INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 26 — Nearly 1 million people visit the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis each year. From now through April 7 those visitors can learn a bit about North United Methodist Church, as its Cathedral Singers choir can be seen and heard singing in North’s sanctuary in a 360-degree film that is part of a special exhibit entitled “Sacred Places.”

The museum is located at 3000 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, which isn’t far from North UMC at 3808 N. Meridian St.

The exhibit takes visitors to sacred sites from around the world and shares the religious and spiritual beliefs of young people who live in and worship at these sites. It encourages children and their families to explore what makes a site sacred and sparks discussions. In addition to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, indigenous spirituality, Islam, and Judaism are represented prominently.

North is featured in the Sacred Places Theater inside the exhibition. Its Cathedral Singers choir was filmed singing two anthems specifically for the exhibit in North’s sanctuary in June. North’s primary adult choir is under the direction of Mark Gilgallon, the church’s music director, and it is accompanied by organist Dr. Heather Hinton.

North's segment can be played by touching the appropriate key on a touch screen at the front of the theater.

The Cathedral Singers choir is in its customary place in the choir loft, where it can be heard nearly every Sunday at the church’s 11 a.m. worship services. The sanctuary’s unique ceiling and many of its stained glass windows can be seen. The camera also pans to the rear to show the back of the sanctuary, the balcony, and the spot where the church’s audio-visual team livestreams the 11 a.m. service each Sunday on the church’s YouTube channel. The livestream can be easily accessed from the church’s website at NorthChurchIndy.com.

North is also represented in circular photos near a large globe at the exhibit’s entrance.

“Sacred Places” was made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment through its national religion and cultural institutions initiative. The goal of the initiative is to improve the public understanding of religion, and thus foster greater knowledge of and respect for diverse religious traditions.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis developed and designed the exhibition along with dozens of community curators from around the world. For the film and imagery of many places it engaged CyArk, an organization whose mission is documentation and access to cultural and historic sites through technology.

When the exhibit closes in the spring it will travel to three other U.S. locations, but unfortunately the theater will not be part of the traveling exhibit.

From Nov. 1 through Nov. 17 community organizations and individuals can buy tickets to the museum online at a heavily discounted price of $15.50 for adults and $13.50 for children with the promotional code SACRED23. Groups of 15 or more who call the customer service center at (317) 334-4000 and mention promotional code GSP can receive the same discount pricing. Groups are asked to reserve their date at least two weeks in advance. Groups that purchase tickets will also be able to explore the entire museum for this low admission price.

To learn more about North United Methodist Church see www.northchurchindy.com.