EXHIBITS
The Driftless Historium is an award-winning Interpretive Center telling the story of Southwestern Dane County from pre-history to modern day. Over 3,000 square feet of space is dedicated to sharing the lives of our rich cultural heritage.
Visit all three of our exhibit areas: our Permanent Exhibit that tells this area's story through engaging graphics and carefully chosen artifacts, documents and photographs from the Society's extensive collections; rotating exhibits in our Special Exhibits Gallery (see below for a description of the latest exhibit); and changing gallery shows in the Kalscheur Family Foundation Community Room & Gallery (see below).
Also visit our virtual reality kiosk as you virtually walk through three local historical sites.
Come and share the fun and learn about the unique Driftless Area of Wisconsin.
Hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday; 10am - 4:00 pm. (Weather Closing Policy)
Visit all three of our exhibit areas: our Permanent Exhibit that tells this area's story through engaging graphics and carefully chosen artifacts, documents and photographs from the Society's extensive collections; rotating exhibits in our Special Exhibits Gallery (see below for a description of the latest exhibit); and changing gallery shows in the Kalscheur Family Foundation Community Room & Gallery (see below).
Also visit our virtual reality kiosk as you virtually walk through three local historical sites.
Come and share the fun and learn about the unique Driftless Area of Wisconsin.
Hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday; 10am - 4:00 pm. (Weather Closing Policy)
Main Gallery
The Driftless Historium permanent exhibit is housed in the renovated 2,000-square-foot exhibit hall, located in the facility’s north wing.
This fascinating walk through history takes visitors on a journey from the great glaciers to the present. Along the way, meet American Indians, miners, innkeepers, farmers, cheese makers, sportsmen, preachers, school teachers, shop keepers, tourists and Civilian Conservation Corps participants as you discover their stories through vivid text panels, historical documents and photographs, and hundreds of artifacts.
The exhibit incorporates all levels of the museum experience from traditional text panels to life-sized diorama settings, hands-on interactive stations to multimedia displays. There is something for all ages!
This fascinating walk through history takes visitors on a journey from the great glaciers to the present. Along the way, meet American Indians, miners, innkeepers, farmers, cheese makers, sportsmen, preachers, school teachers, shop keepers, tourists and Civilian Conservation Corps participants as you discover their stories through vivid text panels, historical documents and photographs, and hundreds of artifacts.
The exhibit incorporates all levels of the museum experience from traditional text panels to life-sized diorama settings, hands-on interactive stations to multimedia displays. There is something for all ages!
A sampling of subjects you'll discover:
Get ready for your visit!
Download the companion Scavenger Hunt HERE.
Download the companion Scavenger Hunt HERE.
Special Exhibits Gallery
Included in General Admission; FREE for Members and Veterans/Active Duty Military
Included in General Admission; FREE for Members and Veterans/Active Duty Military
NOW SHOWING through October 2024
History in 3D: The Stereoview Sensation
Visitors don special glasses and step into a mesmerizing three-dimensional past, via forty-four historic images of the greater Mount Horeb area—converted and enlarged from their original stereoscopic format to red-and-cyan anaglyphs.
The majority of the images were selected from the extensive photographic collection of the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, with a few select images graciously loaned by Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum & Folk Art School (Decorah, IA), Norwegian-American Historical Association (Northfield, MN), and Stoughton Historical Society (Stoughton, WI). All were re-formatted for this exhibit by local historian and exhibit designer Arlo Paust.
These photographs represent some of the earliest records of our landscapes and domestic spaces, with the majority taken by Wisconsin photographers Andreas Larsen Dahl and Samuel Nilson Rockstead in the 1870s and 1880s. They document remarkable details of village and rural life in southwestern Dane County. In particular, exhibit guests will see Norwegian immigrant families who were in the process of transitioning to life as Americans.
Within the gallery, original artifacts demonstrate the timeline of three-dimensional imagery: from the then-ubiquitous Victorian stereoscopic viewer, to mid-century stereoscopic personal cameras, to the kitschy Magic Eye books of the 1990s, and immersive 3D movies of today.
Furthermore, an interactive kids’ corner encourages the young and the young at heart to experience another popular iteration of 3D imagery, the Viewmaster, a toybox staple that has captivated American children for generations.
Finally, “History in 3D” is extended into the present, with a companion display of modern stereoscopic views by Mount Horeb’s own Michael Pecosky. Though Michael might consider himself an amateur, his work has captured numerous accolades and awards, including 2016 Best of Show by the National Stereoscopic Association.
History in 3D: The Stereoview Sensation
Visitors don special glasses and step into a mesmerizing three-dimensional past, via forty-four historic images of the greater Mount Horeb area—converted and enlarged from their original stereoscopic format to red-and-cyan anaglyphs.
The majority of the images were selected from the extensive photographic collection of the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, with a few select images graciously loaned by Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum & Folk Art School (Decorah, IA), Norwegian-American Historical Association (Northfield, MN), and Stoughton Historical Society (Stoughton, WI). All were re-formatted for this exhibit by local historian and exhibit designer Arlo Paust.
These photographs represent some of the earliest records of our landscapes and domestic spaces, with the majority taken by Wisconsin photographers Andreas Larsen Dahl and Samuel Nilson Rockstead in the 1870s and 1880s. They document remarkable details of village and rural life in southwestern Dane County. In particular, exhibit guests will see Norwegian immigrant families who were in the process of transitioning to life as Americans.
Within the gallery, original artifacts demonstrate the timeline of three-dimensional imagery: from the then-ubiquitous Victorian stereoscopic viewer, to mid-century stereoscopic personal cameras, to the kitschy Magic Eye books of the 1990s, and immersive 3D movies of today.
Furthermore, an interactive kids’ corner encourages the young and the young at heart to experience another popular iteration of 3D imagery, the Viewmaster, a toybox staple that has captivated American children for generations.
Finally, “History in 3D” is extended into the present, with a companion display of modern stereoscopic views by Mount Horeb’s own Michael Pecosky. Though Michael might consider himself an amateur, his work has captured numerous accolades and awards, including 2016 Best of Show by the National Stereoscopic Association.
VIRTUAL TOUR of the Mount Horeb Area
View the exterior, interior and grounds of the Norway Building, constructed for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
At the end of the fair, the building was moved to a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, estate later owned by the Wrigley family of chewing-gum fame. Eventually it was moved to Little Norway, a local attraction in rural Blue Mounds where generations of visitors experienced its unique charms. Several years after Little Norway closed to the public, the building was moved back to Orkanger, Norway, where it was originally created.
Weeks before the Norway Building was dismantled and moved back to Norway, researchers at UW-Madison's Wisconsin Institute for Discovery scanned the structure and recreated it as a high resolution, 3D reconstruction. Using state-of-the-art technology, visitors to the Driftless Historium can once again experience this unique building as they virtually "walk" through and around the Norway Building at our 3D kiosk.
Also on view are 3D reconstructions of the historic Springdale Lutheran Church and a local "hanging" dairy barn, now part of Rare Earth Farm, owned and cared for by Charles Bauer and Charles Beckwith.
View the exterior, interior and grounds of the Norway Building, constructed for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
At the end of the fair, the building was moved to a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, estate later owned by the Wrigley family of chewing-gum fame. Eventually it was moved to Little Norway, a local attraction in rural Blue Mounds where generations of visitors experienced its unique charms. Several years after Little Norway closed to the public, the building was moved back to Orkanger, Norway, where it was originally created.
Weeks before the Norway Building was dismantled and moved back to Norway, researchers at UW-Madison's Wisconsin Institute for Discovery scanned the structure and recreated it as a high resolution, 3D reconstruction. Using state-of-the-art technology, visitors to the Driftless Historium can once again experience this unique building as they virtually "walk" through and around the Norway Building at our 3D kiosk.
Also on view are 3D reconstructions of the historic Springdale Lutheran Church and a local "hanging" dairy barn, now part of Rare Earth Farm, owned and cared for by Charles Bauer and Charles Beckwith.
Kalscheur Family Foundation Community Room & Gallery
Temporary changing exhibits, often featuring local artists, are free and accessible during regular museum hours.
Temporary changing exhibits, often featuring local artists, are free and accessible during regular museum hours.
NOW SHOWING through April 16, 2024
"Celebrating Wisconsin's Centennial through Stamps"
fea. Southwestern Dane County Postal History & Artifacts
A unique exhibit of Wisconsin and local postal history, “Celebrating Wisconsin’s Centennial through Stamps,” is now showing in the Kalscheur Family Foundation Community Room.
John Pare, a serious and avid philatelist (a.k.a. stamp collector), is exhibiting his extensive and rare collection of first day covers celebrating the Wisconsin Centennial of 1948. Pare has spent decades accumulating a large and colorful selection of postage envelopes and stamps produced specifically for the Wisconsin milestone. This is a rare chance to see a selection of his award- winning collection.
Pare began collecting on June 4, 1953, the date of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. He was ten years old at the time and living in Bermuda with his family. Every post office in the British Empire issued a special stamp that day and his older sister visited the Hamilton, Bermuda, post office during her lunch and mailed John a first day cover with a handwritten note warning him not to remove the stamp from the envelope. He continued to collect stamps throughout his life including during his military service in the Marine Corp and his work as a US Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer. A former educator and retired Mount Horeb Area High School principal, Pare is an active volunteer at the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society and Driftless Historium.
To add some local flavor, the museum’s curators and volunteers have assembled never-before-seen artifacts and photographs from the Historical Society’s collection to add to the experience. Represented are three area post offices, each with their own unique histories: the Montrose Post Office which closed in 1901, the actual mail sorter from the tiny Klevenville Post Office dating to about 1917, and a section of the 1955 Mount Horeb Post Office that was removed to make room for the present post office.
This exhibit is FREE and open to the public during regular museum hours (Friday through Tuesday,10:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. For more information call 608-437-6486 or email mthorebahs@gmail.com.
"Celebrating Wisconsin's Centennial through Stamps"
fea. Southwestern Dane County Postal History & Artifacts
A unique exhibit of Wisconsin and local postal history, “Celebrating Wisconsin’s Centennial through Stamps,” is now showing in the Kalscheur Family Foundation Community Room.
John Pare, a serious and avid philatelist (a.k.a. stamp collector), is exhibiting his extensive and rare collection of first day covers celebrating the Wisconsin Centennial of 1948. Pare has spent decades accumulating a large and colorful selection of postage envelopes and stamps produced specifically for the Wisconsin milestone. This is a rare chance to see a selection of his award- winning collection.
Pare began collecting on June 4, 1953, the date of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. He was ten years old at the time and living in Bermuda with his family. Every post office in the British Empire issued a special stamp that day and his older sister visited the Hamilton, Bermuda, post office during her lunch and mailed John a first day cover with a handwritten note warning him not to remove the stamp from the envelope. He continued to collect stamps throughout his life including during his military service in the Marine Corp and his work as a US Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer. A former educator and retired Mount Horeb Area High School principal, Pare is an active volunteer at the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society and Driftless Historium.
To add some local flavor, the museum’s curators and volunteers have assembled never-before-seen artifacts and photographs from the Historical Society’s collection to add to the experience. Represented are three area post offices, each with their own unique histories: the Montrose Post Office which closed in 1901, the actual mail sorter from the tiny Klevenville Post Office dating to about 1917, and a section of the 1955 Mount Horeb Post Office that was removed to make room for the present post office.
This exhibit is FREE and open to the public during regular museum hours (Friday through Tuesday,10:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. For more information call 608-437-6486 or email mthorebahs@gmail.com.