Work as art: MSOE’s Grohmann Museum specialty
September opens with Labor Day, the holiday that acknowledges our toils to pay the bills, snag a promotion, gain independence, feel worthwhile and maybe leave […]
Museums
Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center goes beyond dairyland
I hear that people want to know more about the origin of their food. We’ve shared these stories for many years, often casually and sometimes […]
‘Power of Poison’ for good, evil – now, then
Watch the movie “Alice in Wonderland” sometime and pay attention to the crazed guy at that tea party. The edgy one who’s rude, hyper and […]
Lake Winnebago sturgeon flashbacks, folk art
Mary Lou Schneider, thanks for the flashbacks. On a wintry Sunday morning in the 1960s. I walk two blocks from church to the little general […]
EAA museum gains astronaut’s treasures
Encased in glass is a two-page letter, neatly typed and labeled confidential. It was written in the 1960s to explain why it was unwise to […]
Museum of Broken Relationships: Loves lost, insight found
What becomes of the broken-hearted? Motown singer Jimmy Ruffin turned a song by that name into an R&B hit one-half century ago, and musicians of […]
In stitches: Popularity of quilting extends to Millennials too
Quilts cocoon us during winter’s harshest nights, but warmth is only one way to define their value. Homespun quilts cloak us with deep memories of […]
American Writers Museum opens in Chicago
In the same room are Julia Child, Alex Haley, Prince, Patrick Henry and Hunter Thompson. What do they have in come, besides being dearly departed? […]
New exhibit at Vets Museum takes personal look at WWI
Casual decisions sometimes lead to profound, life-altering circumstances. No one learned that more than John Pavlik of West Allis, who was 16 years old when […]
Field Museum explores tattoo art, history, logic, popularity
More people are adding an indelible mark on their life, based on a process that is thousands of years old. When asked to write about […]
Madison museum is all-year tribute to military veterans
This presidential election sure felt like a nationwide battle, regardless of whether you think we won or lost, and that is what compelled me to […]
Hamilton Wood Type Museum: Words carry weight, literally
Sometimes I refer to my freelance writing business as The Word Factory because that is what I churn out from one day to the next. […]
Fiber arts trail shows off quilts, history, art, supplies, more
Lots of people say a picture is worth 1,000 words; fewer acknowledge the value of 1,000 stitches. Wisconsin’s first poet laureate was among the exceptions. […]
Major Nuremberg brat exhibit opens in Germany
You say you love bratwurst? Germany’s Bavaria is centuries ahead of us in that regard, and now a new exhibit in Nuremberg’s local history museum […]
New museum exhibits: neon, androids, photos, fibers, history
Art, history and other museums in Wisconsin offer ongoing opportunities to learn and appreciate the world and home. Consider this sampling of special exhibits that […]
Red Wing museum gains $1.5 million pottery collection
Red Wing, a Mississippi River city on the Minnesota side, has been home to a pottery museum for years – but now it’s billed as […]
Great American road trips: where to find them
I have a weakness for old postcards that show how summer vacations and destinations have changed. We remain ever-eager wanderers, but our expectations sure have […]
Black history lessons address racism, inventions, music in Macon, Ga.
Whenever Black History Month arrives, I am reminded that Wisconsin is not average. About 88 percent of the state’s population is Caucasian and 6.5 percent […]
Chicago’s Field Museum opens vaults on 1893 World’s Fair
At least one-third of America – 25 million people – made their way to Chicago 120 years ago. What they found were astounding and amusing […]
Peshtigo Fire Museum, grounds quietly preserve horrific history
The devastation happened almost 142 years ago, but it remains on the local newspaper’s online front page, where an easy-to-find link leads to somber details: […]