APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – Wednesday evening was the grand opening for a new exhibit at the History Museum at the Castle featuring a collection that earth science buffs in the area will likely recognize.
The ‘Prehistoric Wisconsin’ exhibit is one of the centerpieces of the History Museum at the Castle and features specimens from the former Weis Earth Science Museum. History Museum at the Castle executive director Dustin Mack said they changed the layout of the museum to create space for the new exhibit.
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“We had been told that there was about 20,000 (specimens) to move from the Weis Earth Science Museum, and it turned out there was about 50,000, so that increased the work as far as actually making the physical move,” he told Local 5 News.
The Weis Earth Science Museum used to call the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus home. Back in 2024, university officials announced the campus would close, leaving the future of the Weis Earth Science Museum in limbo.
The folks at the History Museum at the Castle offered to take in the Weis Earth Science Museum collection. Stephen Weis, whose parents founded the Weis Earth Science Museum, said initially he was a bit apprehensive. However, after speaking with some of his friends from the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and hearing Mack’s vision for the collection, he said he was sold.
“I’m flying on cloud nine,” Weis told Local 5 News at the grand opening. “To have it saved and have additional specimens being donated already, that kind of thing really gives me hope that this will stand out in the community.”
Before the Weis Earth Science Museum collection moved, there were several outspoken critics of the proposal who insisted that the best course of action would be to keep it on the college campus.
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“We did have some people who were opposed initially who have come around and are buying into what we’re doing around here and other people haven’t yet,” Mack told Local 5 News. “We think when people see this exhibit and what we were able to make possible and the care we put into the process, we will keep generating greater support.”
For more information about the ‘Prehistoric Wisconsin’ exhibit, please click here.
“Seeing them go from spot to spot, finding the next exciting thing for them to look at that makes it all worth it,” Mack said about what it was like to see kids enjoy the new exhibit during the grand opening.
