Just a few seconds after I walk into the room, the butterfly attaches itself to my shoulder, where it remains for a good 10 minutes as I continue my stroll.
Maybe it’s just drawn to the bright blue color of my hoodie, or to the heavy fabric, but I like to think it’s giving me a personal welcome to the Milwaukee Public Museum.
The hitchhiking butterfly ensures that I will have a good experience at the museum. How can you have a bad time when you receive such intimate approval from the animal kingdom?
Visiting the Butterfly Room
The Public Museum is all about nature and history, so the indoor Butterfly Garden is a great way to get up close and personal with hundreds of winged creatures.
The room contains a number of trees and plants, and you can observe the butterflies as you walk past the vegetation.
This two-story butterfly room is officially called the Puelicher Butterfly Wing. It’s free with regular admission to the museum.
You’ll want to spend plenty of time walking around here and enjoying being in the presence of these unusual flying critters.
Before leaving the room, examine your body from head to toe in a mirror to make sure none of these friendly critters are trying to leave with you.
As much as you might want to take one, they have to stay in their temperature-controlled environment!
More Exhibits in the Museum
Next to the Butterfly Room is the “Bugs Alive!” room featuring all kinds of creepy crawlers. Don’t worry, they’re not roaming free like the butterflies. Look at all these huge cockroaches inside a glass case!
At the top of the steps, you’ll spot a large skeleton of some sort of aquatic beast. It’s actually a 36-foot skeleton of a humpback whale.
It’s lit up like a Christmas tree at the top of the grand staircase, so you won’t miss it.
Smaller skeletons of more familiar walking animals sit under the giant whale bones.
As you move into the individual rooms, you’ll find recreated environments from places all around the world.
There’s a two-story Costa Rican rain forest, a Wisconsin woodlands room dedicated to local wildlife, and lots of African climates and scenes, like these fake rhinos.
One of my favorites is the Nigerian room, which displays painted masks and fascinating art from the region.
The famous Moai statues from Easter Island are replicated in another room, which describes the Rapa Nui people and their life on the famous Polynesian island.
More sights from island culture. Skulls!
I also encountered Native American exhibits and a lot of dinosaur installations at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
And one of the most striking sights is right inside the front door – a cast of a giant hebior mammoth skeleton, found less than 30 miles from the museum.
Milwaukee Public Museum Parking, Hours, and Ticket Prices
As of 2023, the museum is open 10 to 5 everyday, except Tuesdays, when it’s closed. Members get in an hour early on weekends.
There’s a food cafe, a coffee shop, a gift store, and a candy store on-site, reflecting the fact that this is a popular kids’ destination.
Regarding ticket prices, basic admission is $18 for kids (age 4-13) and $24 for teens and grownups. The admission includes one Planetarium program.
For an extra $6, you can see additional Planetarium programs or the Dome Theater Show.
And as for Milwaukee Public Museum parking, there are metered parking spots downtown. Meters are free on Sundays. The closest paid lot is the MacArthur Square parking facility.
Have you ever seen the butterflies at the Milwaukee Public Museum?
