All Things to Do in Florence
- Allen Centennial Garden is the artful living laboratory and public botanical garden of the Horticulture Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Garden serves as an outdoor classroom for UW-Madison students and the surrounding communities, providing meaningful learning opportunities for visitors of all ages. The Gardens are open year-round, dawn to dusk. Admission is free.
- The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art — MMoCA, formerly known as the Madison Art Center, is an art museum located in Madison, Wisconsin. A three-story glass facade “icon” on the corner of State and Henry Streets serves as the museum’s main staircase, as well as its architectural landmark. The collection includes Pitahayas, a 1938 oil-on-metal painting by Frida Kahlo.
- Lake Kegonsa State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, United States, on the northeast shore of Lake Kegonsa. It is located in Dane County southeast of Madison, Wisconsin. The park consists of forest, prairie, and wetlands. Known for its campground, beach, and approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) of hiking trails, the park offers swimming, fishing, water-skiing, sailing, and a boat landing. Lake Kegonsa itself covers 3,209 acres (12.99 km2) and is more than 30 feet (9 m) deep. It was created by a glacier during the last ice age approximately 12,000 years ago.
- Kitschy museum & shop with more than 5,500 mustards on display & hundreds at the tasting bar. Home to the World’s Largest Collection of Mustards and Mustard Memorabilia A mustard museum? ABSOLUTELY! According to Barry Levenson, founder & curator of the National Mustard Museum, you can blame it all on the Boston Red Sox. In the wee hours of October 28, 1986, after his favorite baseball team had just lost the World Series, Barry was wandering an all-night supermarket looking for the meaning of life. As he passed the mustards, he heard a voice:If you collect us, they will come. He did and they have. In 1992, Barry left his job as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin to open this most improbable museum, now one of Wisconsin’s most popular attractions. The Mustard Museum has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the popular game shows Jeopardy! and To Tell the Truth, as well as countless features on other national television and radio shows, and in major newspapers everywhere. So, why all the fuss? Well, with more than 6,090 mustards from all 50 states and more than 70 countries(and counting), our collection of Mustard History is a sight to behold. From the exquisite Gibbons Collection of mustard pots to antique tins & jars and vintage advertisements, the National Mustard Museum is truly a shining temple to the “King of Condiments”. Located on Hubbard Avenue in the heart of downtown Middleton, Wisconsin, the National Mustard Museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm, typically seven days a week (except New Years Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Please see our Hours of Operation page for any seasonal adjustments to our schedule. Of course, our online store never sleeps. The Best Part? It’s FREE! Admission to the National Mustard Museum is FREE … although the best way for the Museum to remain free is to encourage visitors to drop a donation in our Donation Box, make a tasty purchase in the Museum’s Gift Shop or online store, or make a donation online. Help us keep the mustard flowing for generations to come! Middleton neighbors Madison to the west, is only a 45-minute drive from Wisconsin Dells, just 2-1/2 hours from Chicago, and a mere 6,978 kilometers from Dijon, France.
- The Madison Children’s Museum is a museum for children in Madison, Wisconsin, that contains exhibits on the arts, sciences, history, culture, health, and civic engagement. Mission Madison Children’s Museum connects children with their families, their communities, and the world beyond through discovery learning and creative play. Vision The Madison Children’s Museum is a museum for children in Madison, Wisconsin, that contains exhibits on the arts, sciences, history, culture, health, and civic engagement.Madison Children’s Museum strives to be a welcoming, imaginative, joyful learning environment that supports families in nurturing children’s creativity and curiosity. We foster the healthy development of all children so that they will fulfill their potential and become engaged community members and global citizens. Values Our core values reflect what we believe is in the best interest of children—always. We believe in: Play, Integrity, Creativity, Collaboration, Risk, Inclusiveness, Learning, and Sustainability. We believe thatPlay is the work of childhood and the joyful right of all children. Integrity requires basing decisions on research, experience, and the best interests of children. Creative environments help people learn to solve problems, find beauty in uncommon places, and unleash their most innovative and unique selves. People value and champion what they collaborate to build. Taking progressive risks in childhood builds confidence to take healthy risks later in life. Inclusive play leads to working and living together successfully. Learning through play lays the foundation for a lifetime of critical thinking and intelligent living. Sustainable stewardship of our resources demonstrates our interconnectedness and inspires thoughtful choices.
- The Chazen Museum of Art opened in 1970 as the Elvehjem Art Center to further the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s mission of education, research, and public service. In 1978 it became the Elvehjem Museum of Art, and in 2005, in honor of a lead gift toward expansion, was renamed the Chazen Museum of Art. The expansion opened in October, 2011, doubling the size of the museum. The new building is joined to the Conrad A. Elvehjem building by a dramatic and functional bridge gallery. The Elvehjem Building is dedicated to the memory of the president of the UW–Madison from 1958 to 1962. The Chazen is a division of the Office of the Provost at the UW–Madison. The Chazen is home to the second-largest collection of art in Wisconsin: more than 20,000 works include paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, and decorative arts. The permanent collection covers diverse historical periods, cultures, and geographic locations, from ancient Greece, Western Europe, and the Soviet Empire, to Moghul India, eighteenth-century Japan, and modern Africa. The collection continues to grow thanks to artwork donations and purchases. The museum also presents frequent temporary exhibitions that highlight the collection or are borrowed from other museums, broadening the offerings to visitors. These temporary exhibitions may be local, national, or international, contemporary or historical in scope. As a state educational resource, the Chazen offers tours, talks by artists and scholars, and other educational programs and outreach for schoolchildren, college students, and art lovers of all ages. Special events include exhibition receptions, family days, gallery nights, Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen, and Sunday Cinematheque at the Chazen. These offerings are free and open to the public.
- The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1,260 acres (5 km2) in Madison, Wisconsin (located about four miles from the main campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison), the Arboretum also manages 520 acres of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin.
- Grand government building with tours Tours are offered of this large, architecturally notable government building completed in 1917. The Wisconsin State Capitol is the tallest building in Madison, a distinction that has been preserved by legislation that prohibits buildings taller than the columns surrounding the dome (187 feet). The Capitol is located at the southwestern end of the Madison Isthmus. The streets surrounding the building form the Capitol Square, which is home to many restaurants and shops
- We are proud to be one of only a few admission-free, community-supported zoos across the country. Thank you for supporting our mission to conserve and protect the wonders of the living natural world. On June 30, 1904, Col. William and Anna Vilas gave a large tract of land to the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association “for the uses and purposes of a public park and pleasure ground.” The park was named in memory of the Vilas’ son, Henry, who died at a young age due to complications from diabetes. In 1911, the first animal exhibits were created, representing the beginning of Henry Vilas Zoo. In what has proved to be a defining and truly visionary move, the Vilas family stipulated the park be free to the public. As the zoo developed within the park, it too remained free thanks to community support. The Henry Vilas Zoo is one of ten remaining free zoos in North America. As an accredited AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) zoo, our mission is to conserve and protect the wonders of the natural living world.