Madison Children's Museum
Under $25A hands-on museum in downtown Madison where children learn through play across arts, science, history, health, and civic life.
Transit: reachable by public transit

Photo: Chief-O, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sixteen acres of free outdoor gardens near Lake Monona, with a Thai pavilion and a tropical conservatory under a glass pyramid.
3330 Atwood Ave · Madison, WI
Olbrich Botanical Gardens spreads 16 acres of outdoor gardens along Starkweather Creek near Lake Monona in Madison. You can stroll the Sunken Garden with its 80-foot reflecting pool, a rose garden, a rock garden and the Thai Garden, whose sala was a gift from the government of Thailand and the Thai chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. The Bolz Conservatory, a 50-foot glass pyramid, holds tropical plants, a waterfall and birds year-round.
The closest stops to Olbrich Botanical Gardens, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
A hands-on museum in downtown Madison where children learn through play across arts, science, history, health, and civic life.
Transit: reachable by public transit
2.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Catch a Broadway tour, symphony, opera or ballet at Madison's performing arts center on State Street, or browse its free art galleries.
Transit: reachable by public transit
3.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Theater & Events
Wander two linked buildings of free galleries at UW-Madison, with European, American and Asian art, drop-in tours and a cafe.
Transit: reachable by public transit
3.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
A free garden on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, open daily from dawn to dusk, focused on connecting people with plants.
4.1 mi awayMore like this
A state recreation area just south of Madison, shared with a Dane County park, offering trails, camping, fishing and lake access on Lake Waubesa.
4.4 mi awayMore like this
A Wisconsin state park on the north shore of Lake Mendota with beaches, trails, and effigy mounds.
5.9 mi awayMore like this