Madison Children's Museum

Music with Junebug
2025-04-25 10:30 - 11:00, 2025-05-02 10:30 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | 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 admissions desk or check the Welcome Wall in our lobby. This event is free with general museum admission.

STEAM Time: Water Explorers
2025-04-25 11:00 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Dive into the hidden world of teeny tiny critters that thrive in our local waterways. Give your fine motor skills a workout while sampling lake water and get a reeeeeally close look at microorganisms with our microscope.

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: Roll and Cut Shapes
2025-04-25 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! 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
2025-04-25 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-05-02 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.

April Sensory-Friendly Night
2025-04-25 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 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and sensory challenges to experience the museum during sensory-friendly hours, free of charge. This program aims to bring families together to learn through play in an environment that supports the unique needs of children with ASD.

This program is free to all attendees! Pre-registration for the event is recommended, but not required.

Register Now

Major support provided by

Let's Move! with Abby
2025-04-26 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-04-30 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-01 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-02 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for movement games and activities! From obstacle courses to dances, group games and balance activities, we’ll enjoy different opportunities to move our bodies every day. Program location is subject to change, depending on the weather. Please check our Welcome Wall for the most up-to-date location information.This event is free with general museum admission.

MCM Roadshow: Earth Day Every Day 2025
2025-04-26 10:00 - 14:00 | Middleton Community Church, 645 Schewe Rd., Middleton, WI, Madison, 53703
Meet up with MCM Roadshow at Earth Day Every Day 2025: Sustainability Fair and Electric Vehicle Show. This family-friendly event includes free admission, free popcorn, free drawings, live music, and activities for families, along with exhibitors from environmental organizations and eco-friendly businesses, and owner-shown electric cars.

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

Exploration Station: Seed Paper
2025-04-26 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-04-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Use recycled materials and native prairie seeds to craft handmade seed paper. Once the paper dries, spread the joy by creating special greeting cards or start your own pollinator garden at home.

This event is free with the price of general admission.

Saturday Art Adventures: Shrinky Plastic Flowers
2025-04-26 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. We’ll offer projects in a wide variety of art media and art processes for all ages and abilities.This event is free with general museum admission.

Puppet Parade: Crafting Creatures
2025-04-27 13:00 - 15:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join Art Studio staff and your fellow crafters for a collaborative art experience! Help generate large-scale puppets and costumes for use at special MCM festivities (Summerpalooza and beyond!)

This event is free with general museum admission. Image credit: Eleanor Ford

Nice Age Tales
2025-04-30 10:30 - 11:00 | 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.

Music Time with Tim
2025-04-30 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.

Tales with Teresa
2025-05-01 09:30 - 10:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for story time and hear Teresa read some of her favorite books using her DynaVox. With this speech-generating device, Teresa shares stories that help us build listening skills, develop early literacy, and celebrate each other’s differences.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Free Thursday Evenings
2025-05-01 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.

Free Night: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration
2025-05-01 16:00 - 20:00
Join MCM for a free celebration featuring performances from Beni Daiko, Mukula Dance, and the Zhong Yi Lion Dancers, hands-on activities with UW student groups HASA, SEASA, and CHASA, refreshments from Halo Halo, and more!Support for MCM cultural heritage celebrations provided by Dane Arts and Madison Arts Commission.

Early Explorers Playgroup
2025-05-02 09:30 - 10:30 | 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.

Live from the Wonderground: Christo's Novelty Combo
2025-05-02 17:00 - 20:00
Every month this summer, enjoy free concerts at MCM featuring an eclectic mix of Madison bands. Adults get to dance and chat, kids climb and play, and caregivers enjoy low-stress social time in an outdoor play space like no other!

Tonight we’re welcoming Christo’s Novelty Combo, an ensemble led by award-winning instrumentalist Christo Ruppenthal. Christo’s Novelty Combo melds exciting, steel guitar-centered jazz and Django Reinhardt influences with vintage “Hawaiian Craze”-inspired tunes. Be sure to grab supper from Halo Halo food truck and a dreamy dessert from Stellie’s Ice Cream cart, both offering for-purchase options in the Wonderground.

Sign up in-person for art tours highlighting vibrant works throughout the museum by local fiber artist Renee Roeder Earley, 6:15 pm and 7 pm.

Live from the Wonderground admission is free! You may choose to provide a donation at the door, but no entry fee is required. Proceeds benefit the work of Madison Children’s Museum and allow us to bring accessible programming to our community. All tickets are at the door, no advance registration. Please enter at the Wonderground gate on E. Dayton Street, by the Log Cabin.

Learn more and view upcoming Live from the Wonderground events.

Live from the Wonderground brings music, dancing, food, and drinks for all ages to downtown Madison’s most creative playground, the Wonderground. This first Friday concert series features local bands, drinks, light snacks, and fresh air fun. Events take place from 5 to 8 pm, with bands performing two sets from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Free MCM Tour: Celebrating Renee Roeder-Earley
2025-05-02 18:00 - 19:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Beaver logs, sock bikes, serpentine slide scales, and costumes galore! Join us for a special Madison Children’s Museum tour highlighting the work of fiber artist Renee Roeder, who contributed whimsical stitchery to countless exhibits as part of the museum’s team of local artists and makers over the past 30 years. Renee passed away in February 2025, much too soon, but her work lives on and continues to inspire children and staff at MCM every day.

Join museum staff for a tour highlighting some of her many pieces created for MCM and our community’s children. Free tours will begin at 6:15 and 7 pm outdoors in the Wonderground, during our Live from the Wonderground all-ages concert series. No registration required!

May Member Morning
2025-05-03 08:00 - 09:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Enjoy a full hour of exclusive, members-only playtime in the museum before things get busy! Indulge in complimentary coffee and free treats to accompany the lovely spring morning (while supplies last.)

Not a member yet? Become one today! Membership starts immediately, so you can visit for free anytime the museum is open. Learn more about membership.

Outer Space Weekend at MCM
2025-05-03 09:00 - 2025-05-04 16:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
May the fourth be with you! Join us as we celebrate the galaxy’s geekiest holiday with a weekend of intergalactic programming and events, including an out-of-this-world display of intricate Star Wars-themed LEGO sculptures courtesy of our creative friends at WisLUG.

Saturday

Star Wars Lego Exhibition, 11 am-4 pm, Celebrations Room. Join the Wisconsin Lego Users Group for a display of intergalactic Lego sculptures
Solar System Scavenger Hunt, 9 am-4 pm. Search for scale-model planets as you voyage throughout the museum today.
Let’s Move! Space Cadet Training, 10-11:30, Wonderground. Train to be a space cadet in the Wonderground! Join us as we ride rocket ships through space and train to become astronauts.
Exploration Station: Rocket Building, 10:30 am-noon, Rooftop Ramble. This STEM program will let you be an engineer as you build a rocket and test it.
Sunday (May the Fourth Be With You!)

Star Wars Lego Exhibition, 10 am-2 pm, Celebrations Room. Join the Wisconsin Lego Users Group for a display of intergalactic Lego sculptures.
Solar System Scavenger Hunt, 9 am-4 pm. Search for scale-model planets as you voyage throughout the museum today.
Exploration Station: Rocket Building, 10:30 am-noon, Rooftop Ramble. This STEM program will let you be an engineer as you build a rocket and test it.
Space Art Adventures, 1-3 pm, Art Studio. Join Lexie for out-of-this-world interstellar crown making!This event is free with general museum admission.

Let's Move! with Abby: Space Training
2025-05-03 10:00 - 11:30 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
Join us for movement games and activities! From obstacle courses to dances, group games and balance activities, we’ll enjoy different opportunities to move our bodies every day. Today we’ll train to be space cadets in the Wonderground! Join us as we ride rocket ships through the space and enjoy fun movement training.Program location is subject to change, depending on the weather. Please check our Welcome Wall for the most up-to-date location information.This event is free with general museum admission.

Exploration Station: Rooftop Rockets
2025-05-03 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-05-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Madison Children’s Museum, 100 N. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI, 53704, United States
3… 2… 1… Blast off with some out-of-this-world rocket science during Outer Space Weekend! Launch your very own air-propelled rocket from the Rooftop Ramble. How many fins fly the farthest? Does your rocket need a nose cone? Test out different features and see how high your designs can fly.

This event is free with general museum admission.

Space Art Adventures
2025-05-04 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! Today, we’ll create out-of-this-world crowns and accessories.

This event is free with general museum admission.
