MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison is closed, as crews prepare to demolish it and build a new Wisconsin History Center in its place. Construction of the new building is slated to be finished in late 2026.

What You Need To Know

  • A new Wisconsin History Center will be built in Madison, with construction of the building slated to be finished in late 2026

  • The former building hosted about 20,000 children every year through school field trips
  • In the interim, the Wisconsin Historical Society opened the History Maker Space on the main floor of the U.S. Bank building on Capitol Square
  • The Historical Society will also bring exhibits and speakers to schools and public spaces throughout the state during construction

Christian Overland, the director and CEO of the Wisconsin Historical Society, said the building that housed the museum for nearly 40 years was outdated and difficult to maintain.

“In 1984, the Wisconsin Historical Society actually moved into an old hardware store building that was from the 1950s,” Overland said.

The museum’s artifacts will be in storage during the construction of the new Wisconsin History Center.

This represents a big change for many museum visitors. The building hosted about 20,000 children every year through school field trips.

In the interim, the Wisconsin Historical Society opened the History Maker Space on the main floor of the U.S. Bank building on Capitol Square.

The History Maker Space will offer education opportunities and activities. It also has a gift shop.

“School kids will be able to come in, and design their own exhibit,” Overland said. “They’ll be able to take artifacts from the 3-D educational collection and put them together and tell their own stories.”

Also during construction of the new center, the Historical Society will bring exhibits and speakers to schools and public spaces throughout the state. They plan to visit every county by the time construction is completed.

“What we hope to do in this transitional period is not only just go out and present but also continue to collect stories, working with the community,” Overland said.

Overland said he believes this unique transition period to the much bigger and more modern History Center is worth it.

“I hope that when people go through it, they come out learning a few things, and they have some things in their memories with their family that are meaningful,” he said. “And when they open up the doors and walk outside, they look at the world a little differently through the lens of history that they learned from.”

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