Renovation of our Welcome Center began in February 2024 and will result in six new indoor experience areas. Upon its completion, Conner Prairie will deliver an entirely new year-round museum experience that has not existed before in Hamilton County.
Elements within the Museum Experience Center include: six experience areas, Spark!Lab, display of artifacts from our Collections that houses over 20,000 items, year-round indoor food options, event hosting space and a new way to enter into Prairietown.
Below, get a closer look at three of the six experience areas that will be part of our new Museum Experience Center: the Orientation Gallery, Wellspring, and the exhibit "Torn: A Family Portrait."
Grand opening early 2026
Orientation Gallery
Developed in partnership with Monadnock and Luci Creative
Upon entering the Museum Experience Center, the first area guests will encounter is The Orientation Gallery, where they’ll embark on a walking journey through time. Through several immersive, multimedia experiences, guests will explore the ways the land and people have shaped our communities over centuries. Elements throughout the exhibit will evoke the power of place and a shared kinship of the land.
Wellspring
Developed in partnership with The Curious Life
After leaving the Orientation Gallery, guests will seamlessly transition to Wellspring, a multi level “artscape”—part playscape, part art installation—and the keystone feature of our new Museum Experience Center. The exhibit will focus on engaging guests of all ages through educational and exploratory discovery.
Torn: A Family Portrait
Developed by Conner Prairie’s internal exhibits and experience teams
Guests will continue their educational adventure in the exhibit, "Torn: A Family Portrait." In this experience area, we’ll highlight the unique and inclusive stories that make Conner Prairie what it is today and explore many facets of history related to Conner Prairie and our community.
By the numbers
$40 million+ raised
$2.5 million in planned gifts
More than 160 campaign donors
Wanting to help fund more amazing projects like this? Learn more about the Prairie Pathways campaign and become a donor today!
Orientation Gallery
When you step into the Museum Experience Center, the first place you’ll visit is The Orientation Gallery—a fantastic starting point for a fun and educational adventure! Here, adults, kids, and their families will journey through time, exploring how the land and the people have come together to shape our community over the last 15,000 years.
Get ready for a world of exciting, immersive experiences! You’ll dive into amazing multimedia displays that bring history to life, making it feel like you’re walking through time itself. Kids will be inspired by the stories of our natural land, all while learning about the special bond we share with it.
As you move through this space, you’ll follow the flow of the White River, connecting each section like a river connecting people and places. From our glacial beginnings to today's vibrant community, each area is full of captivating visuals and engaging stories.
Currently, we anticipate the following topics to be covered in this exhibit:
- The formation of the White River during our glacial beginnings,
- The arrival of the first people groups to this land,
- The natural oasis of our 1,000+ acres today, among the urban sprawl of Central Indiana.
The adventure doesn’t end there! You’ll wrap up your experience in the “Go and Explore” area, where you’ll feel the power of place and a deep-rooted connection to the land itself. Prepare to be drawn into the history and heart of Conner Prairie in a way you’ve never experienced before—this is just the beginning!
Wellspring
Conner Prairie has partnered with nationally recognized artist Wes Bruce and The Curious Life, his creative team of architects, filmmakers, and engineers to envision, research, and develop this experience. The Curious Life specializes in large-scale, site-specific art installations that engage guests in exploration, discovery, and play.
Wellspring is playful yet meditative, outward yet inward, child-like yet wise. While exploring Wellspring, you’ll decode a fictional language created by The Curious Life that uses 28 mythical letters. Plus, you’ll meet 13 characters representing different literary archetypes.
During the Headless Horseman Festival this year, 9 of 13 characters were introduced in the Monster Mash Midway game. For example, you may have met the Great Blue Heron this fall—you’ll meet the heron again in Wellspring in the Meditation Cave, Turtle in the Shell Story Room, and the sturgeon along the river path.
Wellspring reflects a deep level of thoughtfulness, achieved through over a year of research and collaboration—not only with the museum but also with partners throughout Indiana. These partnerships continue to thrive and inform the ongoing development of Wellspring. Through this experience, we will facilitate a change in how the world views and uses museums.
![Pages From WELLSPRING SD WALKTHROUGH 240603[47] (2)](https://www.connerprairie.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Pages-from-WELLSPRING_SD_WALKTHROUGH_24060347-2-scaled.jpg "Pages From WELLSPRING SD WALKTHROUGH 240603[47] (2)")
Torn: A Family Portrait
Our first of many installations in this gallery, you will learn the story of the land Conner Prairie calls home. The intersectionality of the themes of the experience are woven together through storytelling, historical record and the absence of records, and the “why” of it all. You’ll meet the Conner families: William Conner and his first wife, Mekinges, and John Conner and his first wife, Lënapèxkwe, and their respective children.
As you continue to explore, you’ll get a closer look at the complex and relentless system of westward expansion, the ways of the Lenape people, and the eventual removal of Indigenous peoples. You’ll be invited to reflect and consider the ways in which the Conner families impacted—and were impacted by—these systems and policies. The experience will be thought-provoking and compelling, and we anticipate you’ll be inspired to visit the gallery more than once. In the coming years, the exhibit will shift to new content that connects to the museum and our surrounding community, all while aligning with our mission to inspire curiosity and foster learning by providing engaging and individualized experiences for everyone.