"Wisconsin-Happy Festival State", by Eve Phillips. My husband and I love to travel in the state of Wisconsin where we live and get great pictures on the way. My name is Laurie Kutil and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. One thing I have learned in researching each town before visiting it is that, "Every town has it's story". When I do uncover those stories by connecting with local residents, our experience becomes so much richer. In turn, sharing the stories with you brings me joy :)
What a great opportunity! We found out that the Milwaukee Public Museum has a free day every month for ALL visitors. Kohls is the sponsor. We jumped at this chance to go. We found a historic clock just outside of the building.
After checking in at the front desk, we were on our way! You can check your coat in for $1 or use a locker for 50 cents. We also got a free ticket to the Planetarium show at 11:30, there usually an extra charge for that. I have not seen one of those shows since I was a kid. It was great getting a refresher on the night sky and constellations. Also some Hubble pictures were shown. A great 25 minute show!
We enjoyed a good lunch at the café before heading back up to the first floor. The have a coffee stand too.
The museum has four floors, we just had time to see the ground, floors 1 and 2. It is a large museum so we hope to return to see the rest. On the first floor were many great exhibits, a favorite being the “Streets of Old Milwaukee” and “European Village”. It looks like Milwaukee around 1880-1910. To enhance your experience here, you can download an app to hear residents of old Milwaukee tell us about their occupations, etc. at the turn of the last century. You can only listen to the oratories through your headphones in your phone.
You enter the Milwaukee exhibit through the streetcar and exit in the back.
Let’s take a stroll through the street, you can occasionally hear horses hooves clopping.
Inside are prominent Wisconsin businesses, many still here. Usinger’s, Schlitz and Roundy’s among them. The most charming part of this exhibit was the candy store. It was real and you could buy some “penny” candy here. The store is small so only a few people could be inside at a time.
You could also go up a staircase in one of the buildings and look down below at the street. You could see the candy store to the right. The front view showed an eye doctor business, complete with a sign with eyes that appear to be looking right at you!
See the silhouette of the lady in the window? She moved in and out of view and appeared to be getting ready for a night out.
Saw a photographer taking a portrait of a lady.
Inside a general store.
High fashion for ladies around 1900.
When you reach the end of the street it transitions into the European Village, opening up to Pabst Square.
Each house surrounding the square represents a different country in Europe. Here is the Czech house from Al’s heritage.
The Russian house, my sister-in-law’s heritage. She is a first-generation American.
We spent an extended amount of time in these exhibits, they were fascinating! Now we move on to the Jack Puelicher Butterfly Garden. This sunny room had many beautiful butterflies and warm temperatures that felt good on this winter day.
Let’s watch them them in action!
A butterfly display in a case.
And this Muskrat exhibit is from 1890, like the clock outside. Very intricate detail!
It was time to go, we plan on returning as soon as we can to see what we missed. Meanwhile, enjoy this great view across the street from the museum.
