Welcome back! 2021 Awaits!

The Wisconsin Historical Museum and Old World Wisconsin want to welcome you back to explore the history of our great state! While all of our sites are scheduled to reopen, only Old World Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Historical Museum are currently offering in-person education programming. As we work to bring everyone back to our sites, we have a few health and safety considerations in place for fall of 2021. Check out our website below for more details, and we hope to see you soon!

The Wisconsin Historical Museum (WHM) and Old World Wisconsin (OWW) teams have been hard at work updating and recreating their virtual programming for this school year. From Kindergarten through High School, there's something for all ages!

Grades K-2

Meet a Pig - Discover what makes a pig, a pig (OWW)!
Meet the Cattle - Learn about the different duties of cows and steers in this moooooving program! (OWW)

Grades 3-5

School in One Room - What was it like with grades K-8 in a single room (OWW)?
Immigrant Stories - What do people take, and what do they leave behind (OWW)?
STEM on the Farm - Learn about simple machines and everyday life in the 19th century (OWW)!
Unearthing the Past - Using artifacts and archaeology, piece together the mysteries of the ancient town of Aztalan (WHM)!
Lead, Land, and Local Lore - Native treaties and lead mining are woven together as students discover the evidence of history in their everyday lives (WHM)!
Beyond the Vote - Join a facilitated discussion on the history of suffrage and the motivations of activists trying to make a difference (WHM)!
Lumber Party - Explore the lives of the lumberjacks by thinking like a historian (WHM)!
Everyday Art and the Fur Trade - Discover how art influences objects through the use of Fur Trade artifacts (WHM)!
Wisconsin's Secret Identity - The dairy state? Absolutely! But what does Wisconsin mean to you (WHM)?

Grades 6-12

Check Your Sources - Is it real history or an elaborate hoax? Analyze historical arguments and see for yourself - warning - Hodag sightings possible (WHM)!
Digging Deeper - Learn the complex true history of the lead mining era and how we came to be known as the Badger state (WHM).
National History Day (NHD) Workshops - NHD staff team up with your students to help navigate the core components of a great NHD project (WHM)!

Explore another exciting moment in Wisconsin's past with the latest release from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, "The Fishermen, the Horse, and the Sea." This beautifully illustrated children’s book based on a true story recounts a dramatic rescue on Lake Michigan and introduces young readers to Lester Smith and his family, who founded Port Washington’s long-running Smith Bros. Fish Shanty.

Educational materials including definitions, an illustrated map of Lake Michigan, and short biographies of the story’s featured characters supplement this engaging story for elementary-age readers. Written by Barbara Joose and illustrated by Renée Graef.