Do you have a little artist in your family? The Milwaukee area has so many places for your kids to explore their artistic side. Here are 25 places to take your art-loving kiddo:
Featured Milwaukee Art Places For Kids:
Lynden Sculpture Garden
2145 W. Brown Deer Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53217
(414) 446-8794
Pack a picnic (or your snowshoes and ice skates, depending on the season), and head to the must-visit Lynden Sculpture Garden. It offers a unique experience of art in nature through its collection of more than 50 monumental sculptures across 40 acres of park, lake and woodland.
They offer a year-round, monthly Tuesday in the Gardenprogram for small children and weekly art drop-in programs for older kids. (These programs fill up fast, so you must pre-register.) They also offer summer camps.
In the winter, you can ice skate on the pond or snowshoe through the grounds.
Check out a Plein Air Kitfor outdoor watercolor painting, or a Family Kit with nature tools and activities. And don’t miss the whimsical and colorful cow sculpture near the pond (actually called Des Vaches: Mo, Ni, Que by Swiss artist Samuel Buri).
Museum of Wisconsin Art
205 Veterans Ave., West Bend, WI 53095
(262) 334-9638
MOWA is the only museum in the world that is dedicated to collecting and maintaining works from Wisconsin. They offer themed Studio Saturdaysevery single week for kids and families to enjoy. Plus, entrance fees are actually low cost memberships that allow unlimited access to the museum for a full year.
They also host an annual Art and Chalk Fest with live street chalking, face painting, art projects and more.
Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
19805 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI 53045
(262) 781-9470
The Wilson Center is nestled in Mitchell Park in Brookfield. Pose for a picture next to the illuminated sculpture that greets you outside the entrance.
Explore classes for you and your children can take classes like watercolor painting and film animation, or host an art-themed birthday party at their modern facility. They also host art camps in the summer.
Don’t miss their “Tales by the Fire” program designed specifically for kids and families, and their family-friendly concert series, Starry Nights, held on Friday nights in the summer.
More Milwaukee Art Place For Kids:
Artists Working in Education (A.W.E.) - Free!
(mobile art studio)
Cloud 9 Workshop
5205 W. North Ave., Milwaukee, WI
(414) 702-5465
Cream City Clay
7105 W Greenfield Ave., West Allis, WI 53214 414-249-5902
A Touch of Glaze
8215 Meadowbrook Rd., Waukesha, WI 53188
(262) 524-0231
Creative License
52 N. Main St., Hartford, WI, United States
(262) 214-1130
Glaze Pottery
149 Green Bay Rd., Thiensville, WI 53092
(262) 238-5456
Haggerty Museum of Art (free!)
530 N. 13th St., Milwaukee, WI 53233
(414) 288-1669
Tucked away on the Marquette Campus on the corner of 13th Street and Clybourne Avenue, the Haggerty features eight to nine exciting exhibits every year, and it’s completely freefor visitors.
(You can park in Marquette University’s Lot J, accessed from North 11th Street between Wisconsin Avenue and Clybourn Street. There are 15 spaces in the lot dedicated just to Haggerty guests. More parking is available in the Wells Street Parking Structure, or at metered spaces on Clybourn Avenue.)
Just Kiln' Time
N88W16683 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
(262) 255-5456
Kohl's Color Wheels - Free!
(mobile art studio)
La Terraza
11520 W Bluemound Rd., Wauwatosa, WI 53226
(414) 443-1800
Latino Arts, Inc.
1028 S. 9th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204
(414) 384-3100
Explore their intimate gallery that showcases Hispanic artists from all over the world. The performance space next to the gallery welcomes Latino musical artists from all over the world, as well. The Hispanic Heritage Center provides an opportunity to browse small exhibits and discover more about the contributions of Latinos to the local community. You can also browse handmade goods that help support the mission of the Latino Arts Center. End your visit with a bite to eat at the Cafe el Sol.
Helpful hint: Download the self-guided walking tour from their website to make sure you see all of the bright, colorful murals in the heart of the Latin Quarter.
Milwaukee Art Museum
700 Art Museum Dr., Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 224-3200
Read: 8 Special Things To Do With Kids At The Milwaukee Art Museum
Murray Hill Pottery Works (not walk-in)
2458 N Murray Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211
NEIGHBOR Art Studio
Schauer Arts & Activities Center
147 N. Rural St., Hartford, WI 53027
(262) 670-0560
Soul Fire Art Studio
2850 Heritage Dr., Delafield, WI 53018
(262) 646-8900
TBEY Arts Center
2266 North Prospect Ave., Suite 325B, Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 562-TBEY
TBEY is an educational arts organization designed to serve young people who otherwise might have little or no opportunity to learn artistic skills due to location or cost.
Walker's Point Center for the Arts
839 S. 5th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204
(414) 672-2787
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts is a community arts center dedicated to supporting the arts in a multicultural environment. You can visit their gallery or participate in one of their kid-friendly programs. They have organized an extensive and affordable educational program for Milwaukee area youth ages 6-12. The WPCA’s educational art programs include Afternoons with Art on MPS non-school days, free after school art classes during the academic year, and summer art camps. They conclude each summer with an annual gallery showing of student work.
Young Rembrandts of Metro Milwaukee