Events

Kenosha Public Museum offers many cultural and educational activities throughout the year. Here is the upcoming schedule.

Museum Munchkins

Wednesdays; 9:30-10am

Join Museum staff and volunteers for a fun program designed to get you and your preschooler excited about science and the world around them. Each week you’ll explore a new theme with stories, songs, and activities using pieces from our collection. Free admission.

Basil’s Favorite Things

Second Saturdays, April 13, May 11, 2019; 11am-1pm

Basil the Badger loves two things – the Kenosha Public Museum and a good mystery. He’s combining them so you can learn while having fun at the Museum. On the second Saturday of each month, special hands-on activities will help you discover one of Basil’s favorite things about the Museum. Will it be an artifact? A new exhibit? A painting? Can you figure out Basil’s mystery? Look for clues to figure out Basil’s Favorite Things.

Plus, work with other visitors to create a community display related to Basil’s Favorite Thing. Discover a new favorite every month!

Sunday Curiosity Carts

Every Sunday, 1:30pm-3:30pm

Drop by the Field Station for interactive experiences with Museum education staff! A new activity is chosen each week and can include playing African instruments, making batteries out of lemons and potatoes, learning about animal adaptations through pelts and games, and much more.

Travel Adventure Series

Thursdays at 7 pm
March 14, April 4, May 9

Held at Kenosha Public Museum.

This 6-film series features 90-minute travel films accompanied by live interactive presentations by professional filmmakers.

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and the films start at 7 pm. The cost for each film is $5 for adults over the age of 15. A season pass may be purchased for $25 ($20 for seniors and Friends of the Museums members). Individual tickets may be purchased at the Museum in advance or at the door.

Films included in the 2018-2019 season.

2019 Southport Quilters Guild Annual Members Show- Stitches and Stories

March 2-24, 2019

More than 70 quilts tell intriguing stories with traditional and contemporary patterns in vibrant colors. This year’s show also features a quilt challenge, “Wrapped in Stitches.” Each quilter is challenged to create a 20″ x 20″ quilt based on a piece of wrapping paper. See how the quilters interpret the wrapping paper in their original quilt design. Members of the Guild will be demonstrating quilting throughout the run of the show. Stop by and see them at work and learn how they turn fabric and thread into colorful works of art.

National Quilt Day

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Quilt Day Schedule:

9:30am-12:30pm: Quilting Workshop with Catherine Redford | Register Here

10am-1:30pm: Quilting demos and family activities

2pm: “The Language of Flowers” Presentation by Catherine Redford

Catherine Redford’s presentation and trunk show features a wide variety of quilts featuring flowers, many of which are beaded and embellished. Learn the meanings our ancestors ascribed to different blooms and consider why the giving and receiving of quilts is so special to many of us. Seating is limited and first-come, first-served. Free tickets available the day of the presentation beginning at 10am.

Sponsored by the Southport Quilters Guild

Women in Science

March 23, 2019; Noon-4pm

A celebration of women through the ages and their contribution to the sciences! Meet and talk to real scientists who study all sorts of topics, from biology to earth sciences to engineering. Explore and learn about some of the most famous female scientists throughout the ages. Then get your hands dirty and run your own experiments in our DIY science lab.

Plus, get up close and personal with real butterfly specimens from the Milwaukee Public Museum.

WizardPalooza for Families

Friday, March 29, 2019; 5:30pm-8:30pm | $5 per person | Register Here

Calling all wizards, witches, and yes, Muggles too! The Friends of the Museum have sent out their owls, so get your trunks ready because it’s time to board the Wizard Express and spend an enchanted evening at the museum. Try your hand at spellbinding classes, games and trivia, make a take-home project in DIY-agon Alley, and much more!

Try your luck and win some great prizes in the raffle. And be sure to dress in your wizardly best – you could be the winner of the night’s costume contest! 

Food, drinks, snacks, Butterbeer (alcohol free) and other goodies will be available for purchase. 

One adult required to register with every 1-3 children.

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor Horizon Retail Construction, Inc.

WizardPalooza for Adults

Saturday, March 30, 2019; 6pm-9pm | $45 per person, must be 21 or older | Register Here

Brush up on your spells to keep your little wizards and witches occupied, for it’s time the experienced sorcerers are entertained! Take part in all the fun of the wizarding world – apparate into classes, make take-home items in DIY-agon Alley, partake in games, trivia, and much more!

Get a loan from Gringotts to enter and win some unbelievable prizes in the many raffles, or spend at the Hogsmeade Marketplace. Be sure to dress in your wizardly best, you could be the winner of the night’s costume contest!

Ticket price includes admission, food, and two drinks (wine, beer, soda)

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor Horizon Retail Construction, Inc.

Traditional Native American Woodland Storytelling

Sunday, April 7, 2019; 2pm

Join Skip Twardosz in a traditional winter storytelling session. During this family-friendly program, Skip will share Anishinaabe stories of the past and present.

Skip Twardosz is of Potawatomi descent, is a singer and traditional dancer and has presented for schools, historical groups, museums, libraries, scout troops and community organizations. A drum and other artifacts of his are on display at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian, Washington D.C. Mr. Twardosz is a former member of the Chicago American Indian Center and was Spiritual Elder for Sacred Circle Native Student Organization at UW-Parkside. He is an amateur historian of native woodland culture. He has functioned as Storyteller, Fire Keeper and Elder for many Native gatherings in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.

Dino Egg Hunt

Wednesday, April 17, 2019; 9:30am

Dinosaurs are nesting in the galleries!  Help us gather their eggs for the museum’s collection.

Spring Break Day

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 | 1pm-4pm

Explore our new exhibit From Curiosity to Science. Visit our curiosity stations to handle specimens, examine animal teeth, and learn how birds eat.  Our friends from the Milwaukee Public Museum will be here with their Fossil Frenzy. Touch real fossils, take the Fossil Challenge to test your knowledge of prehistoric remains, or make your own fossil to take home. For more spring break family fun, visit the Dinosaur Discovery Museum and Civil War Museum.

Kohl’s Wild Theater Presents “Monkeys in the Middle”

Wednesday, April 24, 2019; 1pm

It’s all monkey business with this fun 45-minute combination of musicals. First, go on a super adventure with Captain Super Fantastic as he attempts to save colobus monkeys. Audiences learn how their electronic devices affect rain forests in Africa. Then, join Internet sensations Grumpy Cat and Doge as they manage their new website, #PETS! They need to get some serious likes, but the arrival of a cotton-top tamarin monkey complicates the situation. Help our internet heroes learn how to find good information online so they can make better decisions.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Thursday, May 2, 2019; 7pm

Hear Holocaust survivor Nathan Taffel share his compelling story. Born in 1928 in Poland, Nate is a man full of memories. His world came crashing down at the age of 12 when his childhood was robbed by the Nazis. Twice he was saved by miracles. In addition to the program, see Holocaust-related projects and hear performances by Indian Trail High School students.

History on Tap at the Civil War Museum

Friday, May 10, 2019 | 6:30-8:30pm | $35 ($25 FOM) | Register Here

Sample beers from across the Midwest in the main exhibit of the Civil War Museum. These beers were selected not only for their great taste, but also because they fit into the themes of the museum gallery. Your ticket includes eight 4 oz. tastings. Have a great time sampling in the exhibition, but be careful – you might just learn something too!

TWSA Gallery Talks

Sundays, May 19, June 9, July 7, 2019; 2pm

Join member artists of the Transparent Watercolor Society for a gallery walk and talk of the exhibit. Each month a new artist will highlight her favorite pieces and provide insights and antidotes.

May 19: Cathy Nash
June 9: Donna Jill Witty
July 7: Lenox Wallace

Spark! at the Civil War Museum

Spark! is a monthly program for individuals in early to mid-stages of memory loss and their caregivers. Participants are engaged in lively conversations, storytelling, interactive exhibit experiences, object handling, and other multi-sensory activities. Space is limited, so reservations are required. 262-653-4423 or spark@kenosha.org.

  March 15: Civil War Soldier Life as a Civil War soldier was incredibly hard. Handle artifacts and explore the exhibit to learn about what they carried, ate, and how they lived. 

April 12: Paper Making Letter writing was an important form of communication for Civil War soldiers. Hear the letters themselves and then help make paper to take home with you. 

May 17: Civil War Medicine Find out how germs were passed around, how surgery happened, and explore the herbal remedies the Civil War soldiers used.

Museum Crawl

Friday, July 12, 2019; 6-10pm

Watch for more details coming soon!