It ends up that the Jelly Belly Tour isn’t the only fun family-friendly thing to do in the Kenosha area. In fact, Kenosha, Wisconsin has a wealth of fascinating family-friendly museums.
This year is the Kenosha Public Museum’s 75th anniversary and visiting is a real treat. The museum’s collection consists of more than 90,000 natural science, history, art and artifacts and specimens. Some of the highlights of this natural sciences and fine and decorative arts museum includes the significant mammoth exhibits. The Schaefer mammoth, named for the Paris, Wisconsin farm it was found on, was discovered in 1964 and fully excavated in 1993 and 1994. The exhibit bones are displayed and arranged exactly as they were discovered. The most exciting news is that the Schaefer mammoth discovery reveals that this site is one of the oldest areas of human habitation in all of the Americas – 1,000 years longer than originally thought and it documents the earliest interaction of mammoth and man east of the Mississippi River. The life-size Hebior mammoth replica represents the largest, most complete mammoth excavated in North America. This is a local treasure – it was excavated in Kenosha County.
As mentioned, there’s more to the museum than mammoths. Children enjoy the hand’s-on Field Station.
The Ice Age exhibit thrills with sealife overhead which gives the impression you’re in ocean.
The Wisconsin Story was my favorite exhibit. Visitors become immersed in the life of Native Americans and how they lived though the seasons hundreds of thousands of years ago.
And you will find a Pressed Penny Machine!
As soon as I walked into the Dinosaur Discovery Museum I thought of the movie Night in the Museum, mainly because of the T-Rex skeleton flashing his toothy grin – or growl. Once the vision passed, I became immersed in the the massive display of dinosaur skeletons. You can’t help but feel a deep appreciation for the variety of life that walked the planet before us. What’s also cool about the Dinosaur Discovery Museum is it focuses on the link between birds and meat-eating dinosaurs. In addition, the Carthage Institute of Paleontology, which focuses on conserving authentic dinosaur fossils, is based here.
Downstairs the children can explore and practice being paleontologists…
And make crafts and read dinosaur books…
Civil War Museum. Considering no Civil War battles were fought in Wisconsin, you may be surprised to find Kenosha has a state-of-the-art Civil War Museum. However, this region was involved in the war by providing troops and supplies. This Fiery Trial Exhibit tells the personal stories and shares the contributions of the men and women of the Upper Middle West – specifically, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota during this tense era. As you roam from exhibit to exhibit expect to be filled with emotion and pride.
You can board a train car and sit next to the passengers to hear their personal stories as they ride “The Iron Road to War.” Expect to spend a long time here. The museum is extensive and educational.
See how the men spent their time, fought to stay warm and the stories of courage and despair.
My kids fell in love with the Children Activities Corner upstairs. They were both entranced by the abundance of historic books and activities.
Touring these three Kenosha museums are a great way to spend the day. Both the Dinosaur Discovery Museum and Kenosha Public Museum offer free admission and Civil War Museum is $7 for adults and free for children under 15. Each location has a gift shop filled with nice souvenirs and memorabilia. Visit one or all – each Kenosha museum is fun to explore! Be sure to visit the Kenosha CVB website to learn more about this charming Wisconsin town.
