We're going to check out the places, people, and fun facts about the state of Indiana!

This pathfinder is your road to learning about our state.  The information given and links provided are intended to be a little tour through time and geography.  This is not just a good read, but a true "investigation" as you explore the links. The resources here were chosen because of specific information they provide and the authority, or validity, of the provider. Many have been used by fourth graders at my school; others have been hand-picked by me after reviewing many sites on a topic. Government and public agencies provide some great, quality resources about the state and its many different aspects.

Some great books about Indiana have been published, and you can find some listed here. However, the websites provided can provide information and allow you to see, hear, and experience some of the places and the history of our state.

Let's get started!

 Indiana is located in the midwestern United States:

According to Indiana's government website, the state's 2003 estimated population was 6,195,643. Its largest city is Indianapolis, the capital.  It is ranked 38th in state size with a geographic area covering 36,291 square miles.  Indiana is home to many institutions of higher learning, with the two largest being Indiana University and Purdue University.

Indiana History

During the Ice Age, most of Indiana was covered by a thick glacier. In 1976, an Indiana man found bones which belonged to the extinct mastodon. Read the article "Excavating the Ice-Age Mastondon in Central Indiana" to learn about the excavation.

One group of Native Americans living in Indiana, the Mississipians, built a large settlement in Southwestern Indiana.  The area is now called the Angel Mounds State National Historic Site. Check out the history of the settlement.   

Learn about the largest groups of Indians in Indiana: the Miami, the Lenape (Delaware), the Shawnees, and the Potawatomies.

George Rogers National Park commemorates the re-capture of Fort Sackville in Vincennes by George Rogers and his militia from the British during the Revolutionary War.

Conner Prairie is a great place to see a representation of life in Indiana in the nineteenth century.  Learn how to pronounce some Lenape words.

Before the Civil War, Indiana was part of the Underground Railroad system, used to move slaves in the South to freedom in the North.  The home of Levi Coffin was considered a major station. Experience movement along the Underground Railroad on National Geographic's interactive site, "The Underground Railroad".

During the twentieth century, the Indiana economy grew with its a variety of industries, including agriculture and manufacturing.  For a brief description, read "Indiana-Industry". 

Famous People in Indiana

Visit the list of famous Hoosiers on the Indiana Historical Society's "Notable Hoosiers" page. Click on one of the links to visit the Digital Image Library database.

To learn more about these Hoosiers, you can also use the Biographical Dictionary (S9). In the "Quick Search" box, type in the name of your famous Hoosier. From the list of people in the "Search Results", choose the person for whom you are searching.  If you type in "David Letterman", you will find his name is the first in results list. When you click on his name, you see his picture.

(image from S9 Biographical Dictionary)

Included in his biography is a timeline of important events in his life.

Places in Indiana

Indiana is home to some wonderful museums.  The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is one of the best-known children's museums in the country. Play games related to the exhibits at the museum.  The Children's Museum and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library have collaborated to create a digital collection of 1,000 selected artifacts from the museum's collection.

Lafayette, Indiana is home to Wolf Park.  See the website Wolf Park Kids to learn more about wolves and life at the park.

The Indianapolis Zoo has a lot to see, including a live Elephant Cam. You can also read about Phil the Koala's adventures on the Koala Kid's page. 

The Indiana Dunes are a beautiful northern attraction and just one of the many parks and natural sites one can find in Indiana.

For more great places, see the "Visit Indiana" website.

Nonfiction Books

Haunted Hoosier Trails: A Guide to Indiana's Famous Folklore Spooky Sites by Wanda Lou Willis. Clerisy Press, 2002. "Wanda Lou Willis takes readers on a frightening journey across Indiana, exploring haunted houses, rivers, and other locations. Supplemented with excellent original maps, photos, and illustrations, Haunted Hoosier Trails is a collection of spooky tales and real-life horror stories that doubles as a Halloween travel guide."-from Amazon.

Kidding Around Indianapolis: What to Do, Where to Go, and How to Have Fun in Indianapolis by Layne Scott Cameron. Avalon Travel Publishing, 1997. Amazon provides an on-line excerpt .

Legendary Hoosiers: Famous Folks from the State of Indiana by Nelson Price. Hawthorne Publishing, 2001. "Fifth generation Hoosier Nelson Price chronicles 40 famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman, for this exciting new collection that features more than fifty new photographs. Full of enticing anecdotes that will interest all in the rich history of Indiana and its many notable sons and daughters." -from Amazon. Nelson Price has written several other books about the history, people, and places of Indiana.

Ollie's Cabin in the Woods by Robert F. Hessong. Guild Press of Indiana, 1999. "In 1822 what now is Indianapolis was nothing but woods and swamplands, with a few homestead farms in the clearings. The Johnson family built their cabin on the western banks of Fall Creek and worked with their neighbors to establish a thriving community ... and young Ollie experienced adventures difficult to imagine in the busy area that now exists..." -from Syndetic Solutions.

Fiction Books

The Floating House by Scott Russell Sanders. Atheneum Publishing, 1995. "This tale of a pioneer family gives "houseboat" a new meaning; the four journey down the Ohio River to Indiana, where they build a house using the wood from their boat. Ages 5-8. (Dec.) " from Publishers Weekly.

Izzy's Place by Marc Kornblatt. Margaret K. McElderry, 2003. "Gr. 4-7. Ten-year-old Henry Stone would rather not be spending the summer with Grandma Martha in Indiana; it's not the same there since his beloved Grandpa Jay died, but with his parents' not getting along, home's not so great, either. Trying to act as if everything is fine gets harder every day. However, with love and support from Grandma, and an older neighbor, Mr. Fine, Henry learns that although he can't change people and events, he can appreciate who and what he does have, and he can value kind hearts and hope.." from School Library Journal.

The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck. Puffin, 2006. "Now that Russell’s teacher’s done passed away, maybe Hominy Ridge School will be shut down for good and he can light out for the endless skies of the Dakotas to join a team of harvesters working the new 1904 all-steel threshing machines. No such luck. Russell and his schoolmates are about to be ruled by a new teacher who is Russell’s worst nightmare—his sister. Russell’s going to do whatever it takes to sink the school, even if it means resorting to stealing supplies, rustic vandalism, torching a boy’s privy, and rustling up more snakes than you can shake a stick at. "-from Amazon.

Multimedia Resources

Frontier Indiana. Indiana Historical Society. Produced by the Sanders Group, 2001. "Focus on the frontier period of Indiana History (1700-1800). Explore encounters among the indigenous tribes (in particular the Miami and Potawatomi), the French, the English, and the Americans." -from the Indiana Historical Society catalog. Contains video, CD-Rom, and teacher's guide.

Pioneer Indiana. Indiana Historical Society. Produced by the Sanders Group. 2002. "Follow the transformation of Indiana from a frontier into a settled state in the period from 1800 to 1851. This video begins with consideration of the treaties with the Indians and their removal from Indiana. Review the Constitution of 1816 and the later settlement and growth of the state." - from the Indiana Historical Society catalog. Contains video, CD-Rom, and teacher's guide 

More activities on Indiana:

• Investigate a famous Hoosier. Print and fill out the Bio-cube planner sheet from the student materials on ReadWriteThink. Create a bio-cube about your Hoosier.
• Research one of the Native American groups who lived in Indiana. Write what you learn on the planner for Five Facts. Use the "Five Facts" graphic organizer from Kidspiration to chart what you have found.
• Create a website using Microsoft Publisher about one of Indiana's state parks. Use the Project note sheet to collect information and the Website rubric to create your site. Remember that the website will include not only the required elements, but enough other information for three webpages.
• Use this PowerPoint template to summarize a story about haunted Hoosier Trails. Add a photo, clipart, or original drawing to illustrate your page. Template from Annette Lamb's Eduscape site on PowerPoint starters.
• Create a brochure in Microsoft Word or Publisher to advertise one of the exciting places to visit in Indiana.  Your brochure should contain photos, people to contact, directions, and more. Use this travel brochure template from  Microsoft Office Online to start, filling in information about your Indiana site.

Key Phrases for Additional Searching

Indiana history                      Native Americans in Indiana                  Indiana animals and plants

Hoosier                                 Revolutionary War in Indiana                 Underground Railroad in Indiana 

Civil War in Indiana               Indiana colleges and universities           Books about Indiana

Pioneers in Indiana                Museums in Indiana                               Indiana manufacturing

 Website Resources:

"The Angel Mounds Story" Angel Mounds National Historic Site website. http://www.angelmounds.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=40. This page describes the Angel Mounds settlement in Indiana and its preservation. It is one of many great resources on Native American life in Indiana.

Biographical Dictionary. S9.com. http://s9.com/. This searchable biographical database also allows users to add entries in a Wikipedia-type fashion. The largest part of each entry is made up of a timeline, making it easier for students to pull out information than is an entry in a paragraph format.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. http://www.childrensmuseum.org/index2.htm. On this site, kids can take virtual tours, play games related to museum exhibits, links to interactive pages, and more.

Citizen Potawatomi Nation Website. 2004. http://www.potawatomi.org/Culture/History/default.aspx. The linked page from this site has information on the history nad lifestyle of the Potawatomi tribe.

Conner Prairie Website. 2008. http://www.connerprairie.org/. The website has listings of events and special programs, but also has a map of its grounds with pictures and information about the buildings and sites.  There is also a simple talking Lenape language audio where students can hear pronounced certain Lenape words.

"Delaware Tribe of Indians". Webpage. BroadSat Communications. http://www.delawaretribeofindians.nsn.us/index.html. The homepage of this site gives background and history of the Delaware (Lenape) Indians, with links to pages relating to tribal culture.

"Excavating the Ice-Age Mastodon in Central Indiana". Website. Mirsky, Arthur.Center for Earth and Environmental Science, IUPUI. http://www.cees.iupui.edu/Education/Education_Outreach/ICE-Age_Indiana/index.htm. This website discusses the discovery and excavation of mastodon bones found on a farm in Hancock County, Indiana. It also describes how Indiana looked during the Ice Age and can give students an idea of how different life was in this area 20,000 years ago.

"General Indiana Facts". Webpage on the Official Website of the State of Indiana at http://www.in.gov/2029.htm. This page is made up of general demographic data about the state as compiled by the Indiana State Library.

"George Rogers Clark" and "Indiana Dunes". Webpages on the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov. The NPS site has a webpage for each national park, monument, etc. The pages include history, nature, location, hours, and more for each site.

Indiana Historical Society Website. 2006.  http://www.indianahistory.org/index.asp. This site contains a wealth on information related to many topics discussed in this pathfinder. Its "Notable Hoosiers" page lists famous people from the state. Some are linked to the Society's Digital Image Library database. 

"Indiana- Industry". City-Data. Advameg Inc., 2007. http://www.city-data.com/states/Indiana-Industry.html. This simple, easy-to-read article gives a brief history of industry in Indiana with some statistics a

Indianapolis Zoo website. http://www.indianapoliszoo.com/content.aspx?cid=243. The zoo site has live elephant, sea lion, walrus, and penguin cams, along with information about the attractions.

"Levi Coffin House". Waynet, Inc. http://www.waynet.org/levicoffin/default.htm. This page tells about the role of the Coffin family in the Underground Railroad system. The national historic landmark's location, hours of operations, and contact information are given.

"Mastodon" Entry in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon. An illustrated description of the prehistoric animal.

"Miami". Webpage. Coleman, Chad. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/miami.html. Minnesota State University eMuseum.  This is a short description of the history and culture of the Miami Indian tribe.

"Pictures-Artifacts at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis". Webpage. Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. 2008.  http://www.imcpl.org/resources/digitallibrary/pictures.html. As part of its digital library collection, the IMCPL has partnered with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis to display photographs of 1,000 pieces of the museum's collection. Because even an in-person visit would not allow you to see every piece the museum owns, everyone can find something new on this site.

"Shawnee Indian Fact Sheet". Webpage. Native Languages of the Americas Website. http://www.bigorrin.org/shawnee_kids.htm. On this website, frequently asked questions about Shawnee life and culture are answered with links defining terms and giving more information are scattered throughout.

"The Underground Railroad". Interactive Website. National Geographic Online. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/. The online adventure gives information about the Underground Railroad, and the user makes choices as to which way to go. Illustrations, photos, and audio files make this a multimedia experience.

Visit Indiana website. Indiana Office of Tourism Developement, 2007. http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/. A well-organized site to find places to visit in Indiana and to find information about attractions, special events, and even famous people. The only problem might be trying to view some of the video clips which are through YouTube (filtered at my school).

Wolf Park Kids. Wolf Park, 2006.  http://www.wolfparkkids.org/index.html. The Wolf Park Kids section of the Wolf Park website has a page about life at the park, links to learn more about wolves and other animals, and activities.

 Other resources:

Book covers courtesy of Amazon.com.

Clipart and photos courtesy of Microsoft Office.