Art Fair on the Square
Organized by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Fair on the Square features music, entertainment, and outdoor dining, as well as fine works of art in mixed media, ceramics, drawings, graphics, prints, fiber, leather, furniture, glass, jewelry, metal, paintings, photographs, sculpture, 3D mixed media, and wood.
This is a HUGE event only one block away from the convention. It attracts over a quarter of a million people. We strongly suggest booking your hotel stay early!

Taking place July 9-10, 2011

The Dane County Farmers Market
The Saturday Farmers' Market is one of the most unique events in Madison, Wisconsin. The market usually takes place around the Capitol Square, but will be just off the square to make room for The Art Fair on the Square. Nearly 200 area farmers sell home grown produce, but the market is more than just produce! Live music, coffee, sweets, and fresh baked breakfast pastries, draw the Madison community to the square.
You gotta try some fresh cheese curds!

Tour the Capitol
Rising between the picturesque waters of Lake Monona and Lake Mendota, the majestic granite structure of Wisconsin's Capitol building glows like a beacon, accenting the Madison skyline. Reaching to a height of over 200 feet, the Capitol dome is topped by Daniel Chester French's elegant gilded bronze statue, "Wisconsin." Edwin Blashfield's mural "Resources of Wisconsin" lavishly decorates the ceiling of the rotunda, which is the only granite dome in the United States. Inside, visitors are treated to the unique textures of 43 varieties of stone from around the world, hand-carved furniture and exquisite glass mosaics.
Free tours are offered daily, year round!

The Madison Children's Museum
The new location of the Madison Children’s Museum, an award-winning destination for fun family activities and hands-on learning, is now open! Visit their inventive city of Possible-opolis for ages 5 and up, and their four-season Rooftop Ramble, replete with animals and gardens. Run on a human-sized Gerbil Wheeel, or take a green tour to see the reclaimed materials that have found new life. There’s always something new to do at Madison Children’s Museum, where their mission is to connect children with their families, their communities, and the world beyond through discovery learning and creative play.
Twilight Thursdays: the first Thursday of the month after 5 p.m., admission is free!

The Henry Vilas Zoo
A public zoo in Madison that receives over 500,000 visitors annually. It charges no admission or parking fees, and is one of a few free zoos in the world accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The Henry Vilas Zoo features lions, polar bears, capybaras, penguins, tigers, giraffes, rhinos, tapirs, bison, red pandas, and much more!
Yes, they do have Orangutans!

GROUNDS HOURS
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. DAILY
BUILDING HOURS
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

University of Madison Geology Museum
On your visit you can touch rocks from a time when there were volcanoes
in Wisconsin; see corals, jellyfish and other sea creatures that used to
live and swim where we now walk; and stand under the tusks of a mastodon
while imagining yourself in the Ice Age. Also on display at the Geology
Museum are rocks and minerals that glow, a model of a Wisconsin cave,
dinosaurs and meteorites.
Admission to the museum is free, guided tours $2 per person.

Chazen Museum of Art
European artists represented at this art museum include Joan Miró, Auguste Rodin, Barnaba da Modena, Andrea Vanni, Giorgio Vasari, Hubert Robert, Thomas Gainsborough, Benjamin Williams Leader, Eugène Boudin, and Maximillian Luce. The museum also has a large collection of American works, including contemporary works by the likes of Shusaku Arakawa. This museum has a fine collection of regionalist paintings by John Steuart Curry and Russian Social Realist paintings by Georgy Ionin and Klavdy Vasiliyevich Lebedev.
Admission is free!

The UW-Madison Arboretum,
world-famous for pioneering restoration work, provides living laboratories for restoration-related research & teaching. The 1,280 acre site includes wetlands, forests, & the Curtis Prairie, the world's oldest restored tallgrass prairie.
And its free!

Cave of the Mounds, - 30 min
A natural limestone cave located near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. It is located in the southern slope of the east hill. The cave's beauty comes from its many varieties of mineral formations called speleothems. The Chicago Academy of Sciences considers the Cave of the Mounds to be "the significant cave of the upper Midwest" because of its beauty, and it is promoted as the "jewel box" of major American caves

Wollersheim Winery - 30 min
Just across from Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, the Wollersheim Winery sits on a scenic hillside overlooking the Wisconsin River. The natural beauty surrounding the Wollersheim Winery has been the backdrop for a remarkable historical heritage, one told in rich detail during the winery's guided tour. The tour points out interesting aspects of the property, which has earned a listing in the National Register of Historical Places. Open daily 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Guided tours of the winery run daily
Wine tastings are at no charge, and are available anytime during the day or along with the tour.

Dr. Evermor's Forevertron - 45 min
The largest scrap metal sculpture in the world, standing 50 ft. (15,2 m.) high and 120 ft. (36,5 m.) wide, and weighing 300 tons. Built in the 1980s, it is steampunk art from before the term was coined. The sculpture incorporates two Thomas Edison dynamos from the 1880s, lightning rods, high-voltage components from 1920s power plants, scrap from the nearby Badger Army Ammunition Plant, and the decontamination chamber from the Apollo 11 spacecraft
This is a MUST SEE and it's free!

The Wisconsin Dells - 45 Min
With numerous indoor and outdoor waterparks in the Dells area, covering 70 acres Wisconsin Dells proclaims itself the "Waterpark Capital of the World". It is home to the largest outdoor water park in the U.S., Noah's Ark; the largest indoor waterpark resort, Wilderness Territory; and America's largest water and theme park resort, Hotel Rome at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park.
Some other attractions in the Dells include the Dells Boat Tours, numerous golf courses, mini golf, go-kart tracks, water sports, horseback riding, Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show and Exploratory, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Timber Falls Amusement Park, The Ho-Chunk Casino and many other places of interest.

The House on the Rock - 1 Hour
The grand vision of Alex Jordan, who believed that sights and sounds were the most effective means of stimulating the senses. He wanted guests to question his creation, to come to their own conclusions and to turn his world of dreams into their own. The Attraction has room after room of some of the world's most unique and eclectic collections which has amazed thousands of visitors each year.
As seen in Neil Gaiman's Novel - American Gods!

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin - 1 Hour
No amount of study, reading or web surfing can substitute for an in-person visit to Taliesin. Here you’ll breathe the fresh country air of Wright's Wisconsin home, take in nature’s magnificent panorama, and trace the arc of Frank Lloyd Wright’s creative vision. Celebrating its 100th anniversary, there are areas open in Taliesin this year that are normally closed to the public Take advantage of the serendipity!

Circus World - 1 Hour
Located in Baraboo WI, the winter home of the great Ringling Bros Circus. Circus World is a thrill for all ages. A chance to see how the circus has entertained people for generations. Acrobats, aerialists, tigers, jugglers, magic shows, elephants, and clowns. A full day of family fun, history and entertainment!