day trips

zoos | museums | other fun trips |

Zoos

International Crane Foundation
PO Box 447
Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913
Phone: (608) 356-9462
The International Crane Foundation (ICF) works worldwide to conserve cranes and the wetland and grasslands communities on which they depend. ICF is dedicated to providing experience, knowledge, and inspiration to involve people in resolving threats to these ecosystems.

Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens
10001 West Blue Mound Rd
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
Phone: (414) 771-3040 / (414) 771-3040
The Milwaukee County Zoo is considered among the finest Zoos in the country. It is located on 200 wooded acres and is home to approximately 2500 animals, representing 300 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.

Museums

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium Dubuque, Iowa - Enjoy dynamic aquariums, historical exhibits and a stroll through the wetlands and boatyard. Each visit is a truly interactive experience where visitors can get "up close and personal" with live critters, become barge pilots, and control locks and dams. Tour the steamboat William M. Black and watch as a boat is launched into the Mississippi River.

Discovery Center Museum Rockford, IL - Full of over 250 exciting hands-on exhibits spread over a two-floor area. Out in the museum's backyard, visitors can explore Rock River Discovery Park, a giant, multi-level playground with a hands-on twist! Throughout the year, Discovery Center displays an array of special traveling exhibitions. The museum also hosts a variety of special events and programs throughout the year.

Mid Continent Railway Museum - North Freedom, WI. My toddler LOVED the train ride, conductor, tickets, and squishing the coin. He still talks about it daily 6 weeks later. Only about a 1 hour drive from Madison.

Circus World Museum
426 Water Street (State Highway 113)
Baraboo, Wisconsin
Phone: (608) 356-0800
Collects, preserves, and interprets archival material and artifacts relating to the history of the American circus.

Children's Museum of La Crosse
207 5th Avenue South
La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601
Phone: (608)784-2652
Three floors of exhibits allow visitors to enjoy exciting, interactive adventures that stimulate wonder, exploration, and imagination about the world around them. Imagine...tiny hands changing the course of a river... a family learning together how a human heart works -- from inside a giant model...a six-year old experimenting with light and shadows...a toddler learning through play...a team of firefighters, some with pacifiers. The possibilities are endless: there is no limit to a child's imagination!

Betty Brinn Children's Museum
929 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Phone: (414) 390-KIDS
The purpose of the Betty Brinn Children's Museum is to enrich the lives of all children and their families through hands-on learning experiences in a uniquely child-oriented environment.

Milwaukee Public Museum - Tour the Museum's 150,000 square feet of exhibit space to visit Africa, Asia, Europe, the Arctic, South and Middle America, the Pacific Island and a Costa Rican rainforest. Check out the live butterfly exhibit...or the IMAX. My preschooler LOVES both the bugs and butterflies (not to mention dinosaur bones).

other fun day trips

Little Amerricka - Located between Milwaukee and Madison, Little Amerricka offers over 20 rides in the perfect country setting for an enjoyable day of non-stop fun. Little A-Merrick-A offers go-karts, and 19 holes of adventurous miniature golf. Kids, parents, and grandparents will all thrill as they take a scenic ride on Wisconsin’s Premier Light Railway. Passengers will see ducks, geese, llamas, peacocks, sheep, swan, emus, long horn, a watusi bull, and even zebra. Your family can enjoy over 20 rides in the summer. Ride the Pumpkin Train in the fall.

Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory - (The Domes)
524 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215 (414) 649-9800
Experience a desert oasis, a tropical jungle and special floral gardens . . .
all in one afternoon! The incredible diversity of plantlife you will encounter reminds us all of the Earth's unique diversity of plant and animal species so very vital to our own survival. Come to the Arid Dome, Tropical Dome and the Floral Show Dome with gardens of color. Five seasonal displays each year.