MPM Inside Out
This spring, our most popular member event returns! Speak with the staff, researchers, students, and volunteers that keep MPM thriving during this exciting Museum-wide event.
Date and Time
Friday, April 17, 2026
6-9 p.m.
Cost and Reservations
Free members-only event.
Limited capacity; reservations are required and encouraged as early as possible.
Sustainer+ Perk: Sustainer and Donor level members can bring two additional guests not covered by their membership for free. If you are using these extra guest privileges, please call 414-278-6170 or 888-700-9369 to make your reservation.
New! PRIZE DRAWING
Win a Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Invertebrate Rearing Lab!
Everyone who registers for MPM Inside Out will be automatically entered for the chance to win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Puelicher Butterfly Wing's invertebrate rearing lab during the event.
Learn how Museum staff care for the resident living collection of insects and their relatives that are used in the Bugs Alive! exhibit, education, outreach, and research. This is your chance to meet exotic walking sticks, millipedes, hissing cockroaches, and more!
Must register on or before Tuesday, April 7 to be entered in the drawing. Winners will be contacted ahead of the event.
DETAILS
This year’s presentations will include:
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250 Years of Stars, Stripes, and Snakes – On each U.S. birthday, American patriotic symbols are displayed everywhere. Some of these symbols are familiar, while others are more obscure in their origin and meaning. Test your knowledge of the many old and new American patriotic symbols using objects from MPM’s collections.
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Celebrating MPM – Take a tour through the Museum's photograph archives and view images of behind-the-scenes activities from the last 60+ years in this building. Exhibit construction, gallery openings, celebrations, and more will be featured in this presentation, highlighting the lasting contributions made during this chapter of the Museum's history.
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City Nature Challenge 2026 in Milwaukee – Milwaukee is a participant in the global biodiversity observation initiative “City Nature Challenge” for the first time in 2026. Learn about the challenge hosted on iNaturalist, local events, and prepare to take down our neighboring cities by sharing the most nature observations!
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Learning from Collections: Andean Textiles – Did you know that museum collections aren't just for display? Learn how we use the thousands of items kept in storage to further knowledge. Focus will be on the lovely pre-Columbian textile collections from Peru.
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Mementos: Touchstones to the Past – Have you ever collected something to help you remember a person, experience, or event? You aren't alone! See mementos donated to the Museum that were collected at historic events, to recall loved ones and to create a connection with well-known people and places.
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The MIL Herbarium: Two Centuries in the Making – Three of the oldest specimens in MPM’s Herbarium (collection of plants and fungi) were collected in 1826, making this their bicentennial year! Come see these 200-years-young specimens and learn how and why museums preserve objects like these for centuries.
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Movin' and Groovin': How to Prepare and Pack a Museum Collection – The Collections Move Team has been hard at work this year preparing the millions of objects and specimens in the collections for their new home. Learn about the process each item undergoes – inventory, barcoding, tracking, and packing – and how we tailor our approach to the unique needs of MPM's diverse collections, including Zoology, Geology, Anthropology, History, and the Herbarium.
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MPM Circa 1926 – Travel back in time to see Anthropology items, including their original labels, that were on exhibit 100 years ago! See photos of MPM in the 1920’s and learn about what was happening at the Museum during this amazing decade.
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Myriad of Moths – MPM has received three amazing collections of lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) in the last three years. Come meet the newest additions to our collections and learn a little more about the collections behind-the-scenes!
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A New Planetarium Awakens – What will the new Planetarium look like? What will it show? Stop by and explore our future vision and check out captivating footage for our opening show in Spring 2027!
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Preserving the Past: Object Conservation at MPM – What is conservation and why is it important? Learn how objects are being prepared for display in the new Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin. Ask questions about your own belongings and how to best preserve them for the future.
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The Secret Songs of Moths: Solving a Scientific Mystery with Museum Collections – Scientists recently discovered that some of the colorful moths in the subfamily Aganainae (the "Snouted Tigers") make sounds, but no one knew how. Previous research even got it completely wrong! By examining Museum specimens, our team at MPM has uncovered the hidden sound-producing structures these moths use to "talk." Be among the first to see and hear how these moths communicate and discover how natural history collections help solve modern mysteries.
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Stay Cool: How Honey Bees Collectively Regulate Colony Temperature – Learn how social animals, working collectively, can be resilient to a changing environment. Get an up-close look at live honey bees in a contained observation hive and discover how these incredible insects control the temperature within their colonies.
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Swimming in the Silurian –Milwaukee has long been one of the best places to study the Silurian Period. Fossils from Southeast Wisconsin are featured in museums nationwide! Learn what makes local formations so important, how MPM has long led the way in showing them to the public, and learn more about our new "Reserve an Educator" program.
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A (Water) Bug's Home: Aquatic Insect Habitats – Day at the beach? Weekend at the lake? Evening paddle on the river? No matter which activity you choose, aquatic insects share the water with you! Learn about the insects that live in each of these waterways and the important roles they play in the freshwater environment.
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A (Water) Bug’s Life: Aquatic Insect Life Cycles – Familiar insects like dragonflies and mosquitoes start their lives in freshwater, but they aren’t the only ones! Learn about different groups of insects that spend all or most of their lives in freshwater ecosystems and their incredible transformations from aquatic immatures to winged adults.
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Wisconsin Rocks! – Explore rocks from Wisconsin, the fossils that some contain, and learn what they tell us about our state's ancient history.
and more!