Madison Children’s Museum: Fifth Annual SummerPalooza celebrates summer downtown at — and around — Madison Children’s Museum

CONTACT
Jonathan Zarov
Director of Marketing
C: (608) 335-2783
P: (608) 354-0149

Madison, Wis.– Thousands of children and their families will head downtown to enjoy SummerPalooza on Saturday, June 17. This is the fifth annual event, presented by Rotary Club of Madison and Madison Children’s Museum. SummerPalooza features free admission to the museum and a block party outside. The event takes place 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. — admission is free all day, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The entire museum, from the Wildernest up to the Rooftop Ramble — and including the Urb Garden and the Log Cabin — will be open for play. This will be a great opportunity to experience the museum’s newest exhibit, From Coops to Cathedrals: Nature, Childhood, and the Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, which opened on Wednesday.
Outside activities include music, dance, circus activities, animals from the Henry Vilas Zoo, and more.

On the Rotary Stage
10 a.m. Zhong Yi Lion Dance
11 a.m. Black Star Drum Line
12 p.m. Ken Lonnquist and the Kenland Band
1:30 p.m. VO5

On Hamilton Street
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Wild Rumpus “Try-It” Circus, inflatable obstacle course, games, strolling entertainment, and activity tables with local community organizations
10:30 – 11 a.m. Forward! Marching Band
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Henry Vilas Zoo to You

SummerPalooza is a partnership between Madison Rotary Foundation and Madison Children’s Museum, with generous support from Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. Charitable Foundation and BMO Harris Bank. Media sponsorship provided by Brava, Hulafrog, Isthmus, and Mid-west Family Broadcasting.

This year’s SummerPalooza includes the opening of the newest installment in the Design to Move: Stair Trek series. Migration was created by Excelsior Collective: artists Adriana Barrios, John Hitchcock, Rose Kratchman, and Amy Wilson. Migration will be installed on the lower level of the Dayton/Pinckney ULI parking lot, located across the street from the museum. Urban Land Interests and The Mullins Group own the lot. The work is all silkscreen images printed directly on the glass.

The first Design to Move: Stair Trek project, Core to Cosmos, was unveiled in February at the children’s museum. Since then, Stair Trek projects have been completed at the City-County Building and The YWCA across the street from the museum. Future Stair Trek installations are planned for Bayview Community Center and One City Learning later this summer — and another in the children’s museum in October.

Design to Move: Stair Trek is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Richard B. Anderson Family Foundation, Diane Ballweg, the Pyle Foundation, Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, Jim Berbee & Karen Walsh, Dane Arts with support from the Evjue Foundation, Healthy Kids Collaborative and the American Family Children’s Hospital, Trek Bicycle, and Madison Arts Commission with support from the Wisconsin Arts Board. Madison Children’s Museum has received additional contributions from the Play Everywhere Challenge, a collaborative grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, KaBOOM!, Target, Playworld, the U.S. Department for Housing & Urban Development, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The project relies on the collaboration and partnership of American Family Children’s Hospital, Bayview Foundation, Urban Land Interests, Dane Arts, Healthy Kids Collaborative, Madison Arts Commission, Madison Fire Department, One City Early Learning Center, University of Wisconsin Department of Art, UW Health, The YWCA Madison, and many departments within the City of Madison and Dane County.