Top 6 Museums In Kenosha, Wisconsin

museums in kenosha
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Kenosha city has a vast, rich and extensive mix of historical, cultural, and recreational facilities. The city is located in Wisconsin in Kenosha County. Many archaeological sites were discovered in this area many of which date back to the Clovis culture. Being the fourth largest in Wisconsin, this city has a lot to offer in terms of historical sites and public museums. There are also other tourist attractions in the area such as the Mars Cheese Castle and Jelly Belly Visitor Center. When you are considering paying a visit to all the museums in Kenosha, expect to experience almost all the wowing exhibits one can expect to set eyes on in any museum anywhere in the in exhaustive details. From the natural history museums like the Civil War Museum which preserves the exclusive history of the civil war to Kenosha History Center and Kenosha Public Museum which, besides the city’s graphic history, exhibits fine arts and natural sciences to the archeologically reconstructed history museum. Kenosha has it all. It is an all-in-one city when it comes to the preservation of arts, culture, and history. Let’s look at some of the top museums in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

1. Civil War Museum

Civil War museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Source: Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Kenneth C. Zirkel used under CC BY-SA 4.0

This is the place where the war history can be visualized. The museum’s exhibits narrate the Civil War history from the perspective of the inhabitants of Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and the state where the history is preserved - Wisconsin. The seven states not only gave millions of brave patriots to join the union army but also offered inputs required in warlike food and water. The museum also gives a picture of the effects of the war by highlighting the connection between the pre-war causes to the effects of the war in the post-war period.

Civil War Museum

Address: 5400 1st Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140-6508

Website: Civil War Museum

Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 10am - 5pm; Sun: 12pm - 5pm

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2. Southport Light Station Museum

Southport Lighthouse and Keeper's House; Kenosha, Wisconsin; June 9, 2012
Source: Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Stephen Matthew M... used under CC BY-SA 3.0

This Museum consists of a 55 feet (16.8 m) tall lighthouse and the restored former lightkeeper’s residence. When you visit the museum, you will have the opportunity to climb to the peak of the 1866 lighthouse and get an amazing view of the neighborhood, waterfront, and the historic harbor. You will also get to learn the history of Kenosha’s harbor in painstaking details. The lighthouse is made of Milwaukee Cream City bricks and has a conical shape. The light station was originally constructed to light the harbor and the coast and it served that purpose until 1906 when it turned into a mere desperate monumental structure when its purpose was taken over by other taller towers.

Southport Light Station Museum

Address: 4th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140, United States

Website: Southport Light Station Museum

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3. Kenosha Public Museum

Kenosha Public Museum
Source: Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Kenokewl used under CC BY-SA 3.0

This is a museum of natural sciences, fine arts, and decorative arts. The museum boasts over 80 million collections and the number is still growing. Located right in the heart of the city of Kenosha, the Museum exhibits Wisconsin’s story like no other. It also exhibits the county’s woolly mammoth, hand-on field station for children, Native American village, world cultures, zoology, geology, and fossils among many more. If you are a natural science enthusiast, this is the museum for you in Kenosha. The displays include taxidermy animals collected from up to six different ecosystems, and other specimens and artifacts. The museum also has a gift shop and a space for family events like weddings.

Kenosha Public Museum

Address: 5500 First Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin

Website: Kenosha Public Museum

Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 10am - 5pm; Sun: 12pm - 5pm

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4. Kenosha Streetcar Society


The Kenosha Streetcar Society is a not-for-profit organization authorized by the City of Kenosha to promote and preserve Kenosha’s streetcar system and its rich history. The society hosts numerous free transport-related slide shows and movies every year. The first street railway was constructed in Kenosha in 1903 and the Birney Safety cars were the first streetcars operate in the city. Present-day streetcars in the city still operate under the same name in the city. The annual membership of this society costs USD 20 annually for the whole family. The society has been very successful in executing its mandate.

Kenosha Streetcar Society

Address: Kenosha, WI 53140, United States

Website: Kenosha Streetcar Society

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5. Dinosaur Discovery Museum

Kenosha Dinosaur Discovery Museum - Photo 07
Source: Photo by user Jim Trottier used under CC BY-SA 2.0

Visiting this museum will give you an illusion of time travel back to the Stone Age when the extinct gigantic reptiles roamed the planet. Unlike the multi-themed Kenosha Public Museum, this museum is dedicated exclusively to the explication and study of links between the contemporary birds’ species and the extinct bipedal dinosaurs that were carnivorous. The experts at the museum depend on fossil records to analyze the link. The museum has the largest skeletal cast collection of the carnivorous dinosaur. The museum also houses the Carthage Institute of Paleontology which carries out field explorations. The discovered fossils are kept at the museum in accordance with the law requirements.

Dinosaur Discovery Museum

Address: 5608 10th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140-4007

Website: Dinosaur Discovery Museum

Opening hours: 12pm - 5pm (daily)

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6. Kenosha History Center

1962 Rambler American 400 conv 3rd Rock rear
Source: Photo by Wikimedia Commons user CZmarlin used under CC BY-SA 3.0

Kenosha History Center is the Kenosha County Historical Society’s head office. This center and the Southport Light Station Museum make up the Kenosha County Historical Society. It is very close to the Kenosha Lighthouse Museum and is open all year round. If you want to get the whole history of Kenosha and Wisconsin as a whole with one-stop, Kenosha History Center is the place to stop at. The most interesting fact about this museum is that it is free. Though it sustained some minor amount of water damage from the surge of Lake Michigan, it is still a very amazing place to learn the history of Wisconsin.

Kenosha History Center

Address: 220 51st Pl, Kenosha, WI 53140, United States

Website: Kenosha History Center

Opening hours: Tue - Sat: 10am - 4:30pm; Sun: 12pm - 4pm (closed on Mon)

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Appreciate the top museums in Kenosha

If you have an interest in the arts and history of Kenosha, then you need to check out the museums. Over time, the museums have significantly grown to a capacity of over 80,000. Have a great time exploring Kenosha.

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