In case you somehow, improbably, impossibly missed it, the current Milwaukee Public Museum will close its doors at 800 W. Wells St. on January 3, 2027. Then, sometime in early 2027, the new Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin will open its doors at 1310 N. 6th St. and officially take MPM’s place. Here’s what the exterior of the new museum looks like today:
But what about the inside of the new museum? On Thursday, top brass from MPM (Dr. Ellen Censky, President and CEO) and construction company Mortenson (Kurt Theune, Vice President and General Manager) gave members of the media a tour of the interior of the still-under-construction five-story NCMW.
The tour included a peek at an entrance vestibule dubbed the “Milwaukee Museum Center.” Censky noted that several entrances will feature the word “Milwaukee,” and that the County-owned collections will be referred to as the “Milwaukee County Collections.”
Here’s a peek at the future location of a three-story display case that will house large, currently-on-disply MPM objects that won’t be included in new galleries. Examples include a giant mastodon and the copper doors to the European Village. (Reminder: the new museum will have dioramas.)
Here’s the future location of the Puelicher Butterfly Vivarium, which boasts a frankly stunning view of downtown Milwaukee.
And here’s the roof itself, which will be open to paying museum attendees, weather permitting.
All in all, NCMW looks…pretty damn impressive! And encouraging! So with that bit of editorializing out of the way, we’ll end things with a bunch of photos and leave the comments to you, the readers. Enjoy the photos, prepare for the future, and visit MPM while you still can!
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