Madison Children's Museum Reviews

My husband and I initially chose the Madison Children’s Museum for our wedding reception because of its uniqueness and kid-friendly atmosphere. We loved that the museum was so colorfully decorated, and that the exhibits were open to our guests.

All the staff was amazing - Belmont was extremely friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and professional! My husband and I always felt comfortable reaching out and felt heard regarding our needs and wants. Belmont worked closely with our vendors and he was willing to go above and beyond to help us.

We still have guests making comments that our cocktail hour and reception at the Museum was one of the best experiences they had...and we have the Museum’s staff to thank for that! We are so happy with our experience and highly recommend this venue to anyone looking for a fun and unique place to celebrate!

Oh my gosh. This venue MADE our reception. Our friends tell us months later how much fun they had at our reception, and others have said that we've set the bar for future weddings. My husband and I are laid back to a fault, and this venue perfectly fit our "chill but fun" vibe that we were going for. We had our ceremony at the court house, so we had drinks and snacks on the roof followed by a sit-down dinner in the art studio. All we had to provide were centerpieces! The walls and exhibits are colorful and fun, making the rooms speak for themselves. We went DIY with the dancing, and the museum sound system worked perfectly to just plug in an ipod and dance the night away. I only had to rent uplights to make the space fun for dancing!

Our guests loved the exhibits. Two of our guests did full, upside-down spins on the hamster wheel, and a feet-only tournament started on the large pong screen. It was so nice to give people other options for activities besides just dancing and sitting!

Sarah was great to work with. I emailed a ton of questions and she responded quickly and patiently. She was honest about what we needed to consider and what was probably not necessary for our non-traditional event. I appreciated that she understood the vibe we were going for and could provide great feedback!

Two drawbacks were that you had to pay extra to have the event extend past 11 (as another reviewer said, we were having such a fun time that the event felt too short!) and that there is no option for a cash bar (you must pay for a open-bar). I understand both of these policies, however, and ultimately they didn't detract from what turned out to be a fantastic event. I would highly recommend this venue!

We had our wedding at the Madison Children's Museum and it was SO MUCH FUN! We booked the museum for our ceremony and reception because we wanted a unique space that was downtown.We worked with Sarah and she was so helpful with everything. She gave us a tour and even showed my parents around when they were in town visiting. She was responsive to emails and was super organized.

We had our ceremony in the rooftop garden and it was absolutely gorgeous with all the sunflowers and plants up there. Then our reception was down on the 2nd floor in the art studio. Our guests were free to explore the museum and we received many compliments during the evening. Everyone had a blast!

I will add too that the museum was open until 4:30/5 (certain sections close earlier) on the day of our wedding, however, there was no issue with set-up. The museum staff handles setting up tables and chairs. We only had to provide our decorations and because the space already has a lot of decorations, you do not need much so if you are thinking about this as a venue, don't let the short time turn you away! We absolutely loved it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun space!

I had my rehearsal/welcome dinner (out of town guests and wedding party) at MCM. An outstanding location, unique, accommodating and a great place to bring out of town guests.

We knew right away that the Madison Children’s Museum was the place for us to get married. It was a fun, unique, colorful, perfect place for a non-traditional wedding celebration. Sarah (the rental coordinator) was very easy to work with and was always very prompt in answering any questions we had. She also did a wonderful job of letting us know what has worked best for past weddings which helped a great deal in planning the evening.

The roof made for a perfect intimate ceremony overlooking the capitol building and the rest of the museum offers plenty of space for a large group to have a sit-down meal and dancing. Our guests loved all of the opportunities to play and explore the museum. The staff (Sarah and Matt) made sure everything went smoothly throughout the whole event. While the space was a bit more expensive compared to other venues we explored, we were happy to pay a little bit more knowing the money goes to educational programs and that we got tons of added entertainment not found at other venues. We received many compliments on choosing the space and even had a family member come up to us and tell us this was the first time at a wedding reception she and her husband could mingle with other adults as her kids were thoroughly entertained with all the museum had to offer.

We HIGHLY recommend the Madison Children’s Museum for an unforgettable wedding!

I think you know if you're the kind of person who wants to get married at a children's museum. If you are, I say DO IT! Sarah, the event coordinator, is incredible to work with. She made wedding planning much less stressful than it could've been. We had a wonderful time, the guests had a wonderful time, and it makes for a night that won't blend into the string of other weddings your guests are probably attending. We opted for a short ceremony on the rooftop, followed by a standing reception on the second floor. It was too short! It's worth noting that since the museum is open during the day, events can't start earlier than 6/6:30, and the end time is 11 unless you pay for an extra hour. Looking back, it may have been worth it because we were having so much fun. It's an amazing venue, as there is built-in entertainment and decoration. We had flowers for the wedding party, and a couple signs for the tables, but that was about it. Just add guests! My husband and I walked past the MCM one night while they were having a wedding reception long before we were engaged and said, "Let's get married there." And we did! It didn't disappoint. It was absolutely the perfect choice. We can't recommend it enough.

Our reception was held at MCM & the museum staff did nothing but impress me. For large event spaces in the Madison area, the prices are competitive. They even have chairs and some tables available to rent from them for a far far less costly price than if you were to rent from the usual events rental places. >>

I first met with Sara S, the events manager (and later with Sarah B., who was taking over her position) to learn more about the space, rates, etc. She was so thorough and descriptive about what they could offer, what was allowed and not allowed, etc. that I signed a contract on the day. It was just what we were after: a unique space that would allow for our smallish wedding to have a fun and special evening. We rented the whole museum which allowed us use of the 2 main floors + the roof. >>

The day of the reception my contact was Michael who was absolutely one of the best venue managers I've ever dealt with. When our plans for getting our decor home on the night had a sudden change, he accommodated us kindly and we adjusted our plans. When we weren't sure what to do with our beautiful (but admittedly not practical for non-party purposes) paper decorations, he let us know that the art studio in the museum is happy to accept donations. This was great! As a teacher, knowing that I could donate my decorations to the museum where they'd get reused and turned into the creation of a child was FABULOUS. The museum employees helped us to clean up (which I had been told would not be part of the deal). They just continued to amaze all night. Do consider MCM for your Madison wedding. Trust me: a large group of adults + a giant climber + a human-sized hamster wheel is possibly even more fun than a group of kids!And cocktails at sunset on the roof garden? You can't beat those city views. >>

I loved my wedding reception and it's very much due to the great work and effort of the event staff at MCM.