Highlights Archives
20 Years on Madison's Capitol Square
On April 19, the Wisconsin Historical Society's Museum celebrates 20 years of sharing Wisconsin stories at its Capitol Square location in Madison. Join us on that day for free admission and enjoy a slice of cake. Since 1986 more than 1.8 million visitors, including 500,000 schoolchildren, have enjoyed the museum's wide variety of exhibits and programs. Here is just a sampling of the museum's offerings in the last two decades:
- Three floors of permanent exhibitions telling the story of our state from prehistoric times through today
- 63 temporary exhibits covering everything from the United States Constitution and the Sterling Hall bombing to ice cream and aluminum Christmas trees
- More than 1,100 public programs and special events for adults and families
- Thousands of books and gifts from the museum's store
- Hundreds of children's educational and craft programs
- Hundreds of lunchtime lectures and presentations
- More than a dozen online exhibits
- And one wedding reception!
The state's history museum has been around in various forms for much longer. The Historical Society kept its collections in the basement of First Baptist Church from 1855 until moving to the state Capitol in 1866. The Capitol housed a number of museum galleries until they moved with the Society in 1900 to the new headquarters building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The museum resided there until moving in 1986 to its current location, the former Wolff, Kubly and Hirsig hardware store building. In the last 150 years, millions of visitors from Wisconsin and around the world have enjoyed all that the museum has to offer.
:: Posted April 17, 2006
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