Celebrate Wisconsin Museums Week and International Museum Day in May

Thousands of museums across the globe will celebrate International Museum Day, Friday, May 18, and for the eighth consecutive year, the Wisconsin Federation of Museums will  celebrate International Museum Day by sponsoring Wisconsin Museums Week from May 12-20.

The theme for 2012 is “Museums in a Changing World: New Challenges, New Inspirations.” Today, the world is changing faster than ever. Today’s technology delivers new ideas, gigabytes of information, news of an increasingly unstable climate all shared by social media. Museums must keep pace with this furious pace and while they continually develop their role preserving collections for future generations, they are also responding to social changes and developing creative opportunities with new media.

Wisconsin Museums Week and International Museum Day is an opportunity for visitors and museums to examine the role of museums in our changing society, museums place in the era of new media, and discover or rediscover how museums are looking to the future in terms of sustainable development.

In Wisconsin , museums will host contests, workshops, conferences, performances and special thematic or historical tours honoring the work and role museums play in our communities.

Participants in Wisconsin Museums Week include the following:

Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, WI

Berlin Museums of Local History, Berlin, WI

Brown Deer Historical Society, Brown Deer, WI

Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion, Milwaukee, WI

Chippewa Valley Museum, Eau Claire, WI

Civil War Museum, Kenosha, WI

Deke Slayton Space & Bicycle Museum. Sparta, WI

Dinosaur Discovery Museum, Kenosha, WI

Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Sturgeon Bay, WI

Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society, Dean House, Madison, WI

The History Museum at the Castle, Appleton, WI

Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI

Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha, WI

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI

Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit, WI

Madison Children's Museum, Madison, WI

Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI

Monroe County Local History Room & Museum. Sparta, WI

Monticello Area Historical Society, Monticello, WI

Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, Mount Horeb, WI

Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI

National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, WI

New Richmond Heritage Center, New Richmond, WI

Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI

Old World Wisconsin, Eagle, WI

Oneida Nation Museum, DePere, WI

Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, WI

Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

Racine Heritage Museum, Racine, WI

Sheboygan County Historical Society, Sheboygan, WI

Two Rivers Historical Society and Historical Washington House Museum, Two Rivers, WI

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Museum of Natural History, Stevens Point, WI

Waukesha County Museum, Waukesha, WI

Waushara County Historical Society Museum, Wautoma, WI

Weis Earth Science Museum, Menasha, WI

Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center, Warrens, WI

Wisconsin Historical Museum, Madison, WI

Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, WI

Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Madison, WI

For more information about the Eighth Annual Wisconsin Museums Week and International Museum Day, contact Dr. Joanne Kluessendorf, current president of the Wisconsin Federation of Museums at 920-832-0125 or via email at joanne.kluessendorf@uwc.edu.

See www.wisconsinmuseums.org or for a complete listing of events and activities for Wisconsin Museums Week.