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 Fall hours: open Weds–Sun, 9 am–4 pm • Free Thurs nights, 4 pm–8 pm • Get tickets

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Momentum! campaign logo

A $3 million campaign to refresh, reinvigorate, revitalize, and say yes!

If you’ve ever watched a child in our human-sized Gerbil Wheel, you’ve seen how hard it is to get it started. Once they’ve got momentum, it’s easier to keep going. But it still requires focus, balance, fresh energy, and effort. Looking at the museum’s success over the past year, it’s fair to say we’ve got momentum!

So we’ve launched the Momentum! campaign, a new initiative raising funds to support the museum’s work and plans, $3 million in total. Read the full executive summary of the campaign.

To meet the campaign’s ambitious goals, we must partner with all our donors: from the largest corporations and philanthropists to the five-year-old rolling a quarter down the coin vortex in the lobby. 

Together we’ll strengthen the museum and be ready to meet the challenges and the opportunities ahead—those we can anticipate, and those we can’t imagine.

We invite our community to participate in the Momentum! campaign and help us refresh, reinvigorate, revitalize, and say yes to amazing opportunities!

What does the Momentum! campaign support?

Momentum! is a comprehensive campaign encompassing many areas of our operations. It is comprised of several major initiatives that fortuitously coalesced to link deferred needs with deliberate planning for future steps that will continue to drive the museum forward. View the complete financial breakdown of the campaign.

Momentum! includes a mix of high- and low-visibility elements with both near- and long-term outcomes. It is the first step in an emerging vision for the museum that will strengthen our ability to serve our community, advance our mission, and cement a robust financial foundation.

Elements of the campaign

The Nice Age Trail

$750,000 (25%)

A new, immersive nature exhibit rooted in kindness and empathy to all living things opens in summer 2024. Momentum! supports the design, construction, and first year of programming in the exhibit. Get a sneak peek of the new exhibit here.

Caretakers of Wonder

$700,000 (23%)

Protect the health of and well-being of children by addressing climate change through facility improvements and education content in this national initiative led by Madison Children’s Museum. Learn more about this groundbreaking program.

Facility Fund

$600,000 (20%)

Caring for our 94-year-old building requires a lot of planned maintenance and being ready for surprises! MCM seeks to replenish our facility fund so we can confidently care for our facility. Learn more about the history of our building.

HR Development

$425,000 (14%)

Invest in our amazing staff, including wage growth and recruitment to fill skill and capacity gaps as we continue to grow and keep pace with inflation.

Innovation Fund

$275,000 (9%)

Innovation has always been a key part of Madison Children’s Museum. Help us pilot new opportunities without creating financial exposure to general resources and programming.

Hosting InterActivity

$250,000 (8%)

Ensure our entire facility and all exhibits are in their best condition and prepare to be welcoming, inspiring hosts to over 1,000 of our professional colleagues in May 2024. Learn more.

Thank you to our supporters!

Anonymous
Peggy &
Tom Pyle
Jessica & Jim Yehle
Darcy Kind
& Marc Vitale
Veridian Homes
Foundation
American Printing
Company
The Madison Concourse Hotel
Matthew & Katie Premo
Tandem HR
The Huffman Family
SVA Certified Public Accountants, S.C.
Dane Arts
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company
Karben4 Brewing
1901 Inc.
Kyle & Chrissy
Amend
Michael & Monique
Banas
Anne Forbes
& James Lorman
Future Foam
Hausmann Group
Hooper Foundation
Kollath & Associates
CPA LLC
The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc.
Lake Ridge Bank
PASS Family Fund
Katherine & Michael Pinkert
Gaida & Robert
Vickerman
The Young Family
We also thank the 19 other households and organization who
supported the Momentum! campaign with gifts less than $1,000.
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