Museums are all about exhibits, but it will be the museums themselves on display this week, as spots around the state celebrate Wisconsin Museums Week.

The week-plus of special events culminates with International Museum Day on May 18.
It ’s all designed to give museum professionals the chance “to promote the roles of their ... institutions,” said Dawn Scher Thomae of the Milwaukee Public Museum. Thomae, associate curator of anthropology at Milwaukee Public Museum, is active in the Wisconsin Federation of Museums, the force behind Museums Week in the state.

“I was a member of the WFM several years ago. I was dismayed that museums in Wisconsin did not celebrate International Museum Day, ” Thomae said. “I thought Wisconsin Museums Week would be a good project for WFM.”

From big to small and all around the state, numerous WFM member institutions participate in Museums Week. Many events, including special programs and free admission at some places, are tied to the occasion and are listed on museum Web sites, which are linked from the WFM site, www.wisconsin museums.org.

Wisconsin museums represent an amazing diversity of interests — history, science, culture, transportation, arts. Preservation and education are two main goals fulfilled by these institutions.

And though Thomae cites the larger Milwaukee Public Museum as her favorite museum (“For so many reasons, they didn’t pay me to say that”) she also sees great value in the dozens of smaller community museums spread throughout the state.

“I love to visit smaller specialty museums,” she said. “Many museums of this type have such engaging and creative collaborative relationships with their local communities.

“This is really what museums are all about.”

Here are 10 places that show just a hint of what Wisconsin museums have to offer:

Cranberry Discovery Center, Warrens

From the log cabin workshop of a carpenter who made handrakes for quicker berry harvesting to an ice cream parlor and bakery, this place has you covered when it comes to cranberry history and tasting. Did you know cranberries have been grown commercially in Wisconsin for more than 150 years? And the state is the nation ’s leading cranberry producer.

Hours: The center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily (opens at noon on Sundays) until Memorial Day weekend, when hours are extended to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Oct. 31. October is the best time to see cranberries being harvested.

Admission: Cost to see Exhibit Hall is $4 for adults, $3.50 for ages 65 and older, $3 for grades K-12. A $10 fee allows entry for a family of two adults and two or more children under age 18.

Address: 204 Main St., Warrens.

Information: Check www.discovercranberries.com or call (608) 378-4878.

Hoard Historical Museum, Fort Atkinson

The “father of the Wisconsin dairy industry, ” William Dempster Hoard, is remembered at this local history museum, which is adjacent to the National Dairy Shrine Visitors ’ Center. You ’ll also find information about Sauk warrior Black Hawk and a young Abraham Lincoln, as well as learning what put the “fort ” in Fort Atkinson.

Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Summer hours, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, are extended to 4:30 p.m., with added Sunday hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission: Entry is free; donations are welcome.

Address: 401 Whitewater Ave., Fort Atkinson.

Information: Check www.hoardmuseum.org or call (920) 563-7769. For information about the National Dairy Shrine, check www.dairyshrine.org.

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau

This place is truly for the birds. Every year since 1976, the museum has featured a “Birds in Art ” exhibit, showing our feathered friends at their artistic finest. The exhibit opens just after Labor Day annually. In addition, a number of traveling exhibits make their way here. The latest, “Age of Armor, ” (think “knights in shining “) features a collection from the Higgins Armory Museum in Worchester, Mass., through June 22.

Hours: Tuesdays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays and holidays.

Admission: Always free.

Address: 700 N. 12th St. (at Franklin at 12th), Wausau.

Information: Check www.lywam.org or call (715) 845-7010.

Mining Museum, Platteville

History goes down under at this museum, which tells all about the area ’s lead and zinc mining history — miners were the original “badgers, ” any Wisconsin schoolkid knows. The Mining Museum is next to the Rollo Jamison Museum, which features a large collection of everyday objects from the early 1900s. A visit here also includes a ride in a 1931 mining train and an underground tour of the 1845 Bevans Lead Mine.

Hours: From May through October, hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, including mine tour. From November through April, galleries and office only are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission: Tickets, which include admission to the Mining Museum, Rollo Jamison Museum and underground mine, are $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $4 for ages 5-15 and free for under 5. Admission is half-price November through April, but does not include mine tour.

Address: 405 E. Main St., Platteville (east end of downtown historic district).

Information: Check www.mining.jamison.museum or call (608) 348-3301.

Mitchell Gallery of Flight, Milwaukee

With airline flight delays ever more common — and lengthy — these days, it ’s nice to have something to do to pass the time while waiting at the airport. This aviation history museum is open all the time inside Milwaukee ’s Gen. Mitchell International Airport, and it ’s named after the same guy, World War I pilot Billy Mitchell, considered the father of the U.S. Air Force. Exhibits pay homage to Mitchell, as well as Charles A. Lindbergh and such Wisconsin heroes as World War II fighter pilot Dick Bong. And because the museum is located in the pre-security screening, public-access part of the airport, you can visit anytime, even if you ’re lucky enough not to be stuck during travel.

Hours: Like the airport itself, the museum is open 24 hours a day.

Admission: Free.

Address: 5300 S. Howell Ave., inside Gen. Mitchell International Airport at concessions level, near C concourse.

Information: Check www.mitchellgallery.org or call (414) 747-4503.

National Railroad Museum, Green Bay

More than 75,000 visitors roll in here each year to learn about the history of the rail industry. In addition to historic train cars, exhibits include documents, artifacts and photos related to rail. There also is an Oral History Program designed to capture the voices of train travels past.

Hours: Open daily year-round, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (opens at 11 a.m. on Sundays). Closed Christmas Eve/Day, New Year ’s Day, Thanksgiving and Easter.

Admission: Cost is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6.50 for ages 4-12 and free for 3 and under. A 25-minute tour conducted aboard a vintage train car is included in admission price. Group tours offer a more in-depth look at the museum, and there is even a “Hobo Lunch ” option.

Address: 2285 S. Broadway, Green Bay.

Information: Check www.nationalrrmuseum.org or call (920) 437-7623.

The History Museum of Fox Valley, Appleton

The Fox Valley ’s past and Harry Houdini history combine in this museum run by the Outagamie County Historical Society. The magician Houdini, who lived in Appleton, is a featured part of the exhibits, while other displays change regularly. A current offering is “The Times They Are A-Changin ’, ” which uses stories of local people to explore the 1960s experience, from rock ’n ’ roll to civil rights to Vietnam.

Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (opens at noon on Sundays); closed on holidays and on Mondays from Labor Day to Memorial Day.

Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students with ID, $2.50 for ages 5-17 and free for under 5 and for Outagamie Historical Society members. Families of two adults and minor children are $12.

Address: 330 E. College Ave., Appleton.

Information: Check www.myhistorymuseum.org or call (920) 735-9370.

UW-Madison Geology Museum, Madison

Do you know the differences between sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks? You can find out at this museum, a popular spot for school groups that also is open to the public. Collections include plant and animal fossils, a “Black Light Display ” of rocks and minerals that feature a fluorescent glow, and meteorites found right here in Wisconsin. Rock on!

Hours: Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Admission: Entry is free, but guided tours cost $2 per person, with a minimum of $15 per group. Memberships to help support the museum are $15 for individuals and $25 for families.

Address: 1215 W. Dayton St., in the UW-Madison Dept. of Geology & Geophysics.

Information: Check www.geology.wisc.edu/~museum or call (608) 262-1412 for tour office and (608) 262-2399 for director ’s office.

Wade House, Greenbush

Bringing history to life is the goal of this 1800s historic site between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan. Events are held throughout the summer, including a Historic Trades Weekend, Arts & Crafts fair and re-creation of an 1860s Base Ball Game. The Wade House ’s signature event is its annual Civil War Weekend, the biggest such re-enactment in the state, held every September.

Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 12 through October 19.

Admission: Cost is $11 for adults, $9.25 for students and seniors, $5.50 for ages 5-17 and free for under 5. A family of two adults and two or more minor children is $30. Cost is slightly higher on Civil War Weekend; Wisconsin Historical Society members get a 50 percent discount.

Address: W7824 Center St., Greenbush.

Information: Check www.wadehouse.org or call (920) 526-3271.

Wisconsin Automotive Museum, Hartford

This is just the place for Wisconsin gearheads, with its displays of vintage automobiles and auto artifacts, from license plates to spark plugs. A highlight is the Speedster, also called “the Gold Bug, ” a one-time favorite of such notables as Fatty Arbuckle and Amelia Earhardt. It was manufactured by Kissel, which produced cars in Hartford from 1906 to 1931. Also featured is an exhibit dedicated to the Nash, first built in Kenosha in 1916. And the museum is home to the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Racing Hall of Fame.

Hours: From May 1 through Sept. 30, the museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (opens at noon on Sundays). From Oct. 1 through April 30, it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and also is closed on holidays.

Admission: Cost is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $6 for ages 8-16 and free for younger than 8.

Address: 147 N. Rural St., Hartford.

Information: Check http://wisconsinautomuseum.com or call (262) 673-7999.

Advertisement