Wild Wonders: Pressed Flower Bookmarks
2024-10-24 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get creative with colorful botanicals from the Rooftop Ramble gardens and create your very own pressed flower bookmarks.

This event is part of our Free Thursday Evenings, 4 pm–8 pm.

Lexie's Idea Lab: Spine-Tingling Tales
2024-10-24 17:00 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get your creativity flowing with Lexie in the Idea Lab! Practice different methods for generating new art projects and storytelling concepts with guidance from the Idea Machine. Today, we’ll channel the thrill of eerie accounts and supernatural stories.

This event is part of our free admission Thursday evenings, 4 pm-8 pm every week.

Music with Junebug
2024-10-25 10:30 - 11:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for Music with Junebug led by Junko Yamauchi.

This program gives toddlers and preschoolers the opportunity to sing, dance, explore instruments, and play! Music and movement activities promote brain development and connect us to our family and community.

For today’s Music with Junebug location, please ask at the desk! This event is free with general museum admission.

Clay Day!
2024-10-25 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Explore the squishy, smudgy, sculptable world of clay!

Each Friday, join us for a different drop-in clay experience in the Art Studio. We’ll work with a variety of media–ceramic clay, dough, paper clay, polymer clay, and more. This event is free with general museum admission.

Sensory Worlds with Junko
2024-10-25 13:30 - 14:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Junko in the Celebrations Room as we explore different sensory materials every week!Please note, this program location may vary. Check at the admissions desk for the most up-to-date information.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Adult Swim: Scream Queens
2024-10-25 17:30 - 21:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get ready for a screamin’ good time at Adult Swim

Celebrate the season of the witch with a campy, sequined twist! We’re working with Outreach LGBT Resource Center and Ravyn Entertainment to bring you a night of ghoulish glamor, uncanny crafts, and dreadfully good drag.

Tickets (21+ only)

$20 advance

$25 day of event

Bring 10 or more friends and get 10% off your ticket order.

Get Tickets

Featured Activities

Scream Queens Drag Review: 7–7:30 and 8–8:30 pm

Premiere Team Trivia: Sessions at 6, 7, and 8 pm

Bewitching Bling: Get your drag on in the Art Studio with ghastly, glamorous craft accessories

Glow Ghouls: Enjoy a scavenger hunt in the Wonderground with glow-in-the-dark cotton candy served after dusk

Frightful Foley Flick: Create spine-tingling sound effects to accompany a silent horror flick on the Rooftop, 7–8:30 pm

What is Adult Swim?

Adult Swim at Madison Children’s Museum borrows the age-old tradition of kicking out the kids before things get delightfully spooky. Adult Swim makes space to play like a grown-up—crafting, drinking, and screaming your way through the museum.

Read our ticket cancellation/exchange policy.

Adult Swim is presented by

MCM Roadshow: Ice Age Trail Tyke Hike (Lodi Segment)
2024-10-26 09:30 - 11:30 | Lodi High School Parking Lot, 1100 Sauk St, Lodi, WI 53555
Join MCM Roadshow at the Lodi Valley Segment of the Ice Age Trail for a slow-paced, nature-focused “hike” designed especially for young children, beginning at 10 am. Enjoy a scavenger hunt along the way, and get creative with hands-on activities after the little ones return from their nature walk! Be sure to meet in the Lodi High School parking lot, where the Tyke Hike will begin.

Madison Children’s Museum Roadshow brings mobile exhibits, maker activities, and more to community events in Madison and the surrounding area.

Saturday Art Adventures: Tiny Terror-iums
2024-10-26 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 craft our own creepy mini ecosystems in a jar, also known as “terror-iums”!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Exploration Station: Wind Tunnel Ghosties
2024-10-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create your own tissue paper ghostie and learn about air currents as you watch it float in our mini wind tunnel!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Halloween Fun with Edgewood Smile Club
2024-10-27 12:00 - 15:00
Join students from Edgewood High School’s Smile Club for piano performances and craft activities.

Baby's First Halloween
2024-10-29 09:00 - 12:00
Join us for the cutest autumn event in town: Baby’s First Halloween! The museum will be open for special hours on Tuesday, October 29, for this boppin’ baby party (ages 0-3) and their caregivers. Older siblings welcome!

All activities are included in the cost of general admission. Make sure to sign up for our FREE First-Time Parent Membership in-person or online if you’re a first-time parent with a child under 18 months old.

This event is free for MCM members; $5 for nonmembers; free for infants under 12 months

Get Tickets

Early Explorers Playgroup
2024-10-30 10:00 - 11:00, 2024-11-06 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: Ghostly Theremin Tunes
2024-10-30 11:00 - 11:30
Explore the world of music and rhythm! Join Tim each week to enjoy play-based songs, games, and stories. Today, we’ll experiment with eerie and unusual sounds we can make with a theremin!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Downtown Madison Family Halloween
2024-10-30 15:00 - 18:00
Make MCM the first stop on your trick-or-treat trip around the Capitol Square! Enjoy a free, family-oriented Halloween celebration for kids 12 yrs and younger in downtown Madison.

Join us for free playtime and outdoor activities, 3–6 pm in the Wonderground (enter on Dayton St.) Join kids’ musician Ken Lonnquist and friends for a Haunted Disco set of silly, spine-tingling tunes, 4–5 pm. This event is free to the public, no ticket required!

Messy Art with Laurie: Monster Claws
2024-10-31 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Ms. 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 use scrapey, scratchy “monster claw” tools to create unique textures in our take-home painting projects.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Free Thursday Evenings
2024-10-31 16:00 - 20:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
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 offers reduced cost admission and memberships every day to families who qualify through our Access for Everyone initiative.

Lexie's Idea Lab
2024-10-31 17:00 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get your creativity flowing with Lexie in the Idea Lab! Practice different methods for generating new art projects and storytelling concepts with guidance from the Idea Machine.

This event is part of our free admission Thursday evenings, 4 pm-8 pm every week.

Music with Junebug
2024-11-01 10:30 - 11:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for Music with Junebug, led by Junko Yamauchi!

This program gives toddlers and preschoolers the opportunity to sing, dance, explore instruments, and play. Music and movement activities promote brain development and connect us to our family and community.

For today’s Music with Junebug location, please ask at the desk! This event is free with general museum admission.

STEAM Time: Día de los Muertos Marigolds
2024-11-01 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities foster children’s creativity, ignite curiosity, encourage divergent thinking, and increase problem-solving skills as children explore the world around them. Today, we’ll explore bones, skulls, and furs from Wisconsin animals and create tissue paper marigolds to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Sahana Ajeethan

Let's Move! in the Wonderground
2024-11-01 13:00 - 14:30, 2024-11-02 13:00 - 14:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for movement games in the Wonderground! From obstacle courses to dances, group games, balance activities, and yoga, we’ll enjoy different opportunities to move our bodies every day.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Clay Day: Roll and Cut Shapes
2024-11-01 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Explore the squishy, smudgy, sculptable world of clay! Today, we’ll make creative shapes with rolled-out clay.

Each Friday, join us for a different drop-in clay experience in the Art Studio. We’ll work with a variety of media–ceramic clay, dough, paper clay, polymer clay, and more. This event is free with general museum admission.

Sensory Worlds with Junko: Sound & Hearing
2024-11-01 13:30 - 14:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States

Kids' View Photography
2024-11-01 14:30 - 15:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Capture the museum through your own “lens” and learn how to take photos on digital cameras and phones! You’ll discover fun ways to take portraits, bring new energy to still life images, and create art from your perspective.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Sensory-Friendly Halloween & Vaccination Clinic
2024-11-01 16:30 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Madison Children’s Museum welcomes children and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or sensory challenges to experience the museum during Sensory-Friendly Hours. This program aims to bring families together to learn through play in an environment that supports the unique needs of children with ASD and/or sensory challenges.

During this event, SSM Health will provide a free vaccine clinic for ages 5 and up, with medical providers who specialize in administering vaccines to children with sensory processing challenges and fear of needles. This vaccine clinic is NOT just for individuals with extra sensory needs. Each person who wants to receive a vaccine registers individually for a ten-minute session (vaccinators can take families as a group at the museum, but they must register separately). The clinic will accept all types of health insurance, and will provide vaccines free of charge to those without insurance. Please click the registration link below for details on available vaccines.A variety of food and beverages, including entrees and snacks, will be available at the Lunchbox, our pay what you can cafe. Visitors may also bring their own food.Sensory-Friendly Halloween and the vaccine clinic are free for everyone, but pre-registration is requested. This event is presented in collaboration with the Autism Society of South Central Wisconsin.

Register for Sensory-Friendly Halloween

Exploration Station: Yarn-Wrapped Sticks
2024-11-02 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-11-03 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create colorful, organic art with yarn-wrapped sticks. This tactile activity is a perfect for little ones practicing fine motor control and hand-eye coordination!

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Ana Ziengel

Saturday Art Adventures: Mini Paintings
2024-11-02 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 mini works of art: a bite-sized creative challenge for little hands and still-developing motor skills.

This event is free with general museum admission.

MCM Roadshow: G-SAFE Safe Schools, Safe Communities Conference
2024-11-02 13:30 - 14:45 | MYArts, 1055 E Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703, Madison
Meet up with MCM Roadshow at G-SAFE’s Statewide Conference on LGBTQ+ youth for educators, community leaders, youth workers, and families.

Madison Children’s Museum Roadshow brings mobile exhibits and maker activities to community events in Madison and the surrounding area.
