Madison Children's Museum

Sensory Worlds with Junko: Sight
2024-11-15 13:30 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | 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.

LGBTQ+ Free Family Night
2024-11-15 17:00 - 20:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Madison Children’s Museum with PFLAG and GSAFE for a FREE evening of community-building, entertainment, local food, and fun for our LGBTQ+ families and community members!Engage in theatrical storytelling with Cass Marie Domino, sample pastries from The Baked Lab, and enjoy interactive programming from the Wisconsin Historical Museum, UW LGBTQ+ Archives, Madison Public Library, Madison Reading Project, and more.

Activities & Programs

Theatrical Storytime with Cass Marie Domino, 6 pm & 6:45 pm, Wildernest

Button-Making with the Madison Public Library, Floor 2

LGBTQ+ History with the Wisconsin Historical Museum, Floor 2

Free Bakery Samples from The Baked Lab, Lobby

Identity Zines, Celebrations Room

Shrinky Dinks Crafts, Art Studio

Community Drawing Wall, Art Studio

Queer Luminaries Scavenger Hunt, All Floors

Resources for Families

UW Madison LGBTQ+ Archives Tabling, Floor 2

PFLAG Tabling, Floor 2

GSAFE Tabling, Floor 2

Madison Reading Project Tabling

Register Now

Let's Move! in the Wonderground
2024-11-16 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-11-20 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-11-21 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-11-22 13:00 - 14:30, 2024-11-23 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.

Exploration Station: Botanical Bookmarks
2024-11-16 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-11-17 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create your own one-of-a-kind bookmark with dried blooms plucked from the museum’s rooftop garden.

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Saturday Art Adventures: Paper Marbling
2024-11-16 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. We’ll offer projects in a wide variety of art media and art processes for all ages and abilities. Today, we’ll create our own decorated paper using a marbled painting technique.This event is free with general museum admission.

Let's Make! with Lexie
2024-11-17 13:00 - 15:00, 2024-11-24 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.

Nice Age Tales
2024-11-20 10:00 - 10:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for a story and circle time that connects children to kindness and nature. Sing songs, interact with puppets, listen to a story, and move your body in this interactive weekly program.

This event will be held in the Nice Age Trail exhibit and is free with general museum admission.

Early Explorers Playgroup
2024-11-20 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
2024-11-20 11:00 - 11:30, 2024-11-27 11:00 - 11:30
Explore the world of music and rhythm! Join Tim each week to enjoy play-based songs, games, and stories.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Jump 'n Jive with Junko and Abby
2024-11-20 13:00 - 14:30
Join Junko and Abby in the Wonderground each Wednesday for movement and music games!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Messy Art with Laurie
2024-11-21 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!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Free Thursday Evenings
2024-11-21 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
2024-11-21 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.

Wild Wonders: Volcano VR and Beyond
2024-11-21 17:00 - 19:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Use virtual reality headsets to discover various sweeping natural scenes, including active volcanoes and even outer space.

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

Music with Junebug
2024-11-22 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: Making Fossils
2024-11-22 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get out your picks and brushes–it’s paleo time! Learn how ancient life became preserved in rock, and create your own mold 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.

Clay Day: Clay Masks
2024-11-22 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 craft our very own mysterious clay masks.

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: Taste
2024-11-22 13:30 - 14:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States

Badgerland Girl Scouts Night at the Museum - Registration Closed
2024-11-22 17:00 - 20:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
It’s Night at the Museum just for Girl Scouts! Meet up with other GS sisters to explore and discover all the delights inside and outside, from the Down Under to the Rooftop Ramble. Explore hands-on exhibits including Wildernest, Possible-opolis, Art Studio, Rooftop Ramble, Wonderground, and the museum’s newest exhibit, the Nice Age Trail. Make time for the hands-on art and science activity stations set up especially for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors, but all ages will enjoy the Wind Tunnel Engineering, Printmaking, and Nature Miniatures.

You can arrive any time after 5 PM but no later than 7 PM to allow enough to make it through the museum. Don’t forget to complete the museum scavenger hunt to earn your Madison Children’s Museum Fun Patch! This event is not a drop-off event; adults to meet safety ratios.

Event Price: $15 per Girl/ $15 per Adult

Badge/Patch: Madison Children’s Museum Fun PatchGirl Scouts Will:– Explore and discover interactive exhibits throughout the Madison Children’s Museum, including the Wildernest, Possible-opolis, Art Studio, and Rooftop Ramble.– Participate in hands-on art and science activities like Wind Tunnel Engineering, Printmaking, and Nature Miniatures.– Complete a museum scavenger hunt to earn the Madison Children’s Museum Fun Patch.

Registration Closed

Exploration Station: UW Conservation Biology Society
2024-11-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join our friends from UW’s student chapter of the Conservation Biology Society and find new ways to explore your environment.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Saturday Art Adventures: Sand Castles
2024-11-23 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 bring a bit of bygone summer into the Art Studio with sand castle creations.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Exploration Station: Tree Cookie Mosaics
2024-11-24 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create your own nature mosaics using colorful art materials, mod podge, and tree cookie rounds.

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Delia Randall

Kids' View Photography
2024-11-27 13:00 - 14:00 | 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.
