Milwaukee County Historical Center
(414) 273-8288
Admission: Free
Mon.-Fri. 9:30-5
Sat.10-5; Sun. 1-5. Closed holidays
The museum features a trip back in time. On display are military items, women's fashions, a panorama painter's gallery, firefighting equipment, an early 20th century pharmacy, physician's office and bank. Allow 1 hour minimum

 

Milwaukee Art Museum
(414) 224-3200
750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive
overlooks Lake Michigan
(Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-5pm
Thurs noon-9pm, Sun noon-5pm)
Admission charged.
under 12, free when with adult
Houses more than 20.000 works dating from the 15th century. Of particular interest are the collections of the Old Masters; 19th and 20th century European and American art and works by modern artists. Also featured are a collection of Haitian art, American folk art and the Prairie School archives of Frank Lloyd Wright. the 17th and 18th century American decorative arts are also featured.

 

Milwaukee Museum Center Complex
710 W Wells St
(414) 224-3200
Admission charged.
for all three attractions listed below

 

(1) Milwaukee Public Museum
(414) 278-2700
daily 9am-5pm
Admission charged. 3 and under Free
In this museum, histories and mysteries of the earth, nature and humankind are imaginatively presented through dioramas such as "The Streets of Old Milwaukee" complete with lamplit lanes. A battle of the dinosaurs as well as a life sized tyrannosaurus rex and stegosaurus. Restaurant and vending machines on premises. Wheelchair and stroller rentals available.

 

(3) Discovery World - The James Lovell Museum of Science, Economics and Technology
815 N. James Lovell Street
Daily 9-5
(414) 765-0777
Admission Charged
features more than 150 "touch and do" exhibits in the fields of science, economics and technology of particular interest to children ages 10 and up. Allow 1 hour minimum. Weekends feature science demonstrations (children under 5 not admitted) and laser light shows.

 

Masterpieces from 25 Centuries
Milwaukee Art Museum
414-224-3200
Highlights from the Permanent Collection" This exhibition features the museum's major works in a new installation that will undoubtedly surprise visitors, particularly familiar with the MAM layout which has remained virtually unchanges since 1988. The most important and best-loved works will be moved from their current locations to the museum's upper level.

 

Permanent Collection
Charles Allis Art Museum
Open Wed.-Sun. 1-5p.m.
414-278-8295
Completed in 1911, the Tudor-style mansion is intact with original furnishings and is undoubtedly was one of the finest of the many mansions that lined Milwaukee's most fashionable street in the elegant Edwardian era. Its worldwide art collection spanning 2,000 years includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Greek and Roman art objects; fine French, English and American period furniture; Renaissance bronzes; and landscapes by major 19th and 20th century French and American painters.

 

"Puelicher Butterfly Wing
Milwaukee Public Museum<
414-278-2702
Get an up-close look at hundreds of live butterflies in a tropical setting in this two-story, glass-enclosed butterfly garden. A total of 20 domestic and tropical species including, the electric blue "Morpho," fly freely in Wisconsin's only permanent tropical butterfly garden, stopping to rest on a leaf or suck nectar through its proboscis foliage, and will be kept at a constant temperature and humidity throughout all of Wisconsin's four seasons. Complementing the garden is a learning gallery, with hands-on interactive stations and examples of science at work. Specimens from the Museum's world-class Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) collection are showcased, along with the research of Museum scientists.

 

Sunday Villa Tours
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
1st & 3rd Sundays, 2-4p.m.
414-271-3656
Docent-guided tours of the Villa's permanent collection. Also view the progress of the Garden Renaissance Project to create a 16th century Tuscan style garden.

 

Villa Terrace Permanent Exhibitions
Villa TerraceDecorative Arts Museum
414-271-3656
The Italian Renaissance-style villa designed and built by architect, David Adler, overlooks Lake Michigan. View period rooms with decorative arts from the 15th through 20th centuries, fine art by Spanish, Dutch, Flemish and Italian painters, "Wrought Iron Artistry by Cyril Colnik (1871-1958), 'the Tiffany of wrought iron masters,'" and the Ogden Dollhouse Gallery which showcases a three-story dollhouse and antique children's toys.

 

Sunday Guided Tours
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
1st & 3rd Sundays, 2-4p.m.
414-271-3656
Docent-guided tours of the Villa Terrace mansion, its collection and gardens begin in January. Free with museum admission.

 

Summer Train Rides
Through Oct. 31
East Troy Electric Railroad Museum
East Troy, WI; Sat. and Sun.
11a.m.-4p.m.
262-548-3837
Ride full-size antique streetcars and interurbans over Wisconsin's landmark electric railroad between East Troy and the Elegant Farmer.