♪ The Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis.

Wander inside, and you'll soon find the American Originals Exhibit.

It's a celebration of some of our most iconic Hoosiers.

>> So, you know, the goal of American Originals really is to answer that question that many of our visitors -- either local or folks that are visiting our city, answers is, who's from here?

Who's from Indiana?

Who has a relationship with Indiana?

Who has -- who's found some meaning in our state?

And answering those questions every day with the folks behind me.

>> But don't think that this is just a Hoosier Hall of Fame.

>> You know, right now, American Originals mostly has folks from pop culture and sports.

We have some astronauts in here, some architects, some designers, but mostly it's those household names from, you know, a little bit yesterday to today to tomorrow that our visitors are going to have a conversation around and say, oh, I know that person.

Oh, I have some connection with them.

>> Now, no offense to these Indiana icons, but it's hard to not have favorites, even for the museum staff.

>> In American Originals, I think we can all find a favorite.

There's so many people that you can recognize.

And even if you don't recognize them, you can see their image, learn a little bit more about them, and then explore afterwards.

There are some stories that I like to share.

For example, the story of Wes Montgomery, who was a self-taught guitarist born here in Indianapolis.

He went on to win two Grammys.

Those Grammys are in the Indiana State Museum collection.

So being able to connect the face with his image, his Grammys and his story is something that I love to share.

Reggie Miller is another favorite.

Although he was not born here, he came here and he established a legacy here.

He was selected by the Indiana Pacers in 1987.

He was the 11th overall pick.

And in one year, in 1995, he scored eight points in 9 seconds wearing the blue and gold.

Reggie Miller is in the Hall of Fame, and Reggie Miller is an Indiana legend.

>> You'll probably be surprised by some of the faces you see at the American Originals exhibit, and that's the point.

>> You know, it's really fun to explore the faces here because I would say that almost every exhibit is about the person who's viewing it, right?

And so you're in here, you're exploring, you're finding people that you have a connection with, and you're starting there, and then discovering that there's so many people that have so much connection with Indiana.

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