We said it earlier this week and we’ll say it again: The Milwaukee Public Museum as we know it will close forever on January 3, 2027. Then, in the spring of 2027, the new Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin will open its doors at 1310 N. 6th St. and take MPM’s place. Things are slowly being packed up and moved out of MPM as we speak. Get your final visits in NOW.
So what will happen to all those lovely MPM dioramas? You know, the dioramas that inspired THESE dioramas? Well, while it’s clear not every single diorama will make the move completely intact (please see THIS article for the difference between accessioned collections and non-collection items, and what MPM plans to do with them), the Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin will have dioramas. How do we know? Because MPM says so.
“Will there be dioramas in our new home, the Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin? Absolutely!” MPM says in a recent social media post. “Many will be refreshed versions of current dioramas, like the Silurian Reef and African Serengeti. There will also be walkthrough dioramas that feel familiar, like the new version of Streets of Old Milwaukee called the Milwaukee Revealed gallery. And some dioramas in the Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin will be brand new, such as the epic Torosaurus Clash that poses our Torosaurus skeleton in a fierce battle with a model of a fleshed out Torosaurus. Visitors will even be able to walk under this dynamic scene!”
So please enjoy these Current vs. New comparisons, most of them featuring previously released renderings. Maybe they’ll help assuage your diorama / new museum anxiety? Maybe? Hopefully? Just a little bit? C’mon, that Torosaurus Clash looks pretty sweet.
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