Madeline Island Museum Reopens May 23 Featuring a Birchbark Canoe Build, Updated Exhibits and Robust Schedule of Events

Canoe Journeys program includes 20-day start-to-finish build and joins a 2026 season full of expansions, workshops, guest speakers and rich Ojibwe stories

LA POINTE, Wis. – Madeline Island Museum, a Wisconsin Historical Society site located on the largest of Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands, reopens for the 2026 season on May 23, offering new opportunities for visitors to experience the many stories of Madeline Island. In addition to updates to the landmark “Passages” exhibit, a brand-new “Madeline Island: A-Z” exhibit, highlighting island stories and adventures documented through historic photographs will debut.

Visitors can also experience the new “Canoe Journeys” program, featuring a 20-day birchbark canoe building demonstration that offers an up-close look at traditional Ojibwe birchbark canoe construction from start to finish.

The build begins on July 18 and will follow Red Cliff Ojibwe Elder and master canoe builder Marvin DeFoe throughout the process. The canoe build will honor the 1854 Treaty at La Pointe — a negotiation to stop removals and establish permanent homelands for the Ojibwe in the Lake Superior region. A maiden journey and ceremony are tentatively planned for Aug. 20. 

Popular returning events in 2026 include the museum’s weekly speaker series, featuring talks on Madeline Island history, nature and culture, as well as the annual Connecting Cultures: Fur Trade Weekend from June 19 to June 21. The milestone exhibit “Passages: Ojibwe Migration to the Place Where the Food Grows on the Water” returns, too, featuring new art and stories that expand on the Ojibwe peoples’ connections to the Lake Superior region.  

“Madeline Island Museum has long served as a hub for sharing the region’s many stories and a gathering place to learn and share with each other,” said Janet Seymour, outreach director, Wisconsin Historical Society. “From new workshops to the Canoe Journeys experience, our 2026 season connects to the past to share stories that continue to shape us today — while offering new perspectives on Madeline Island, the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin and beyond.” 

The museum, recognized in Travel + Leisure in an article naming the Apostle Islands as one of the “50 Places to Travel in 2025,” will be open from May 23 to Sept. 27, Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (May 23 to July 2 and Sept. 9 to 27) and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (July 3-Sept. 6). Guests can gain a preview of the 2026 season during the Madeline Island Museum Community Open House on May 22 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. General admission to Madeline Island Museum is $10 for adults (18-64) and teens (13-17), $8 for seniors (65+), $5 for youth (5-12) and free for children under five.  

Wisconsin Historical Society members receive free general admission and 10% off events. Memberships start at $60 annually. Members are encouraged to pick up a 2026 PastPort which can be used to collect stamps and redeem discounts at every Wisconsin Historical Society site.

Visit madelineislandmuseum.org for more information or to purchase tickets.

Upcoming Events at Madeline Island Museum:

Community Open House – Friday, May 22, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Curious about the 2026 Madeline Island Museum season? Be among the first to experience new additions to the “Passages” exhibit, meet with longstanding and new staff for a behind-the-scenes look at upcoming events, enjoy light snacks and beverages and learn more about upcoming museum programming efforts. The event is free and open to the public.  

Madeline Island Speaker Series – Select dates, June 17-September 2, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.*

In partnership with the Madeline Island Wilderness Preserve, the Madeline Island Museum offers a free weekly lecture with talks highlighting the history and culture of the Apostle Islands. See program dates, topics and speakers here and listed below: 

• June 17: Adventurous Traffick: Tribal Sovereignty, Gitchigami, the American Revolution, and the Birth of the Northwest Company – Dr. Eugene Tesdahl
• June 24: The Northern Edge of Maize: Ancient Farming & Food Systems in Northern Wisconsin and Madeline Island, Kevin Finney, Great Lakes Lifeways Institute 
• July 1: Chasing Dragons – Jeff Fischer
• July 8: The Farthest Side of Wildlife Ecology – John Bates
• July 15: A Resilient Planet Needs Fungi Now: The Secret Lives of Fungi – Britt Bunyard
• July 22: Life in the Apostles – Bob Nelson hosted by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
• July 29: Trees of Madeline Island – Kevin Finney, Great Lakes Lifeways Institute
• August 5: Madeline's Mosses: The Amphibians of Plant Communities – Joseph Rohrer
• August 12: Illuminating the Web – Emily Stone
•  *August 19: Estuaries in the Balance: Freshwater Nurseries of Lake Superior Film Screening and Q&A (Beginning at 6:30 p.m.) – John Shepherd
• August 26: Behind the Behavior: How Animals Learn – Haley Selen
• Sept. 2: Ojibwe Culture and Flute Music: An Evening with Anishinaabe Musician and Storyteller Laughing Fox – Michael Laughing Fox

Connecting Cultures: Fur Trade Weekend – Friday–Sunday, June 19–21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Friday–Saturday) and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Sunday)

Discover Madeline Island’s significant fur trade era history and walk through a dedicated re-creation of an 1800s encampment. Guests will get an up-close look at fur trade era activities and interact with living history presenters as they demonstrate the many other fascinating aspects of a trading post: tin smithing, candle making, woodworking, surveying and more. The cost is $10 for adults (18-64) and teens (13-17), $8 for seniors (65+), $5 for youth (5-12) and free for children under five, and includes General Admission access to Madeline Island Museum. Society members receive free admission.

Canoe Journeys and Seasonal Lifeways – Select dates, June 27–Aug. 20 

The 2026 Canoe Journeys program highlights Ojibwe history and Big Lake connections to the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior and the relationship with Madeline Island from the very beginning to the present day. It includes “Birchbark Lodge Seasonal Lifeways” (Saturday–Sunday, June 27–28, Aug. 8–9 and Aug. 29–30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), where guests will engage with makers showcasing their skills in basketmaking, flint knapping and birchbark canoe building, and “We are Making an 1854 Treaty Canoe” (July 18–Aug 20), a 20-day birchbark canoe building program led by Red Cliff Ojibwe Elder and master canoe builder Marvin DeFoe featuring a maiden journey and ceremony tentatively scheduled for Aug. 20. 

The cost is $10 for adults (18-64) and teens (13-17), $8 for seniors (65+), $5 for youth (5-12) and free for children under five, and includes General Admission access to Madeline Island Museum. Society members receive free admission.

Ojibwe Beaded Earrings Workshop with Ramona Morrow – Saturday–Sunday, Aug. 29–30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Guests will join Ojibwe artist Ramona Morrow in learning traditional beadwork skills while crafting their very own beaded earrings during this special workshop. Morrow is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and descendant of Yankton Sioux, who lives on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation near Hayward, Wisconsin. Morrow is also a member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association and has taught Beading, Traditional Native Techniques and Native American History at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University since 2017. The cost for this event is $30. Guests must be 13+ to attend.

Ojibwe Quill-Wrapped Bracelet Workshop – Saturday–Sunday, Sept. 5–6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Guests will join Ojibwe artist Ramona Morrow and learn traditional bracelet making skills as they craft their own porcupine quill-wrapped bracelet during this special workshop. The cost for this event is $30. Suggested for participants 13+. 

About the Madeline Island Museum

The Madeline Island Museum is one of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s 12 historic sites and museums. Founded in 1958, it shares the stories of Madeline Island and the surrounding region. Madeline Island is the homeland of the Anishinaabe people and one of the earliest areas of European settlement in the state. Mooningwanekaaning is the Ojibwe name for Madeline Island meaning place of the yellow breasted flicker bird. The site includes several historic buildings as well as the modern Capser Center Gallery where visitors can view special exhibits, watch films about island history, attend lectures, and participate in workshops. Owned and operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society since 1968, the museum is located in La Pointe, a half block from the ferry dock. Visit madelineislandmuseum.org or call (715) 747-2415 for more information. Wisconsin Historical Society members receive free admission to this site during regular operating hours.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. The Wisconsin Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, receives grants and private contributions benefitting the Wisconsin Historical Society and administers the membership program. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.