Madison Children's Museum

Saturday Evening Bonus Hour 4–5 pm
2024-03-23 16:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-30 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
This winter, enjoy a full extra hour of play on Saturday afternoons! We are open 8 am to 5 pm every Saturday through March 2024.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Exploration Station: Wet Felting
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create imaginative pieces of art by shaping wool fibers into your own free-form designs.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Let's Make! with Lexie
2024-03-24 13:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-31 13:00 - 15:00
Explore new materials and creative techniques through facilitated art activities and bring home hand-made treasures. Projects vary each week and may include sculpture, painting, comics, printmaking, and more!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Open for Spring Break!
2024-03-25 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-26 09:00 - 16:00
MCM is open every day March 24-31 to offer extra opportunities for play and learning while school is out. The museum will be hopping, so book tickets in advance to save $1 per person on full-price admission.

Make the most of your visit with our special run of Exploration Station programs, and dress for the outdoors to enjoy some fresh air in the Wonderground. View our calendar for the full schedule of Spring Break drop-in events!

Exploration Station: Printmaking
2024-03-25 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Explore the art and history of printmaking with Charlotte Cummins, art educator and MCM’s Director of Community Partnerships.

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Exploration Station: Pollinator Seed Balls
2024-03-26 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create seed balls using a native pollinator seed mix grown on the museum’s Rooftop Ramble! Find out what it takes to plant pollinator gardens, and gain a better understanding of plants’ life cycle from seed to flower.

This event is free with the price of general admission. Image credit: Chicago Community Gardeners Association

Exploration Station: Mini Fairy Garden
2024-03-27 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Use a variety of materials and textures to create your own whimsical fairy garden.

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Exploration Station: Marvelous Marble Mazes
2024-03-28 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Make a custom marble maze using paper materials and your own ingenuity!

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Free Thursday Evenings
2024-03-28 16:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-04 16:00 - 20:00
Visit MCM for free every Thursday evening, 4–8 pm!

Enjoy extended hours each Thursday, completely free of charge. Please check in at the admissions desk when you visit during free hours.

Looking for more affordable ways to visit? During the rest of the week, MCM also offers heavily discounted admission and memberships to families who qualify through our Access for Everyone initiative.

Wild Wonders: Animal Puppets
2024-03-28 17:00 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Celebrate “Something on a Stick” Day by making popsicle stick puppets of your favorite animals!

Image credit: Jamie Bare

Open Art Studio
2024-03-28 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-04-04 17:00 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Choose your own art adventure—drawing, sculpting, cartooning, and more! Drop by the Art Studio classroom for open-ended creative opportunities, facilitated by our talented staff.

This event is free and open to all ages.

STEAM Time: Spring Planting
2024-03-29 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Decorate your own custom pot and start a plant for your summer garden at home.

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: The Preserve At Chocorua

Exploration Station: Make and Take Maracas
2024-03-29 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create your own percussive musical instrument, maracas, and take them home with you!

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Saturday Morning Early Hour
2024-03-30 08:00 - 09:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Give your weekend a bright and early beginning at MCM! Enjoy early hours starting at 8 am, every Saturday through March 30. If you’ve got little kids in the family, we know you’re probably up anyway, so come downtown and let them climb the walls (literally, in our Hodge Podge Mahal climber.)

Extended Saturday mornings are included with general museum admission and will continue through Spring 2024.

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Exploration Station: Planting Shiitake Mushrooms
2024-03-30 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Help staff inoculate mycelium into wooden logs to grow shiitake mushrooms, and learn how to plant edible fungi at home! Please note, this activity may include supervised and closely guided use of a hammer.

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Distant Hill Farms

Saturday Art Adventures: Clothespin People
2024-03-30 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Dive into an exciting drop-in art experience each week with Laurie and our Art Studio team. Embark on projects with a wide variety of art media and processes for all ages and abilities. Materials are included—and the best part? We take care of cleanup! Today we’ll create little pals with wooden clothespins.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Exploration Station: Golden Egg Art
2024-03-31 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Foster your creativity and decorate a golden egg with vibrant colors.

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Early Explorers Playgroup
2024-04-03 10:00 - 11:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Social time for babies and their grown-ups!

This playgroup is thoughtfully designed for our earliest visitors. We will provide a space for infants and toddlers (2 years and under) and their caregivers to explore and play together, and engage in activities that support various aspects of child development. Parents and caregivers will have the opportunity to connect with one another over a variety of topics. Come meet other families and make new friends!

This event will be held in the Celebrations Room and is free with general museum admission.

Music Time with Tim: I Can Count!
2024-04-03 11:00 - 11:30
Explore the world of music and rhythm! Join Tim in the Celebrations room each week to enjoy play-based songs, games, and stories. Today we’ll practice counting with numbers, rhythm, movement, and music.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Playdough Party with Junko
2024-04-03 13:30 - 14:30
Join Junko each Wednesday to create your own scented playdough that’s a squishy, smush-able sensory delight.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Super Friends Club: Spring Thursdays 2024
2024-04-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Drop-off class for preschoolers on Thursdays

Come to the museum and practice becoming a Super Friend! Speaking to new people, taking turns, and making friends are new skills for 3 and 4-year-olds. Super Friends Club offers a preschool-style group experience within the museum. Guided by MCM’s Early Education Manager Heather, Super Friends Club gives kids a chance to practice critical social skills and cooperative play with new activities each week.

While the Super Friends are playing, caregivers can relax in MCM’s cafe, enjoy our tranquil Rooftop, or explore the exhibits with a younger or older sibling. Best for ages 3 through 4 and potty-trained. This $40 class has 8 sessions over 9 weeks (no session on May 16), and requires online registration. The Super Friends class fee does not include base museum admission.

Dates: Apr 4–May 30 (no class on May 16)

Price: $40 for 8 sessions

REGISTER NOW

Messy Art with Laurie: Tie Dye Flowers
2024-04-04 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Laurie and our Art Studio staff for a weekly drop-in art experience designed for MCM’s youngest visitors and their caregivers. Through open-ended & process-based projects, empower your little artist to freely explore materials and art-making with their senses. And the best part? We take care of cleanup! Today, we’ll create vibrant tie dye flowers.

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Sarah McClelland

Sensory Worlds with Junko
2024-04-04 13:30 - 14:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Junko in the Urb Garden as we explore different sensory materials every week!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Wild Wonders: Seed Planting
2024-04-04 17:00 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Decorate a paper cup and plant seeds inside from the Rooftop Ramble. Take your plant home and watch it grow!

STEAM Time: Making Fossils
2024-04-05 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Learn how ancient life was preserved over time, and create your own cast fossils out of clay.

Join us each week for new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities. These hands-on programs foster creativity, ignite curiosity, encourage divergent thinking, increase problem-solving skills, and offer new ways for kids to explore the world around them.

This event is free with general museum admission.
