Docking Station

Docking Station

We review Port Washington’s new mini-museum, the Port Exploreum.

To know a port’s maritime history is to love it. That’s the idea behind the Port Exploreum, the new mini-museum in Port Washington (118 N. Franklin St.). The local historical society spent three years acquiring and restoring the property before opening it to the public in spring 2015.

The somewhat steep $8 admission fee ($5 for kids) permits access to three floors and 5,400 square feet of exhibitions. On the top floor is a dense timeline of the port’s nautical past, as well as a gorgeous outdoor patio. On the main level is “Nothin’ But Nets,” an ode to the century-long rise and fall of the port’s commercial fishing industry. Below deck is a child’s paradise: a hallway lined with hands-on games, underwater videos and educational quizzes. But what make this an “exploreum” are the interactive features. With nearly a dozen touch-screen devices throughout the facility – one as large as your dining room table – it can be a daunting experience for technological newbies.

‘Docking Station’ appears in the February 2016 issue of Milwaukee Magazine.

Find the February issue on newsstands beginning Feb. 1.

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