8 Free Or Low-Cost Field Trips Near Madison, Wisconsin

Whether you’re a Wisconsin native or just passing through, the area around Madison is filled with amazing, free or low-cost field trips that are well worth taking. Part of that is because Madison is Wisconsin’s state capital, which makes it an attractive place to put museums and exhibits, but the larger part is simply because of the region’s unique history and geology. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in learning about Wisconsin’s cultural history, wanting to learn about animals from around the world, or anything in between, there’s sure to be a great field trip experience available within a short distance of Madison!

My family visited Madison, WI as part of a World Schooling Pop-up event hosted by World School Pop Up Hub! They do pop-up events with schedules similar to this one in places all over the world, with the added benefit of a built-in community. If that sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, give their website a look!

1. Henry Villas Zoo
(Free admission)

Zoos are one of my absolute favorite ways to spend a free day in a new city, and for a smaller zoo, Henry Villas does a great job at making tons of exotic creatures accessible to kids (and adults) of all ages. 

Not only do they have classic standbys like giraffes, lions, and an assortment of monkeys, but they also have some animals that I haven’t had a chance to see in zoos before. Polar bears, harbor seals, and the reticulated glass frog were all first-time species for me here. 

They had a great variety of exhibits, and a clean, open feel to their walkways. I loved that they also have a large playground area for the kids and a smaller young kids zoo path that makes a short zoo trip a lot easier to manage.  

And the cherry on top? The whole zoo is free! 

2. New Glarus
(Free admission)

Only a short drive from Madison, the small town of New Glarus is a village that is proud of its cultural heritage. Originally, the town was created as a place where Swiss immigrants could settle together, and today the town embraces its nickname, “America’s Little Switzerland.” 

While the atmosphere of New Glarus is enough to give you a glimpse of its Swiss roots, there are a number of places you can visit to dig deeper. The Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum is a house museum displaying the personal collection of Edwin Barlow, who was responsible for bringing the Swiss tale of William Tell to the States. Or you could visit the Swiss Historical Village to get a glimpse into the lives of early Swiss immigrants, including a restored one-room cabin that was built by real pioneers during the 1850s!

Places like New Glarus are great for learning about differences and similarities in world cultures and give you a taste for the amazing diversity in the world without needing to bring your passport. I highly recommend a visit.  

3. National Historic Cheesemaking Center
($5/person, under 16 free)

Speaking of Swiss immigrants, did you know that they were largely the ones responsible for making Wisconsin the cheese-making state that it is? That’s because when immigrants settled in the area, they kept much of the culture and traditions that shaped their lives in Europe, including cheese-making. 

If you’re at all curious about the history of cheese-making in Wisconsin, I highly recommend visiting the National Historic Cheesemaking Center in Monroe, WI. Their on-site museum and guided tour explore Wisconsin cheesemaking in detail. Explore a restored cheese factory that was actually used by local farmers over a hundred years ago! Learn how cheese gets made from milking the cows to the finished product! It’s a fascinating process from start to finish.

And, if all this talk about cheese is making you a bit hungry, you’re in luck! Baumgartner’s restaurant is only about 5 minutes away and offers a variety of delicious cheese sandwiches, including their famous Limburger Cheese sandwich. I can attest that despite Limburger’s reputation as a smelly cheese, the sandwich itself is wonderful, especially dipped in Baumgartner’s spicy honey mustard!

4. University of Wisconsin Geology Museum
(Free admission)

One of the many, many fun things about Madison is that it is home to the University of Wisconsin, and benefits greatly from that association. That’s because the University of Wisconsin makes many of its resources available to the public, either for free or for a very low price. Among their museums of art and arboretums, there is a hidden “gem” of a museum that was easily one of my favorite places that we visited! 

The University of Wisconsin Geology Museum is located in downtown Madison right among the classrooms and labs of campus, but it is open and free for the public to visit. Unsurprisingly for a Geology museum, a large part of its focus is on rocks and minerals from around the world, but it has a couple of really unique exhibits that my family really enjoyed! One such is the black light room where you can see firsthand how some minerals react under different wavelengths of UV light. Another was their surprisingly great collection of fossils! 

The whole place was a very pleasant surprise for us, and while it didn’t take us very long to walk through the entire collection, we loved every bit of it. 

5. Cave of the Mounds
($18.95/ Age 13 and up, $10.95/ Ages 4-12)

Coming in as the most expensive attraction on this list, the Cave of the Mounds is a truly underground venue. 

Cave of the Mounds is a beautiful limestone cave located about half an hour’s drive away from Madison. It was originally discovered when a dynamite blast opened up an entrance into the cave while the area’s limestone was being mined. When the miners saw what was inside the hole they had opened, mining in the area was stopped, and soon after the cave was opened for tourism! 

My kids love exploring caves and getting to see all the fascinating rock formations that grow in them. At Cave of the Mounds, they specifically like finding food-named formations, like “popcorn” and “cave bacon.” The cave itself is one of the better-lit caves I’ve visited, and the paths were clearly marked, so it’s a great cave to try out if you’re not sure how your kids will react to being underground. 

6. Aztalan State Park
($3/adult, $1/kid, Under 7 Free) + Parking

When the ruins at Aztalan State Park were first discovered, the researchers who discovered them thought that they must somehow be related to the Aztec people group from Mexico, due to the village’s fortifications and a pyramidal structure that they found. 

That turned out not to be the case, but it does explain where the site’s unique name came from. Researchers now believe that the village was a Mississippian village in Wisconsin, which is still a really unique find! 

Today, some of the structures from the village have been rebuilt to give visitors a small glimpse of what it looked like. Places like this don’t always appeal to younger kids but they can be a great launching off point for conversations about the indigenous people who lived in America before us, so I think they are well worth a visit!  

7. Olbrich Botanical Gardens
(Free admission)

Botanical Gardens are another of my personal favorites! It’s often a lot of fun to walk through the different gardens available and explore the biodiversity on display. Olbrich Botanical Gardens has a large variety of gardens just for this purpose, each with its own theme.  

The garden’s focus is on educating the public on the importance of plants in creating a sustainable world, and they do a beautiful job working towards that goal. While visitors can make a day of simply walking through the gardens, Olbrich Botanical Gardens also hosts a number of really interesting classes for both kids and adults, ranging in topics from gardening and cooking, to photography and sustainable landscaping! 

8. Madison Capitol Building 
(Free admission)

Another excellent field trip in Madison is going to visit the State Capitol Building. My family hasn’t visited many capitol buildings during our travels, but I was super impressed by the grandeur of this building. 

A small museum on the building’s top floor has tons of great information on the construction and history of the building, as well as the efforts to restore it after the building burned in 1904. While the building is open to visitors, it is a working capitol building, so many parts are off-limits. 

Apart from the beauty of the building, a visit is also a great time to have discussions about the American system of government and how it works, as well as exploring the history of how we got here. 

I wouldn’t expect to spend a long time touring the building, but it is definitely worth a visit!

This post is far from being a complete list of all the amazing field trips available in the Madison area, but these were some of our favorites during our visit to Wisconsin!

I don’t know that I would have ever made it up to Wisconsin if it weren’t for the Madison World School Pop-Up that we attended, but that probably would have been a mistake. Not only were there a ton of great activities for us to do with our family, but it also served as a great launching off point for our recent roadtrip through a number of National Parks including the Badlands and Yellowstone!

Ready to book your own trip to Madison, WI?

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