Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society is pleased to announce its traveling History Makers Tour kicked off in October in conjunction with the public launch of the History Maker Space on Capitol Square in Madison. Together, the transition space and statewide tour position the Society to continue serving Wisconsin students and communities in the time leading up to the completion of a new state-of-the-art, 100,000-square-foot history center in late 2026. The statewide tour was made possible by generous support from Culver’s and a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“The History Makers Tour and History Maker Space both play a critical role in continuing to serve young learners and history lovers while we are building a new history center,” said Angela Titus, assistant deputy director and chief program officer for the Wisconsin Historical Society. “We are excited to try out new programs and bring our state’s stories into local communities over the next three years.”

Starting with the south-central region of Wisconsin, the History Makers Tour will travel to all areas of the state before concluding in the northeast region in early 2027. The Society will work with local history organizations, libraries, cultural venues and other partners to bring history directly to communities through pop-up exhibits, artifact displays, author talks, special events and more. The History Makers Tour makes its first stops in the cities of Beaver Dam, Jefferson, Monticello, New Glarus and Sun Prairie.

“Wisconsin has a rich and deep history,” explained Craig Culver, co-founder of Culver’s. “It is a pleasure to support these efforts which will celebrate and share that history in so many different ways and in such a variety of areas of the state. I love Wisconsin and am very proud to be a Cheesehead.”

For Madison residents and visitors, the new History Maker Space (pictured below) also has now opened and is located on the main level of the US Bank Plaza on Capitol Square. The space houses pop-up exhibits, special events, history center sneak peeks and a refreshed retail shop, along with an interactive education space for school groups. The temporary location allows the Society to continue hosting school field trips and pilot new public programming during construction of the new history center. The Society began welcoming school groups to the expanded education space in September.

“As the new school year kicks off, we are excited to welcome students into a dynamic education space, where young learners will become history makers themselves as they design their own exhibits and dig into the many hands-on history experiences we have waiting for them,” said Titus.

Visit www.wisconsinhistory.org/historycenter for more details and tour information.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (Grant Number MA-253159-OMS-23) and by Culver’s restaurants (visit www.culvers.com).