Milwaukee Public Museum plans to repurpose, gift, sell or dispose of non-collection items that cannot be moved to the future Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin, which is under construction.
These items, owned by MPM, are non-collection exhibit items, office furniture, equipment, built environments that are not attached to the building and other items, according to a report submitted to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Committee on Parks and Culture. Milwaukee County owns the museum’s collections.
MPM presented the plan to the County Board’s Parks Committee on Tuesday. Examples of non-collection items outlined in MPM’s presentation include fruits, plants, mannequins and other props that compliment or decorate an exhibit.
“The county’s collection, the fossils, the artifacts, the specimens that define who we are, will all be preserved and moved to the new museum or into storage,” said Erica Goblet, economic development project manager for Milwaukee County, at the County parks committee meeting.
MPM president and CEO Ellen Censky assured committee members that the museum has not “reclassified” any of the collection items.
The museum’s top priority for the surplus items is to repurpose them.
MPM is still determining what items will be repurposed in the new museum but confirmed in a recent social media post that Granny, the penny farthing bicycle and Abby, the meowing cat, all part of the Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit, will be brought over to the Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin.
If items cannot be repurposed, Milwaukee County departments, such as the Milwaukee County Zoo and Mitchell Park Domes, will have the first opportunity to claim these items, according to the report.
There will be a walkthrough period for government departments to identify and tag items.
Next, peer institutions such as the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World and tribal museums can review, claim and purchase items. After that, nonprofits, educational institutions and tribes will be able to request items, followed by exhibit fabrication and traveling exhibit production companies.
Tours for each eligible group will take place during the second and third quarters of 2026.
The remaining MPM property will be sold through a public sale in the fourth quarter of 2027, after MPM moves to the new building.
Placing the public sale at the bottom of the hierarchy is intended to ensure MPM is “keeping things in the public realm,” Censky said. An individual purchasing a piece of fruit from the museum may keep the item in their home, whereas the other institutions or companies will have the items in the public eye.
All items that cannot be repurposed or transferred will be “removed and discarded appropriately,” according to the report. The final clean out will take place between the end of 2027 and beginning of 2028.
MPM will move into its new building, located at the corner of Sixth and McKinley streets in the Haymarket neighborhood adjacent to downtown Milwaukee, in the first half of 2027. About half a million of 4 million total items have been packed for the move so far, Censky said last week.
More articles about the new Milwaukee Public Museum:
- See construction progress for the Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
- New name revealed for Milwaukee Public Museum
- Exhibit fabrication process begins for future Milwaukee Public Museum
- Exterior construction work for new Milwaukee Public Museum expected to finish this year
- Milwaukee Public Museum announces outdoor sculpture for new museum
- Construction work begins for new Milwaukee Public Museum
