The Wisconsin Historical Society is planning a new $120 million, 100,000-square-foot museum, more than doubling current exhibition space and featuring state-of-the-art technology.
The State of Wisconsin has committed $70 million to the project if the Wisconsin Historical Society raises $50 million in private donations.
According to the Associated Press, the new museum’s centrepiece will be a two-storey, 360-degree multimedia experience space, introducing guests to themes that will feature throughout.
The Wisconsin History Museum will be home to various themed exhibits, interactive displays, and a gallery using digital map technology.
The facility will also include items that are too big for the current museum, including the Wienermobile, the first Culver’s restaurant sign and a hand-built, Green Bay Packers-themed ice-fishing shanty.
At the museum’s supper club, guests will learn while they eat with interactive features embedded in the tables, surrounded by artefacts from local taverns across Wisconsin.
The interior is being designed by Gallagher and Associates, whose clients include the Smithsonian Institution, Gettysburg Museum, National World War II Museum, Grammy Museum and Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
Wisconsin History Museum’s vision
The attraction is expected to welcome 150,000 guests annually in a lively, spacious environment, and engage nearly twice as many students each school year.
It will showcase world-class collections and display Wisconsin’s largest artefacts, enhance local history partnerships, and reveal the state’s distinct identity.
The Wisconsin History Museum is scheduled to open in 2024.
Image: Wisconsin Historical Society
