Indiana Medical History Museum — Attraction in Indianapolis

They ask you to book in advance, but I tried to for over a day... for any time slot and the site says you need an access code. What is that? No other explanation, looked on their website, nothing mentions a code. The morning of i try again and I saw the first 2 slots available and open to purchase, but because I was driving 2 hours I knew i wouldn't make it in time. I kept checking every few minutes for the 1pm slot and still requiring access code like it did overall for the whole day. I decided to drive in just in case there was a glitch. Still. Access code needed... what is this 'access code'??? I called 2x before finally getting a real person only to be told it was sold out! When... how? I explained what I encountered and all I got was sorry that's how it is on event Brite. NO, it isn't. Every other event I've bought on their site when there are no more tickets, it clearly states SOLD OUT. So it's however the museum set it up which is misleading and they need to fix that. No matter the time i put in...access code needed. So while I wish I could have toured, it's not happening now... thanks but no thanks for a wasted trip. I was told the 1pm was sold out, so by my photos does that mean the rest of the day is also? She didn't say either way, no offer to mention another time. No information given, lack of communication and the ticketing...

This place was absolutely fascinating. Apparently, it's quite the hidden gem since no one that I talked to who lives in Indianapolis even knew it existed. I'm thankful that Google local guides gave it such glowing reviews. I'm going to add my glowing review as well.

The tour guide I had was truly knowledgeable. He took extra time and was really great at answering questions.

So much history has been remarkably well preserved. The architecture was very functional and they explain all of that to you. Some of it is pretty macabre, but my wife is a trauma nurse and said she could've spent another 10 to 20 hours in there, and way more if they'd actually let you read the books.

The autopsy table, the death room, the lecture hall, the chemical production room, so much stuff they did back then is still in use today, it's just much easier to do now.

There are brains and pieces of brains in jars, with the tumors and such clearly described.

It was easy to get to, had plenty of parking, and even a garden of medicinal plants that have little tags by them explaining what they were used for.

Appointments are required. There is a flight of stairs, and they are old stairs with at least one 90 degree turn in them, so probably not wheelchair friendly.

This was definitely worth visiting and I'll go again next time I'm in town if I have enough time to spare....

I don't usually go out of my way to review non-food/booze spots, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Indiana Medical History Museum today. I should preface this by saying I am a scientist with an interest in the macabre; a non-scientist who does not get a kick out of seeing pickled, cancer-ridden brains of insane people may not have quite the same experience as me, and I feel strongly I enjoyed the tour more than the other 6-7 people in our group. That being said, the presentation is interesting, the guides knowledgeable, and you will really see how far medical science has come over the past 100-150 years. They have some scientific and medical equipment I have only ever heard of, but never seen in person (e.g., an iron lung, an old-school brain dissector, and more), and they have a cool garden with medicinal plants. Not suitable for little kids: not because it's boring but because there are too many priceless objects for them to inadvertently run into! As mentioned by others, the hours are very limited, especially for working stiffs (of which I am not one), but it's well worth an hour of your time if you can make it between 10:00-3:00 on a Saturday (or the same window on...