Preview Post: Aldo Leopold Center

The Aldo Leopold Center in Baraboo is a nature center.  It is mostly enjoyed for the outdoors, but there are also buildings that function as learning spaces and museums about Aldo Leopold, a diligent conservationist.  There are tours you can take, or you can explore on your own.

Aldo Leopold Center
E13701 Levee Road ~ Baraboo, WI ~ (608) 355-0279

Admission: I do not believe there is an admission fee to enjoy the land.  Tours do require fees.

Preview Post: The Dells Mill

The Dells Mill is a historical site outside of Augusta, Wisconsin.  It is mostly a photo opportunity, but there is a museum there as well.  It sounds like they have pretty limited hours, though, so check before you go!  I believe they are only open on Saturdays.  Their website is not very updated, so I had a difficult time finding information.

The Dells Mill
E18855 Co Rd V ~ Augusta, WI ~ (715) 286-2714
Admission: Unsure

Preview Post: Ashland Historical Society Museum

The Ashland Historical Museum does not look like a very hands-on experience, but it does seem to have quite a rotating assortment of content.  They change their exhibits up to keep things fresh, but I am guessing this still probably a pretty short visit with kids!

Ashland Historical Society Museum
216 Main Street West ~ Ashland, WI ~ (715) 682-4911

Circus World Museum

Circus World Museum is Baraboo's most famous tourist attraction.  We got lucky enough to get a coupon through the library's summer reading program, and the younger kiddo was free, so that worked out well for us too.

We started out by walking through the museum, which was lots of fun because many of the exhibits are interactive.  I will say a few of them seem to be getting a little bit run down, but still fun and still worked.

Our next stop was the tiger show.  It was quite amazing.  I think the adults were even more impressed than the kids.

The circus definitely abounds throughout the grounds.

 There are remnants of the big top glory days...

 and current action to take in.

Our whole family's favorite part was the live circus - with elephants!  There were plenty of animal acts as well as human.

It was a great day of fun for the whole family.  It could definitely get expensive because there were lots of (pricey) extras to add on once you are in the place, but the shows were all included.

I do believe the shows are contracted, so they change from year to year.

Circus World
550 Water Street ~ Baraboo, WI ~ (866) 693-1500
Admission: varies by season (closed Nov-Feb): $9.95-$19.95/adult, $8.95-$17.95/senior, $4.95-$9.95/child (5-11), free/under 5

Dodge County Historical Society

The Dodge County Historical Society has a museum in Beaver Dam.

Admittedly, we did not see the entire museum.  For some reason my kiddo got totally freaked out and would not go to most of it.

Both littles enjoyed the loft area, which has a model wigwam and teepee.  There is also a large collection of arrowheads found in the area.

 

Most of the museum was jam-packed full of antique items.  There was plenty of daylight, but most of the lights were turned off, so it was still a bit dark.

There is a mock one-room schoolhouse set up on the second floor.

It was a bummer that the kids couldn't touch anything.  I was hopeful when a sign mentioned something about playing in the schoolhouse, but there were signs all over once we got up there saying not to touch anything.

There were some easy opportunities I saw for them to make this museum a bit more interactive, but it is really just a very large collection of stuff.  Don't get me wrong, I found it pretty interesting!  It is a place worth stopping by once for an hour.

The curator was very friendly.

Dodge County Historical Society
105 Park Avenue ~ Beaver Dam, WI ~ (920) 887-1266

Preview Post: Wisconsin Museum of International Wildlife

The Wisconsin Wildlife Museum is a more unique museum.  It consists of many mounted animals from around the world.  Some of the mounts look like they are pretty need "action" shots.  They also have some hands-on exhibits, which would make this a whole lot more fun!

They do have quite limited hours, so be sure to check ahead.

Wisconsin Museum of International Wildlife
10 East College Avenue, Suite 222 ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 419-2721
Admission: free

Preview Post: Trout Museum of Art

The Trout Museum of Art looks like a typical small art museum.  While it is not geared toward children, it could be interesting for them, especially if you have one who is interested in art.  I think I would be most inclined to try one of their events that are more specifically for kids.  There are regular family art project days as well as performers that they bring in, called the Young Audiences series.

Trout Museum of Art
Fox Cities Building for the Arts ~ 111 West College Avenue ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 733-4089
Admission: "Varies by Exhibition" (?) but at the moment it's:
                    $6/Ages 11&up, $2/Ages 5-11, Under 5 free

Preview Post: History Museum at the Castle

The History Museum at the Castle is in Appleton.  It is not a children's museum, but they do welcome children, and it looks like they try to have some family friendly, hands-on exhibits.  I am not sure how frequently their exhibits change, but at the moment, the ones I think my kiddos would most enjoy are the Houdini and toy areas.

History Museum at the Castle
330 East College Avenue ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 735-9370
Admission: $7.50/adult, $3.50/child, under 5 free OR $20/family

Preview Post: Bergstrom Mahler Museum of Glass

I was a little bit skeptical when I started looking into the Bergstrom Mahler Museum of Glass.  I am pretty hesitant to take my crew anywhere that has "Glass" in its name (!), but as I look into it, I think the kids would be pretty intrigued.  There are lighted exhibits, and they offer classes.

Gerstrom Mahler Museum of Glass
165 North Park Ave ~ Neenah, WI ~ (920) 751-4658
Admission: Free

Preview Post: Paper Discovery Center

The Paper Discovery Center in Appleton looks like a great place to visit, even just because it is different from every other museum in the area.  There are hands-on exhibits, all related to paper.  I actually was there once when I was much, much younger.  All I remember is making my own paper.  I must have enjoyed it to remember it, though!

Paper Discovery Center
425 West Water Street ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 380-7491
Admission: $6/adult, $4/student

Preview Post: Hearthstone Historic House Museum

I don't know about you all, but I am a sucker for beautiful historic homes where I can pretend I used to live in my elegant gowns... Sooo Hearthstone Historic House Museum looks like a fantastic place to take the family for a little escape from reality.  It is the first home in the WORLD lit by hydroelectricity.  And I have to say, the few pictures I've seen of the inside are gorgeous!  Has anyone been here?  Worth the visit?

Hearthstone Historic House Museum
625 West Prospect ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 730-8204
Admission: There is a price, but it is unlisted at the moment since they are closed for the season.

Building for Kids

The Building for Kids is a children's museum in Appleton.  I remember going there when I was a kid and was so excited to take my own children there!  Of course, much of it has changed, and most of my favorites were gone, but they have been replaced with hours of fun for the new generation.

There is a giant tree house to explore...

Games to play...

 

Real-life equipment to try out...

And a baby/toddler area to roam freely.

There is really plenty to do to take an entire day.  They encourage you to bring a lunch, but they also give hand stamps for re-entry if you'd prefer to find lunch somewhere else.

My littles had so much fun here, and were not at all ready to go when we dragged them out the door!

Building for Kids
100 W College Avenue ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920)734-3226
Admission: $7.50/ages 1-64, $6.50/senior citizen, under 1 free

The Children's Play Gallery

We once visited the Children's Play Gallery when it was in its old location.  They have expanded!  There is so much to do there now!
 
The first thing you see when you walk in is a giant pirate ship.  So fun!

 

Behind the pirate ship, there are more play areas.   There is a market, a kitchen, a veterinarian shop (think Doc McStuffins), a playhouse, and a slide - to get to & from the vet office, of course!  They also have a quieter area with books and Legos hiding back there behind the umbrella.

 

For the littler set, there is a closed-in play area designed just for them.  There are lots of just-right toys to climb and age-appropriate toys to play with.  It's also a nice place to let them move at their own place without worrying about protecting them from the big kids.

  

Moving into the back are of the Play Gallery are more themed play areas, starting with the construction center.

 There is available any tool or material a child could need to construct a fake structure:)  Plus, don't forget to dress the part!

 

Near the building area is an art center.  Again, this is completely closed in, so wayward wanderers don't create a mess before you catch them.

There were lots and lots of art supplies, as well as project ideas.

 Here is the science area.  Our favorite was the dinosaur scene, which has trees, grass, ponds and LOT of dinosaurs to move around.  There are magnetic letters and pattern shapes for the white board.  They also have magnifying glasses to examine bugs encased in clear blocks (ew!).  There are light-up table with building sets as well.

Upstairs, the Children's Play Gallery has an Imagination Playground (with the big blue blocks to build your own play structures).  Also housed on the top level are a lunch area and party rooms.

We found the experience to be well worth the price we paid.  Especially since they are one of the few children's museum-type places I have found where the ADULTS ARE FREE!

The whole place was very tidy and quite clean.  The employees were constantly walking through putting things away.  It also helps that there are no shoes allowed, so BRING SOCKS!  If you forget, though, they do have some to borrow!

You can carry in your own food, but they ask you only eat in the designated area.

I found The Children's Play Gallery to be a phenomenally family-friendly place.  I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area.

The Children's Play Gallery
126 East Wisconsin Avenue ~ Oconomowoc, WI ~ 262-354-0819
Admission: $10/1-18 years old, Adults & Under 1 Free, membership available

Mustard Museum

The Mustard Museum in Middleton is one like no other.  It's not huge, but it's worth the stop.

(Photo credits to Jason Hensler)

The actual museum is on the lower level.  I believe they have every kind of mustard ever made.

There is also some kitschy memorabilia, as every good museum should have!

But the real fun of this museum is upstairs.  You can sample any mustard they sell - which is a ton!  They have lots of different kinds open around the store with pretzels set out to grab.  You can ask for anything you see, though!  It was fantastic!

Mustard Museum
7477 Hubbard Avenue ~ Middleton, WI ~ (800) 438-6878
Admission:Free

Preview Post: Langlade County Historical Society Museum

The Langlade County Historical Society Museum was built as Antigo's library.  It's a pretty building, but I haven't been able to find out much of what they house inside.  I would imagine it is probably pretty typical old-fashioned rural Wisconsin paraphernalia.

On the grounds, there are also an old log cabin and a locomotive that are open for touring in the summer months.

Langlade County Historical Society
404 Superior Street ~ Antigo, WI ~ (715) 627-4464
Admission: Free, with suggested donations of $5/adult & $2/child

Horicon Marsh Explorium

One blustery winter morning, my sister and I took the kids to the Horicon Marsh.  It doesn't sound like a place you'd want to spend a crummy day, but we hung out in the EXPLORIUM.  So cool.

It was a lot bigger than I imagined it would be, and SO interactive!

There was a lot of historical information local to the marsh, but there were also plenty of things for kids who were too young to care about the history, like this giant floor puzzle.

There was a pretend beaver dam to climb in, pelts to feel, and doors to open.

The highlight of our experience was the airboat simulator trip through the marsh.  It was complete with wind blowing through our hair and all!

The Explorium was definitely a fun place to explore.  Even if you are visiting with the main purpose of actually going out into the marsh, I would say it is definitely worth heading inside as well.

Horicon Marsh Explorium
N7725 Hwy 28 ~ Horicon, WI ~ (920) 387-7890
Admission: Adults $6, students $4, 4&under free

Children's Museum of Fond du Lac

Being on maternity, I had the opportunity to accompany my daughter on her daycare field trip to the Children's Museum of Fond du Lac.  It was a great time!

I had hoped to take my kiddo to this museum awhile ago, but they were closed while they were updating.  I'm not sure what the museum was like before, but we enjoyed it now.  It was smaller than some of the others I've been to.  There was plenty to keep the whole group of three- and four-year-olds occupied for the morning. 

The theme of the museum seems to be exploring the world, although I think most of the exhibits could have done a better job of really connecting to that theme.  One obvious one was the Persian Palace.

 

 My kiddo also enjoyed riding on the various modes of transportation.  That was actually what I noticed most throughout the whole museum.

 The Children's Museum also has a health area with a large climber and physical activitites.

I, for one, also appreciated the nursing area.  It is housed in the toddler area, which can be closed off to keep little ones in - or out! 

The Children's Museum of Fond du Lac is definitely worth checking out, and even though we probably tried just about everything there, it would be fun to go play again.

Children's Museum of Fond du Lac
75 W Scott St ~ Fond du Lac, WI ~ (920) 929-0707
Admission: $6, $5 seniors, under 1 free, membership available

Preview Post: Castlerock Museum

This looks to be a unique museum.  Totally fascinating for kids who are interested, complete boredom for those who are not.  Castlerock is an armory museum with a wide array of old metal gear.  This is the kind of place I would stop if we needed a break on a road trip.  Or I would send my husband with the child who was interested if we happened to be in the area ;-)

Castlerock Museum
402 S 2nd St ~ Alma, WI ~ (608) 685-4231
Admission: $6 Adults, $4 Children, Under 4 Free

Preview Post: Alma Area Museum

The Alma Area Museum is run the by the Alma Historical Society.  It's in the old teacher's college, which I think would be a neat building to see, even without the stuff inside!  It's hard to tell from their website what kinds of displays they have exactly, but I do see something about loggers, which could be neat.  It looks to be less hands-on and more of your typical historical displays.  Probably a neat little pit stop, but I wouldn't make a special trip just to visit.

Alma Area Museum
505 S 2nd St ~ Alma, WI
Admission: free

Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Betty Brinn Children's Museum is quite an extensive place!  We spent the whole day, and there was a whole lot we never got to.

My kiddo enjoyed the mock community businesses.  There were pizzas to make, buses to drive, shows to host, and more.

The indoor park was lots of fun too.

My kiddo also really enjoyed the golf ball area.  There were all sorts of ramps and such to experiment with.

Betty Brinn Children's Museum
929 E Wisconsin Ave ~ Milwaukee, WI ~ 414-390-KIDS (5437)
Admission: $8 per person, under 1 free