MayHouseCollection

or wander down the cobblestone streets of our yesteryear city and work a real water pump in the Streets of Old Milwaukee. More recently, the Butterfly Wing has allowed visitors of all ages to stand amidst beautiful tropical butterflies from around the world and maybe even share a momentary encounter with a fragile, floating friend. And the Imax theater and planetarium round out the Museum’s incredible sensory experience, allowing people of all ages to witness large-scale movie presentations or view the night constellations in stunning perfection.

The beauty of our Milwaukee Public Museum lies in so many facets of its design—in artful presentation and skillfully replicated displays, knowledge and breadth of information, and the wealth of opportunity for discovery on many levels. The Museum’s strength lies in its abundant immersive experiences, exhibits that engage all the senses—a Central American outdoor marketplace; a vibrant rainforest; a retreating glacier; dinosaurs in battle; a lion hunt on the plains of Africa. With the Museum’s expansive and varied collection and exhibits, visitors might find something that speaks to them personally, an exhibit that inspires further exploration or prompts continued discovery, even outside the Museum walls.

Through a variety of educational opportunities, programs, tours and more, the Museum’s educators share enthusiasm and knowledge with the public. In addition to the Museum’s permanent exhibits, visitors are treated to diverse world-class traveling exhibits. Shows in recent decades have included topics such as dinosaurs, ancient Egypt, spiders and more.

Parting with the current location of a cultural institution like the Milwaukee Public Museum is a difficult, emotional process for many. The Milwaukee Public Museum has captivated generations of school children and families; indeed, people of all ages can probably name at least a handful of favorite memories housed in this world-class institution’s space.

Moving forward, the Museum, once housed in its new location, will strive to excite minds and build memories on par with those inspired by its current space. While the new space will be different, artfully crafted world-class exhibits will continue to inspire and delight visitors.

For those who hold Museum exhibits and memories dear, the challenge will be to continue to keep alive the memories of wellloved exhibits like Streets of Old Milwaukee, while transitioning into visits to the new space, minds and hearts kept open to possibility, learning, expansion and growth. While the future Milwaukee Public Museum may not create exact replicas of each of the current favorite exhibits, the hope is that the new space, with its re-imagined exhibits, will spark the same passion that the current Museum inspired for decades. n

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