The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Announces Return of Barbie™ You Can Be Anything™: The Experience and All-New LEGO® Sculpture Exhibit for 2027

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is proud to announce two exhibits in its 2027 lineup – Barbie™ You Can be Anything™: The Experience and Building Black® LEGO® Art by Ekow Nimako. 

“We are delighted to bring back Barbie™ You Can Be Anything™: The Experience, an exhibit that has inspired children and families to dream big and imagine limitless possibilities for their futures,” said Jennifer Pace Robinson, president and CEO of The Children’s Museum. “At the same time, we are thrilled to introduce Building Black® LEGO® Art by Ekow Nimako, a breathtaking new exhibit that showcases the power of creativity, storytelling, and Black cultural exploration through an entirely unique artistic vision. Together, these exhibits reflect our commitment to offering experiences that spark curiosity, joy, and wonder, while helping children see themselves, and the world we live in, in brand new ways.” 

Barbie™ You Can be Anything™: The Experience 

Opening Jan. 30, 2027, the career-inspiring exhibit created by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in partnership with Mattel, Inc. back in 2020, encourages children to dream big, discover their strengths, and imagine all they can become. 

The exhibit returns seven years after its original debut at The Children’s Museum, following a successful nationwide tour that brought the Barbie brands' message of possibility and empowerment across the country. Now, families will once again be able to learn about new career paths, meet inspiring role models, and explore future possibilities through the power of play. 

After learning more about Barbie and the woman behind her creation, visitors will discover different career paths and see the stories of real-life women who broke barriers in their fields and helped change the world. Learn from powerful role models across history – Amelia Earhart (aviation pioneer), Katherine Johnson (NASA mathematician and physicist), Laurie Hernandez (Olympic gymnast), Florence Nightingale (pioneer of modern nursing), and Ella Fitzgerald (jazz singer) – and get an up-close look at Barbie dolls created in their likeness. The exhibit encourages guests of all generations to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of these remarkable women while finding inspiration in their own life journeys. 

Barbie has empowered generations to believe that they can be anything. Through more than 65 years of innovation and representation, Barbie has held more than 250 careers – from a president, archaeologist, and pilot to a wildlife photographer, doctor, and everything in between – encouraging children to dream beyond traditional expectations and pursue their passions with confidence. Barbie™ You Can be Anything™: The Experience will wrap in July 2027. 

Building Black® LEGO® Art by Ekow Nimako 

Opening March 20, 2027, this otherworldly exhibit will immerse families in an ethereal world of Ekow Nimako’s Afrofuturistic and fantastical art sculptures made of all-black LEGO® pieces.

Ekow Nimako is an acclaimed Ghanaian Canadian, internationally exhibiting artist who crafts futuristic and whimsical sculptures using only black LEGO® elements. With a stunning body of work, Nimako explores Afrofuturistic narratives through an unmistakable aesthetic that transcends the iconic medium.

In this exhibit, visitors will explore four Realms of immersive and enchanting environments, featuring art from his previous works in Building Black Mythos and Building Black AMORPHIA: Spiritual Starships. Ekow’s Mythos series features animal/human-hybrid sculptures that embody the tales of Ghanaian and African mythology, where AMORPHIA features interstellar spacecrafts inspired by west African mask-making traditions and science fiction. These artistic masterpieces showcase epic Black cultures, surprising visitors by traditional and contemporary African stories that they may have never heard before.

Feelings of mystique and amazement await in each area of the brand-new exhibit. Discover Yemaya (The Ocean Mother), Maame Wata (The River Spirit), and other interpretations of African myths. Visitors can also build their own sculptures with monochromatic LEGO® brick build stations in the exhibit. Building Black® LEGO® Art by Ekow Nimako will wrap in late Spring 2028. More information is available here.