- Home
- Visit
- Exhibits
- Programs & Events
- Membership
- Support
- About
- Checkout
- Cart
- Utility
- Birthday Party Cancellation Form
- Phone Call
- Request for a Facility Rental Agreement
- Privacy Policy
- American Girl Benefit Sale
- Party Catering Form
- Event Date Request Form
- Camp Food Orders
- Flourish!
- IA24 Evening Event RSVP
- Development Events RSVP
- Development Tour
- Folder Request Form
- Development Team Test Page
- Logout
- Birthday Parties
Museum News – September 2019
The Museum is closed Sept. 2–13, School-year hours start Sept. 14
The museum will be closed for two weeks, starting on Labor Day Monday. Our annual fall maintenance weeks are our time to install new exhibits, do deep cleaning, and let our hard-working staff rest after the summer rush.
New exhibit additions:
When we reopen look for updates in many of our most popular exhibits, including the playhouse under the first-floor stairs, in the Wayback Machine on the second floor, and most particularly on the roof! The next phase of our Rooftop Ramble exhibits on sustainable energy will be added, along with changes to the rooftop to improve accessibility.
School-year schedule:
The museum will return to our school-year schedule after fall maintenance weeks: open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. The museum will be closed all Mondays, with the exception of some Madison school breaks. See our website for additional details.
Please note: due to fall maintenance weeks there will be no Free Family Night or Sensory-Friendly Museum Night in September. These programs will resume in October.
Featured Events
Museum Day
Saturday, September 21, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Madison Children’s Museum is pleased to participate in this year’s Museum Day, hosted by Smithsonian Magazine. Register online and download a ticket to get free admission for up to two people per email address to Madison Children’s Museum and other participating institutions on Saturday, September 21. You must present the ticket on your smartphone to receive free admission. Learn more and get your ticket on the Smithsonian’s website.
Adult Swim: Downtown Abbey
Friday, September 20, 6–10 p.m.
Grown-ups are invited to visit the museum and enjoy all of your favorite Adult Swim activities, with a special aristo-radical themed twist! General admission includes access to museum exhibits, live music, games, plenty of arts & crafts, and a little bit of friendly upstairs-downstairs competition. See the full list of activities and buy tickets now.
Saturday, September 28, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Celebrate the bounty of food and flowers brought to us from our gardens and animals all year long. Create art, dance, meet new animal friends, and participate in a variety of activities throughout the museum related to the fall harvest and harvest traditions. Also, visit our newly renovated Rooftop Ramble, just in time for harvest season! View the full schedule and learn more.
Friday, October 18, 7–11 p.m., at The Edgewater
Step right up for a night of elegance, mirth, and stupendous surprise! Wonder Ball is Madison’s most playful gala, benefiting Madison Children’s Museum. This whimsical, black-tie costume ball invites you into a marvel-filled world for grown-ups, all for a spectacular cause! Learn more and buy tickets now.
Meet the Museum Staff
Destany Jackson, Teen Workforce Program alum and new Discovery Guide
Destany loves making kids smile. She joined the staff of Madison Children’s Museum this summer as part of our Teen Workforce Program. This program addresses employment disparities by connecting teens with first-time job experiences, job skills training, and professional development at the museum. A current student at Madison’s La Follette High School, Destany was attracted to the opportunity because she felt she could help children and families have positive experiences. She did outstanding work with us over the summer, and we were thrilled when she agreed to stay on this fall as one of our regular staff discovery guides.
As a discovery guide, Destany will make sure everyone is safe in the museum, keep our exhibits as clean and neat as possible, and help interact with visiting families to ensure that everyone is having a good time. She tells us “My favorite part of working for the museum is getting to be a part of giving children and families a fun and amazing experience here at MCM.” Be sure to say “hi” to Destany when you see her at the museum during the weekends this fall.
Become a Museum Member!
Madison Children’s Museum membership offers more than just a year of unlimited admission; it’s your family’s invitation to exclusive events, exciting classes, special discounts, and more. And you can take your membership on the road, where you’ll get free or half-priced admission to hundreds of museums and science centers. Learn about these and other benefits and pick your membership level online.
Discounted Memberships
Families of first babies under 18 months of age are eligible for our free, First-Time Parent Membership program. Reduced-price Family Access Memberships are also available.
Madison Children’s Museum connects children with their families, their communities,
and the world beyond through discovery learning and creative play.
and the world beyond through discovery learning and creative play.
