For fans of American comedy, it has a different claim to fame: the birthplace of radio and TV comedy pioneer Red Skelton, whose legacy is celebrated at the Red Skelton Museum.

The size and variety of the Red Skelton Museum's collection are the main reasons it counts among Indiana's most underrated. The 3,500-square-foot space has interactive exhibits, including a stage to try out Skelton's slapstick moves and a digital mirror to see yourself in clown makeup. There's also an extensive collection of memorabilia, much of it donated by Skelton's wife, including letters, photos, paintings, and costumes from his characters. One visitor on Yelp said it's "one of the most incredible museums we've visited," while another praised the friendly staff and wonderful collection. "It's well worth your time to seek out the museum in Vincennes."

You'll want at least a couple of hours to explore the Red Skelton Museum. While you're in town, you can also see Red Skelton's birthplace, which is just a couple of blocks away. Vincennes hosts the Red Skelton Comedy Convention every July, with shows, tours, mini-film fests, and a parade, so that's an excellent time for comedy fans to plan a visit. You can also visit Tuesdays through Sundays any time of year for a $12 adult admission (or come on the first Sunday of any month to get in free).

To start, we checked out the lists of Indiana Museums on Cause IQ and the Association of Indiana Museums. Using these resources, we compiled a starter list of Indiana museums with an annual revenue under $1 million. We used this revenue figure as an indicator that they receive fewer visitors and donations than the state's more popular collections, making them a contender for the most "underrated" museums in the state.

The next step was to pare that list down to museums that are worth traveling to visit. Granted, individual interests are a factor in that, but to make a general assessment, we considered the size of the collection, the average user reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Google, and the uniqueness or distinctiveness of the museum's focus (it makes more sense to travel to one of the world's largest comic book collections, for instance, than for a general art museum whose collection is similar to those elsewhere in the country). Based on that assessment and reading reviews from recent visitors, we picked out these five museums as spots that are both underrated and justify inclusion on a traveler's itinerary.