When is Wisconsin Veterans Museum open?

Wisconsin Veterans Museum is open: Sun - Sun 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Tue - Thu 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Fri - Fri 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Sat - Sat 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

What hotels are near Wisconsin Veterans Museum?

Hotels near Wisconsin Veterans Museum: (0.05 mi) Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club (0.16 mi) Best Western Premier Park Hotel (0.26 mi) Mansion Hill Inn (0.24 mi) Hyatt Place Madison (0.23 mi) AC Hotel by Marriott Madison Downtown View all hotels near Wisconsin Veterans Museum on Tripadvisor

What restaurants are near Wisconsin Veterans Museum?

Restaurants near Wisconsin Veterans Museum: (0.01 mi) The Coopers Tavern (0.02 mi) Rare Steakhouse (0.02 mi) Rare on the Square (0.03 mi) Ian's Pizza on State (0.07 mi) Cento View all restaurants near Wisconsin Veterans Museum on Tripadvisor

Wisconsin Veterans Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

245 reviews

#9 of 88 things to do in Madison

Military Museums • Speciality Museums • History Museums

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See what other travelers are saying

AndrewFromMadison
Madison, Wisconsin3,292 contributions
One of the main attractions in Madison
This museum, along with The State Historical Museum and Chazen Museum of Art, are the must-see trio in Madison. Beautifully reconstructed dioramas, as well as plentiful historical firearms, are at the core of this museum. The story line goes from war to war in chronological order, and covers some little-knnown conflicts as well as major wars that everyone is aware of. My only grudge here is they don't allow flash photos, so it's hard to make good photos while visiting (hence four stars instead of five in ratings)
Visited October 2019
Written January 15, 2020
Betty
2,773 contributions
Educational and respectful!
This museum is very well put together and a great educational experience for all ages. The exhibits go through the different wars. There were videos that showed the experiences of the veterans. Lots of interactive displays - check out the periscope and view the Capital. Definitely a must see. The museum is free and you can leave a donation.
Visited October 2021
Written November 10, 2021
Madeline K
Wisconsin14 contributions
Quick and Free
This is not a large museum so you don’t need a ton of time to go through it. Everything is extremely well organized chronologically making it easy to understand how things change over time. There are a lot of really interesting artifacts and it is neat to see how Wisconsin fits into National or global events! I was also pleasantly surprised that there was no admission cost!
Visited June 2023
Traveled as a couple
Written June 18, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5

245 reviews

Excellent

166

Very good

68

Average

10

Poor

1

Terrible

0

Charles H

Lincoln, NE144 contributions

Excellence sometimes comes in small packages!

Nov 2017 • Solo

I was a Madison resident for 22 years. I had seen two earlier iterations of this museum but somehow never made it to this "new" site. I moved away but was back for a visit and determined to get over here. Wow! It's hard to believe the curators have managed to pack so much into so little space, including tanks and aircraft. Its emphasis is on Wisconsin vets but it covers all bases from the Civil War on. One of the most impressive things to me is the quality of the mannequins: they are all portraits and look as if they are ready to speak. I don't know if they are portraits of real people but there seems not to be a single duplicate in the whole museum. Every one is different and very lifelike without being at all "creepy," like a wax museum. One of my favorite tableaus is of the young American nurse with two wounded men in a rear area somewhere in France in WW1 (picture attached). The doughboys are laughing and joking and talking and singing with the young woman as she plays the piano. It's heartwarming just to see it. You can almost hear them. GO to this museum. It's suited to all ages, beautifully curated and maintained, and tells the story of American arms.

Written November 30, 2017

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SEMkap

Waukesha, WI48 contributions

Great museum!

Aug 2017 • Couples

Amazing museum with great exhibits for FREE! Would visit every day. Only downside is the cost of parking. Also, can something be done about the homeless people on the side of the building? I was very uncomfortable walking by and one of them tried to sell me urine scented soap.

Written August 28, 2017

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Johnl3d

Milwaukee, WI33 contributions

Well worth the stop and its free

Apr 2019 • Couples

Looked over the exhibits on wars where americans were involved. Interesting some done better than others but allwere good

Written April 10, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tim D

Canton, SD9 contributions

Best Tribute to Veterans and Education anywhere.

Jan 2019 • Friends

If you would like to learn about Wisconsin Veterans of our Nations Conflicts this is the place to go. If your goal is to teach your children about their ancestors who fought in these conflicts this is also the place to go. If your interest is in Military History you will not be disappointed. One of my relatives fought in the Civil War and Homesteaded in Dunn County Wisconsin. I make sure I visit anytime I am in town and this trip made a pilgrimage to bring my father and brother to see our Great Grandfathers name on the Civil War Roll Call that they have here. As a lover of history, I typically stop at any museum like this. I have never seen such a tribute in traveling through, (So Far) 46 of our United States. The staff is helpful to the extreme and I can only thank the citizens of the state of Wisconsin for this wonderful asset. I am astounded that it is open to everyone for free! I always make a donation but never have I been asked or felt pressure to do so. Thank you for this jewel in this incredible city!

Written January 23, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Diane P

Irma, WI50 contributions

Must see.

Sep 2018 • Couples

We got there just as guided tour was finishing. Next time we will have a guide. Lots information from the guide. This place has displays that are very realistic. It has things from the Civil War up to the War on Terror. If there is room it would be nice to recognize some of the other smaller operations. My son Army Ranger (A/2/75) John Mark Price was killed in Operation Just Cause, December 20, 1989. He was the only one from Wisconsin that was a KIA.

Written September 12, 2018

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charles B

Montreal, Canada33 contributions

Small but excellent museum of local military history

Nov 2017 • Business

This is a small, 2-room museum in an unremarkable building across the street from the Capitol and the Wisconsin Historical Museum (also recommended) in the middle of downtown Madison. In those 2 rooms, however, is an excellent review of the military history of Wisconsin and, by extension, of the larger conflicts in which Wisconsin military personnel have been involved, from the Civil War to the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The biggest emphases, quite naturally, are the Civil War and the two World Wars, but all of the conflicts are portrayed with both artifacts (weapons, uniforms, etc.) and life-sized and highly realistic dioramas, with succinct and well-written text to accompany them. The slightly larger room featuring the more recent conflicts is dominated by actual aircraft suspended from the ceiling, a tank in one diorama, and, appropriately, a beautiful model of the battleship USS Wisconsin. The military history buff could spend several hours here, but the casually interested will cover it in about 30-45 minutes; in any case, admission is free, so you don't have to worry about value for money. The gift shop has a nice selection of books,DVDs, toys, t-shirts and other souvenirs.

Written November 6, 2017

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ron H

Rockford, IL540 contributions

A Tribute to Our Veterans

Dec 2016 • Couples

One of the best military museums we've encountered. The realistic displays will "take you there" with dioramas depicting conflicts from the Spanish American war up through present day events. The museum is full of armaments, rifles, and equipment, along with audio and visual recordings. And don't forget to look up to see an actual Japanese Zero, a navy aircraft and a helicopter in action from Vietnam. This is the most extensive display we've encountered and worth your time. There is no cost, but donations are accepted and there's a wonderful gift shop with a host of military related clothing, toys and remembrances. I rate this an A++ and highly recommend visiting.

Written December 14, 2016

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

divindi

Madison, WI17 contributions

right across from capitol

Aug 2016 • Friends

they welcomed us in gave a brief history and were able to answer questions-the propaganda display was neat -i see some posters that sounded like my mothers words hmm i see they got her in her youth-donation box there no fee-nice history of america-

Written August 22, 2016

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

buckyfanWi

WI153 contributions

Small but nice

Jul 2016 • Family

A nice museum that does not charge, but asks for donations. It is a smaller museum as everything is on one floor, but the exhibits are done very well.

Written July 26, 2016

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gpackergal

Lancaster, WI323 contributions

Quick Stop

Dec 2014 • Family

Were at the Capital for a tour and we had some extra time so we stopped at the Veterans Museum. The kids were impressed and so was I. It does not take long to go through the Museum but worth stopping and learning more about our past. I was impressed on their displays, they look so real. They have a great gift shop, if you are looking for something for a veteran. I would say it will take you about 45 min. to 1 hour to go through this, that is if you read everything.

Written December 17, 2014

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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