Current Exhibits

 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

100TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT

February 6 - March 27

The Boy Scouts of America’s 100th anniversary represents much more than a date on the calendar. It represents an important milestone around which to reintroduce Scouting to America - to celebrate the rich heritage and to reinforce the important role Scouting can play in shaping our country’s future. Among other aspects of Scouting, this exhibit explores Scouting culture, the Order of the Arrow, Cub Scouts, camping & outdoor skills, and the influence of Scouting on popular culture.

LEARNING THE KNOTS

BSA 100TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT

Ongoing Exhibits

Toys, architecture, wool production, dollhouses, and more!

A Nation Divided, A County United:

Waukesha County During the American Civil War

People participated in the Civil War in many different facets. Encounter the stories of those who fought against slavery, of those who lived on the home front, of the hardships of camp life, and of the contributions of women. While in the exhibit you can listen to music of the era, peek into a potato cellar as you learn about the 16 year old slave who hid in Waukesha County, and examine items soldiers from Waukesha County carried during the war.

"I hope dearest wife, that by next Chritmas I may be at home, to leave you no more..."
-Captain Thomas N. Stevens, Co. Commander, Co. C, WI Volunteer Infantry Regiment
December 25, 1863

Braving the New Frontier of Technology

Many technological innovations that redefined our lives in the 20th century debuted at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Future inventors found their inspiration among the exhibits of newfangled gadgetry. In the days before broadcast media, an event such as the Columbian Exposition showed the world the most recent breakthroughs of science, accomplishments of industry, and new trends in art and society.

Discover the inventions that impacted Waukesha County at the turn of the century. View a variety of inventions, segments of film from the Aitken brothers' Birth of a Nation, and movie shorts of Russell E. Oakes, the "Wily Wizard of Waukesha," demonstrating his Rube Goldberg devices.