FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2023
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MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM PROVIDES FIRST LOOK AT FUTURE MUSEUM
EXHIBIT CONCEPTS, RAINFOREST GALLERY, VIVARIUM AND ROOFTOP TERRACE
Visitors to once again delight in an immersive, tropical butterfly enclosure
MILWAUKEE —Today, Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) and exhibit design partner Thinc Design unveiled sketches of the Future Museum’s We Energies Foundation Gallery: Rainforest, the final of five permanent galleries to be revealed this spring, as well as the Puelicher Butterfly Vivarium and Bucyrus Rooftop Terrace. Each gallery, or group of related exhibits, will focus on a specific overarching theme, and its many dioramas and individual features will help visitors learn about the interconnectedness of nature and culture tied to that larger concept.
In Rainforest, visitors will be transported to the tropics to learn about the biodiversity that flourishes in rainforests and the life supported by those climates. A beloved space for many Museum visitors, the Vivarium will be a warm, lush space thriving with real tropical plants and live butterflies flying freely throughout it.
Adjacent to Rainforest, visitors will be able to reconnect with nature and gather on the Rooftop Terrace, a space dedicated to the exploration of the outdoors.
“Our Museum has long been renowned for its immersive rainforest displays, including our world-class live butterfly garden,” said Dr. Ellen Censky, MPM President & CEO. “Thanks to the generosity of We Energies, the We Energies Foundation Gallery: Rainforest will again bring visitors to some of the most biodiverse and special places on the planet, spotlighting the rich resources and abundant life that thrives in the tropics.”
MPM is sharing a sampling of some of the exhibit features for the Rainforest gallery, as well as a glimpse into the Vivarium and Rooftop Terrace.
Gallery sketches and exhibit previews
The gallery details and exhibit examples shared below and in the enclosed sketches represent only a fraction of what visitors can expect in the Future Museum. The final gallery will include many more exhibits, collections items and opportunities to learn.
We Energies Foundation Gallery: Rainforest
“From canopy to forest floor, rainforests are home to an incredible array of unique flora and fauna, all powered by the sun, that present unlimited opportunities to expand our understanding of the world around us,” said Beth Straka, President of We Energies Foundation. “It is our honor to present the We Energies Foundation Gallery: Rainforest and help continue a legacy of curiosity, learning and exploration for our community.”
In Rainforest, visitors will be transported to one of the most biodiverse places on the planet: the tropics. Tropical rainforests along the equator are defined by their mazes of massive trees and vines, elements the gallery will leverage to conceal and reveal exhibits featuring a wealth of natural and cultural collections items.
Tropical Rainforest
The Rainforest gallery will be highly immersive. Visitors will experience a dimly lit space dressed with large tree trunks and thick vegetation, and a vibrant audioscape of gentle rainfall alongside the buzz of insects, birds and other rainforest residents will help set the tropical scene.
Rainforests across the world are prime examples of nature’s beauty and utility. In this exhibit, visitors will learn about traditions and practices common in rainforests, including how tropical rainforests support human health and healing through medicinal plants and provide raw materials for the creation of tools. Stories about venomous specimens, medical ceremonies as well as healing and adornment practices will also be explored.
Throughout the gallery, exhibits will include specimens like beetles and birds of paradise alongside intricate beadwork and featherwork created in or inspired by rainforests.
Living Collections
In addition to preserved specimens and cultural items, some exhibits will even include living collections, potentially featuring poison dart frogs, tarantulas or other creatures that can be found in rainforests.
Beyond live specimens, current MPM fans may also recognize the hollowed-out tree from the current Rainforest exhibit repurposed in the Future Museum as well as the taxidermy howler monkey. Other familiar elements being brought to the new Rainforest gallery include a sloth, anaconda and oropendola nests.
Birds
A display of dozens of bird specimens and models mounted above visitors’ heads will connect the adjacent Wisconsin Journey gallery to the Rainforest gallery, evoking the annual mass migration toward the tropics that millions of species make each year to escape cooling northern climates.
Butterflies
Found in many tropical rainforests, butterflies have long sparked curiosity and inspired imaginations. In Rainforest, an exhibit will be dedicated to butterflies’ global and local diversity, widespread migration patterns and the differences between butterflies and their cousins, moths. It will also explore the ways in which butterflies have inspired myths and art around the world.
Puelicher Butterfly Vivarium
Familiar to any fan of the Museum, a glass-walled live butterfly exhibit will be located in the Rainforest gallery and will once again immerse visitors in the tropics, thanks to a leadership gift from the Puelicher Foundation, which has added onto their original $3 million donation to maintain the Vivarium’s naming in perpetuity. A delightful, multi-sensory experience, the Puelicher Butterfly Vivarium will be home to a diverse array of living butterflies, moths and plantlife.
“Jack Puelicher was an enthusiastic supporter of the Milwaukee community, and particularly of educational initiatives and efforts that could benefit all,” said Judith C. Murphy, President, Puelicher Foundation. “Though he did not live to see the Jack Puelicher Butterfly Wing or Vivarium, we know he would have loved to see how it has impacted children, families and future scientists for the last several decades. We also know that he would want his gift to the people of Wisconsin to be a lasting one, which is why we are proud to provide additional funding to ensure his legacy will be accessible to future generations in the Future Museum.”
In addition to observing the beautiful specimens fluttering freely around the space, visitors will be able to peer into an insect lab and pupae room, observing the lifecycle of the creatures fluttering around the Vivarium and learning more about the science behind the flora and fauna they are experiencing first hand.
Bucyrus Rooftop Terrace
Made possible by a $2.5 million gift from the Bucyrus Foundation, the Bucyrus Rooftop Terrace will reconnect visitors to the outdoors and the natural world after time spent losing themselves among the galleries and exhibits.
“The future of education is the future of our community,” said Tim Sullivan, Bucyrus Foundation Chairman and former Bucyrus CEO. “The Bucyrus Foundation is excited to support one of the largest cultural and educational institutions in Wisconsin and help provide generations of future visitors with opportunities to explore, learn and grow at the Bucyrus Rooftop Terrace for years to come.”
Designed by landscape architects at GGN, gardens on the Terrace will include native Wisconsin plantings and be designed to shift with the seasons.
In addition to space to walk around and sit among the gardens, the Terrace will function as an outdoor classroom and observation area, allowing visitors to smell, touch and see the natural world nestled right into the City of Milwaukee skyline.
The Terrace will also be an attractive place for Wisconsinites to gather for special events. More details about event spaces at the Future Museum will be made available closer to the Museum opening in late 2026.
Additional specific details about the full array of exhibits and collections items that will make up each gallery are still being determined and are subject to change as the design process progresses. Additional information about visitor amenities, including the lobby space, Museum store, café and programming, will also be shared in the future.
More information about the Future Museum, including architectural renderings and a project timeline, is available on the MPM website.
About the Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum is Wisconsin’s natural history museum, welcoming over half a million visitors annually. Located in downtown Milwaukee, the Museum was chartered in 1882, opened to the public in 1884, and currently houses more than 4 million objects in its collections. MPM has three floors of exhibits that encompass life-size dioramas, walk-through villages, world cultures, dinosaurs, a rainforest, and a live butterfly garden, as well as the Daniel M. Soref Dome Theater & Planetarium. MPM is operated by Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc., a private, non-profit company, housed in a county-owned facility with collections that are held in trust and supported by Milwaukee County for the benefit of the public.
About the Future Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin’s natural history museum, will be relocating from its current location on Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee to a newly constructed building due to open in late 2026. To be located on a 2.4-acre site at the corner of Sixth and McKinley Streets in the Haymarket neighborhood adjacent to the city’s Deer District, the Future Museum will be the largest cultural project in Wisconsin history. Heavily influenced by the ecological histories of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, the design of the new Museum will be reminiscent of the geological formations in Mill Bluff State Park, emblematic of the region’s diversity of landscapes formed by the movements of water through time.
The building will be approximately 200,000 square feet, including five stories, with an additional 50,000-square-foot collections storage building. Groundbreaking for the building is slated for late 2023, with Mortenson and ALLCON overseeing construction. The Milwaukee Public Museum’s current home will remain open until the new space is finished.
About Thinc
Located in New York, Thinc is a global design firm serving clients in North America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. For nearly 30 years, Thinc has designed projects for a wide range of clients, including museums, science centers, aquariums, zoos, theme parks, corporations, and governments. Notable projects include the re-envisioned Empire State Building Observatory (TripAdvisor’s 2022 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best as the #1 National and #3 Top World Attraction), the National September 11 Memorial Museum; the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences; The Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa; The Jordan Museum; the USA Pavilion at the 2015 World Expo; and Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai. The firm has been the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards including the Red Dot Award, World Design Award, Core77 Design Award, Global Future Award, and many more. Founded by Tom Hennes in 1992 as an outgrowth of a successful, 15-year theatrical design practice, the firm has evolved into a dynamic and multi-disciplinary studio that transforms how people think about the world and each other. Showstoppers! represents a joyous return to those theatrical roots. To learn more visit thincdesign.com.
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