Community Open House

Celebrating 175 years of UW–Madison

We hope you enjoyed the UW 175th Anniversary Community Open House, April 5-7, 2024! Thank you for being a part of the three-day ultimate campus experience and for sharing in the celebration of our 175 years of education, innovation, and limitless impact!

See highlights and live coverage

Open house event archive

April 5, 2024, All day

Madison By Bike — Lakeshore Path Route

From our friends at Destination Madison, check out the stunning Howard Temin Lakeshore Path and dive into Madison’s natural history along the shoreline of Lake Mendota, ending at the iconic Memorial U...

A illustrated map of the Lakeshore Bike Path with cartoon symbols.

April 5, 2024, All day

Physical History of the UW-Madison Campus

FP&M will share a poster with historical highlights including changes to the cultural landscape and iconic sites.

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A black and white photo if historic Bascom Hall.

April 5, 2024, All day

Learn More about the new Computer, Data and Information Sciences (CDIS) building

UW-Madison is constructing a new space for Computer, Data and Information Sciences. Visit the Discovery Building to view a poster highlighting the new CDIS building.

A CGI rendering of the future CDIS building.

April 5, 2024, All day

Learn More about the Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall, the new Letters & Science Building

UW-Madison is preparing to construct a new space for the College of Letters & Science, Irving and Dorthy Levy Hall. Visit Grainger to view a poster highlighting the new Levy Hall building. ...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A CGI rendering of the future Levy Hall building.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Visit the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)

This gem of a library serving adults is the statewide examination center for children’s and young adult literature, and a renowned resource for statistics about diversity in books for youth. Stop by f...

An image of the CCBC, comprised of bookshelves, a welcome desk, and a red couch.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Babcock Dairy Observation Deck Tours

Tour Babcock Dairy’s observation deck to learn about the making behind 175 S’more Years ice cream and Cranniverscherry cheese! Tours are first-come, first-serve for up to 30 people, but th...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

Group of people at glass observatory looking at dairy machinery

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Most Agreeable & Rational Recreation: An Exhibit of Two Centuries of Educational Games

Long before gaming captured academic attention, there were plenty of educational games, exploiting technologies of print and cardboard rather than digital media, designed for use in families with a de...

A photo of an old, colorful board game, featuring wheels and drawings of historic individuals.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

UW-Madison Art Department Spring Student Exhibitions

The UW-Madison Art Department hosts a range of gallery exhibitions of student work throughout the academic year. These shows range from undergraduate, discipline-based, and graduate student collection...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A photo of guests within a white art exhibition gallery.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Community Open House Information – Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

Drop by our information desk for Community Open House schedule information, wayfinding support, and any other questions about visiting campus. While there, make sure to pick up your 175th Anniversary ...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 6, 2024

A photo of the CAVR information desk in the Discovery Building.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Community Open House Information – Union South

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A photo of CAVR students assisting guests at the information desk in Union South.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Community Open House Information – Memorial Union

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A photo of a student sat at the Memorial Union CAVR information desk.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Crafting a Study Abroad Experience

Get crafty with us! Visit the Study Abroad Resource Center for DIY button making, coloring pages from around the world, and a slideshow from our 2023 Study Abroad Photo Contest. Study abroad staff wil...

Pencil and airplane graphic in top left and bottom left corners with Study Abroad UW crest in lower right corner and red and white text that reads, crafting a study abroad experience, get crafty with study abroad.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Hiram Smith Hall Open House

Come explore Hiram Smith Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, the first permanent dairy instruction building in the US, and home to the top science communication programs in the country. This ...

An exterior shot of Hiram Smith Hall in the daytime.

April 5, 2024, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Video Games with Field Day Lab

Join Field Day Lab for an open house with some digital games and virtual reality. Learn about how video games are bringing world class research from the university to the public and how they help rese...

A student playing a video game using the field day lab equipment and software.

April 5, 2024, 9:30-10 a.m.

Seed by Seed: The story and process behind the collaborative design of the UW Madison 175th Anniversary Banners

In this presentation, Associate Professor Marianne Fairbanks, doctoral candidate in Anthropology Molli Pauliot, and Professor of Digital Arts Stephen Hilyard will discuss the collaborative process be...

A photo of the white seed by seed banners with blue, pink, green, and yellow, adorning Bascom Hall.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Message From Our Planet

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation present a new media exhibition that brings together 20 software, video, and light-technology works from 19 international artists at the forefront of digital a...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A photo of 3 brightly colored digital textures overlapping.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Look What Harvey Did: Harvey K. Littleton’s Legacy in the Simona and Jerome Chazen Collection of Studio Glass

Select works from this acclaimed studio glass collection celebrate the creative ingenuity that artist and educator Harvey K. Littleton inspired as a founder of the studio glass movement. See works by ...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A photo of an exhibit featuring numerous brightly colored glass pieces.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Embossing 175 Years of Excellence

People can use the custom 3D-printed embosser to print cards and bookmarks.

See 1 more event date from this series

April 6, 2024

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Disability Cultural Center Open House

Come explore the new Disability Cultural Center on campus! Established in 2023, the DCC uplifts disability culture and disabled belonging at UW-Madison. The open house will include giveaways, activiti...

Entrance to the Disability Cultural Center with sign fixed to red wall that reads, UW–Madison Disability Cultural Center.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Celebrate 175 Years of UW with Special Sales

Join us at the University Book Store on State Street to celebrate UW-Madison’s 175th Anniversary weekend! You can also participate in exciting contests, grab fabulous giveaways, and find unique Badger...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 7, 2024

A photo of Bucky Badger and a Book Store shopping bag mascot, standing in front of the University Book Store front desk.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Center for Design and Material Culture: Remaking the Renaissance

Remaking the Renaissance offers a fresh take on this iconic period of textile and fashion history, transforming the way we think about and see the cloth and clothing of the early modern period. Rema...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

A photo of red colored rugs overlapping.

April 5, 2024, 10-11 a.m.

First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour

The First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour is an award-winning, place-based, walking tour that welcomes guests to learn about the First Nations of Wisconsin and the 14,000+ years of human history in th...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 5, 2024

First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour guides Abbey Woldt and Kane Funmaker speak to burial mounds located on the north shore of Lake Mendota.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Tangible Secrets

In Tangible Secrets, Esther Cho investigates collected secrets as palpable material and explores the contemporary application of jiseung, a traditional Korean paper-weaving craft. Cho transforms mulbe...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

photo of a woven textile sculpture in white, green, red, and yellow.

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Inside Out

Heather Kohlmeier’s Inside Out explores the nature of comfort and impermanence within and around the body. Using materials such as delicate handmade paper, fine fiber, and skeletal-like wooden structu...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

photo of translucent paper shown in layers and stitched together

April 5, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Line Along the Knot

Veronica Y. Pham’s work focuses on traditional craft processes including, Vietnamese papermaking, Chinese knotting, and netting that reexamines a personal connection to these processes while ask...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

photo of tan netting over a wooden board with the shadow of a hand overhead

April 5, 2024, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

College of Engineering Makerspace Demos and Activities

Join the Makerspace in the afternoon of Friday, April 5th for an insider’s peek of campus’s hub for rapid prototyping. Largely student run, the Makerspace, part of the Grainger Engineering Design + In...

A photo of a student in Makerspace, working with cords and tools.

April 5, 2024, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

UW 175th Anniversary Community Scavenger Hunt

Explore campus at your leisure while doing a self-guided scavenger hunt. Pick up your scavenger hunt map and hints page at the Union South Welcome Desk. Finish the scavenger hunt at the Memorial Union...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 6, 2024

An aerial shot of campus, featuring the lake and Bascom Hall.

April 5, 2024, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The Writing Center and WAC (Re)Imagined: An Open House

Visit the recently remodeled space that houses the Writing Center, Writing Across the Curriculum, and the Writing Fellows programs! Our main Writing Center space includes new dedicated stations for wr...

A photo of the writing center space with students sitting at desks.

April 5, 2024, 12-4 p.m.

Public Open House at Washburn Observatory

Visit historic Washburn Observatory and its 1879 telescope. The observatory dome will be open to visitors regardless of sky conditions. This event is part of the 2024 Science Expeditions. Science Expe...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 6, 2024

A black and red compass surrounded by a circle of scientific logos.

April 5, 2024, 1-3 p.m.

Social Sciences Open House

Join the Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, Social Science Research Services (SSRS), & High Road Strategy Center (COWS) for a tabling event to learn more about the research, education, an...

A photo of the UW Carillon tower in Spring, surrounded by cherry blossoms.

April 5, 2024, 1-3 p.m.

Discover the Data Science Institute

At this hands-on event, you can play with generative AI tools, check out visualizations of research data, learn about open-source software, and experience our interactive campus networking tools such ...

A photo of the McArdle Building with a blue sky in the background.

April 5, 2024, 1-4 p.m.

Badger Meet-Up

The Wisconsin Alumni Association will host a Badger Meet-Up on Friday, April 5 from 1-4 p.m. throughout One Alumni Place and Alumni Park. This event is being held in conjunction with the 22nd annual S...

April 5, 2024, 1-4 p.m.

Missing-In-Action Recovery Project Open House

Join the volunteers and researchers for the Missing-In-Action Project at UW–Madison in talking about recent findings and recoveries. Handle World War Two artifacts, explore Lego planes, and experience...

See 2 more event dates from this series

April 6, 2024
April 7, 2024

Compass rose with different science-related icons surrounding it relating to botany, microbiology, palentology, astronomy, water, and a badger footprint.

April 5, 2024, 3-4 p.m.

Tea with The CommNS

For the UW175 join The Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies (CommNS) for an afternoon tea. The CommNS is a center for community-engaged teaching, research, and outreach focused on advancing the ...

April 5, 2024, 4-6 p.m.

Celebrating Geography and Map-making in Historic Science Hall

Visit Science Hall (c. 1888) to meet staff and students from Geography, the State Cartographer’s Office, and the WI Geological and Natural History Survey. The History of Cartography Project will displ...

A photo of UW's Science Hall, a large red orange building.

April 5, 2024, 5-10 p.m.

Just Bust! and Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement Information Table

Join us for Madison’s longest-running all-ages open mic, Just Bust! from 8-10 p.m. A tabling event will be available before open mic from 5-7 p.m. 5-7 p.m. – DDEEA TableThe Division of Div...

Person presenting at a microphone looking at phone.

April 5, 2024, 5-7 p.m.

Master of Fine Arts Opening Reception

Join us April 5th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Ruth Davis Design Gallery to celebrate the Design Studies Master of Fine Arts exhibitions by Esther Cho, Heather Kohlmeier, and Veronica Y Pham. Exhibiti...

graphic showing three images from left to right: image of a woven sculpture, translucent, sewing paper, and a woven net

April 5, 2024, 6-8 p.m.

Falling Walls Lab Wisconsin

Named in honor of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Falling Walls Lab is an international competition where young innovators showcase their breakthroughs that have a positive impact on science and society....

abstract geometric designs in the background with text saying "Falling Walls Wisconsin" "For creators, trailblazers, innovators, and visionaries"

April 5, 2024, 8-10 p.m.

Public Open Nights at Washburn Observatory

Visit historic Washburn Observatory and its 1879 telescope, which will be available for stargazing too if weather permits. The observatory dome will be open to visitors regardless of sky conditions. ...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 6, 2024

April 5, 2024, 9-11 p.m.

Wisconsin Late Night Presents: Cupcake Wars!

Want to show off your cupcake decorating skills? Come compete against your peers in WLN’s Cupcake Wars (and enjoy eating your cupcakes after)! *Decorating contest begins at 9PM and judging begins at 1...

April 6, 2024, All day

Madison By Bike – Lakeshore Path Route

See 1 more event date from this series

April 7, 2024

April 6, 2024, All day

Learn More About the new Computer, Data and Information Sciences (CDIS) Building

UW-Madison is constructing a new space for Computer, Data and Information Sciences. Visit the Discovery Building to view a poster highlighting the new CDIS building.

See 1 more event date from this series

April 7, 2024

April 6, 2024, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

AOSS Open House

Did you know that the UW-Madison is the birthplace of satellite meteorology? Learn more during the Atmospheric Oceanic and Space Sciences (AOSS) annual open house in conjunction with the campus-wide S...

April 6, 2024, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Law School Tour of Historical Pride Points & Traditions

UW Law is hosting a self-guided tour, during which you can learn more about the school’s history, traditions, and much more. The tour starts at the school’s statue of its mascot, the Gargoyle...

See 1 more event date from this series

April 7, 2024

April 6, 2024, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

UW Geology Museum Open House

Explore the Geology Museum and take a peek into Wisconsin’s deep history! On your visit you can touch rocks from a time when there were volcanoes in Wisconsin; see corals, jellyfish and other se...

Visitors gaze at an brown and cream colored agate slab being backlit and held by a museum volunteer.

April 6, 2024, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection Community Day

Join us for the spring semester Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection Community Day! Once a semester, collection staff host a Community Day where we lead behind-the-scene tours and share information a...

photo of two people taken from behind looking over their shoulders and they are looking at a textile on a table and taking a photo of it with their phone.

April 6, 2024, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Wisconsin Energy Institute Open House

On Saturday, April 6th, engage with Wisconsin Energy Institute scientists while exploring fun, interactive demonstrations and learning about the work being done to further our transition to clean ener...

April 6, 2024, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Celebrate 175 Years of UW with Free Samples, Prizes & Sales

Join us at the University Book Store on State Street to celebrate UW-Madison’s 175th Anniversary weekend! Visitors can explore local treats and amazing discounts as we host various local businesses of...

April 6, 2024, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

PBS Wisconsin Open Studio Day

Open House calls for Open Studio Day! Located in Vilas Hall on UW-Madison’s campus, PBS Wisconsin boasts the largest operating studio in the Midwest — and we are so excited to welcome you in to exper...

April 6, 2024, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Meet the Dining Delivery Robots

Come and see the friendly, wheeled robots that deliver fresh food to students around the UW-Madison campus! At this interactive demo, you’ll get to see the inside of a robot, how the orders are fille...

A photo of the white starship delivery robot in front of a residence hall, with a student leaning down to touch the top.

April 6, 2024, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Bingo Walking Tours

Join us for a 45-minute drop-in campus walking tour featuring BINGO! Each guest will receive a bingo card at the start of the tour and mark campus landmarks along the way. Current student tour guides ...