New Exhibit Opening: The Milky Way Dairy Bar

Travel back in time with us to the 1930s and Madison’s thriving ice cream scene in our newest exhibit, The Milky Way Dairy Bar.

Bancroft Dairy Bar on Park Street, c. 1930, Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, Image 3092

With Schoep’s Ice Cream on the east side and several dairy bars on State Street, kids in pre-war Madison had a lot of good choices where they could find classic flavors like butterscotch, mint chip, and strawberry. Here at the museum we’re re-creating a vintage dairy bar in our “Window to the Past” space next to the front desk.

Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, Image 16511

Visit the exhibit and… Find out how much an ice cream cone cost in 1935. Balance as many ice cream scoops on top of a cone as you can. Play the part of soda jerk. Create a wacky new ice cream flavor. And assemble a giant ice cream sundae (invented, by some accounts, in Two Rivers, Wisconsin).

McCoy’s Dairy Bar on State Street, c. 1930, Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, Image 14981

The Milky Way Dairy Bar exhibit will open during Free Family Night, Wednesday, February 7, 5 to 8 p.m. In honor of the exhibit, our friends at the Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream are donating individual cups of ice cream, free to attendees at Free Family Night, while supplies last.