Madison Children's Museum

Music Sprouts with Junko
2024-12-19 13:30 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Music and movement for preschoolers!

Join Junko learn and experience to trial for registered class designed especially for 3-5. We’ll focus on singing together, feeling rhythm and music in our bodies, and exploring instruments. It’s a wonderful way to get out of the house and connect with your child through music and movement.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Free Thursday Evenings
2024-12-19 16:00 - 20:00, 2024-12-26 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
2024-12-19 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: Winter Concert
2024-12-20 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. Today, we’ll enjoy a special winter concert with MCM staff ringing bellplate renditions of your favorite holiday tunes.This event is free with general museum admission.

STEAM Time: Cinnamon Ornaments
2024-12-20 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Create fragrant and festive ornaments using cinnamon sticks for the holidays!

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, build problem-solving skills, and offer new ways for kids to explore the world around them.

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Natalie Vecchione

Clay Day: Ceramic Ornaments
2024-12-20 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 create colorful handmade ornaments with ceramic.

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. Image credit: Elsie Larson

Sensory Worlds with Junko
2024-12-20 13:30 - 14:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Junko 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.

Holiday Gift-Making Station
2024-12-21 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-12-21 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Looking for handmade gifts that’ll bring the holiday cheer? Come pop into the Art Studio classroom! Make a winter solstice lantern to brighten the darkest day of the year, and festoon a custom decoupage ornament with layers of festive images.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Hot Chocolate Bar!
2024-12-21 11:00 - 12:30, 2024-12-28 11:00 - 12:30 | WI
Enjoy this sweet, warming treat in festive style! Deck your cups of piping cocoa with marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, and other cheery toppings in the Wonderground’s Down Under.

Holiday Gift-Making: Tea Towels
2024-12-22 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-12-22 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Looking for handmade gifts that’ll bring the holiday cheer? Join Junko in the Art Studio Classroom to create custom printed tea towels for the holiday season.

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Cami Graham

Museum Closed - Dec 25, 2024
2024-12-25 00:00 - 23:59 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
MCM will be closed on December 25, 2024, for the holidays.

The museum will re-open on Thursday, December 26, at 9 am! December 26 kicks off our Winter Wonder Weeks programming, including festive acivities, special seasonal parties, cozy concerts, and 11 consecutive days of museum fun thru Sunday, January 5!

Glow Zone Adventures: Winter Dance Party
2024-12-26 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get into the Glow Zone! MCM’s Celebrations Room will be bathed in UV blacklight to become a special glow-in-the-dark playspace for Winter Wonder Weeks (Dec 26 thru Jan 5). Join us for daily drop-in programs that feature fun with fluorescence. Wear your brightest whites and neons for the maximum Glow Zone effect! This event is free with general museum admission.

Glow Zone Adventures: Spin Art
2024-12-27 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States

Glow Zone Adventures: Spin Art
2024-12-28 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Get into the Glow Zone! MCM’s Celebrations Room will be bathed in UV blacklight to become a special glow-in-the-dark playspace for Winter Wonder Weeks (Dec 26 thru Jan 5). Join us for daily drop-in programs that feature fun with fluorescence. Wear your brightest whites and neons for the maximum glowy effect! This event is free with general museum admission.

Kwanzaa Concert with Atimevu
2024-12-28 14:00 - 15:00 | WI
Join Atimevu Drum and Dance Ensemble (featuring MCM’s Volunteer Coordinator, Tim Gruber, and Nice Age Trail sculptor, Djam Vivie!) for a concert of traditional Ghanaian music in celebration of Kwanzaa.This event is free with general museum admission.

Glow Zone Adventures: Unicorns
2024-12-29 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-12-30 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States

Let's Make! with Lexie: Bottlecap Magnets
2024-12-29 13:00 - 15:00 | WI
Explore new materials and creative techniques through facilitated art activities and bring home hand-made treasures and trinkets. Projects vary each week and may include sculpture, painting, comics, printmaking, and more! Today, we’ll create eclectic, colorful magents with recycled soda bottle caps!

This event is free with general museum admission.

Yid Vicious Hanukkah Concert
2024-12-29 14:00 - 15:00 | WI
Join Madison’s locally-grown klezmer band for a family holiday concert in the Wildernest! This event is free with general museum admission, no registration necessary.

Baby New Year Party
2024-12-31 09:00 - 10:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Madison’s cutest New Years celebration kicks off bright and early this morning! Meant for littles aged 0-3 years, this party will feature a Baby New Year photo op, a toddler dance mix led by Rachelle Fochs of Isthmus Dance Collective, and three countdowns (toddlers love repetition!) at 9:30, 10, and 10:30 am.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Glow Zone Adventures: Snowflakes
2024-12-31 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-01-01 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States

Exploration Station: NYE Button-Making
2024-12-31 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Capture your hopes for the new year by using your artistic skills to make a unique button!

This event is free with general museum admission.

NYE Wonderground Dance Party
2024-12-31 14:00 - 15:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Are your kids not quite ready to stay up until midnight? Bid farewell to 2024 with the most bedtime-friendly New Year’s Eve party in Madison! This free dance party begins at 2 pm, with early New Year’s countdowns at 2:30, 3, and 3:30 pm.

Bundle up and boogie down in the Wonderground with family-friendly DJ beats. Embrace the arrival of the new year with party favors, festive beverages, Auld Lang Syne, a 2025 photo opportunity, and Madison’s only Human Ball Drop featuring Stephanie Richards of Madison Circus Space.

This event is free with general museum admission.
