| Volume 14 • No. 1 |
January 2010 |
Tap into a great time in Milwaukee!
The Wisconsin city plans to dazzle delegates in February for BankTravel 2010.
Like a bird leisurely stretching its wings after a long nap, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s two moveable white sunscreens expand to 217-foot wingspan when they unfurl most mornings. From the stunning 341,000-square-foot museum, I took in one of my first views of the Milwaukee skyline on my visit there to preview the attractions delegates will experience during the 2010 BankTravel Conference Feb. 7-9.
Historic buildings, museums and green spaces hinted at the deep cultural and artistic side of the city famous as a setting for several television series such as Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
“People’s images of Milwaukee are from Laverne and Shirley, but Milwaukee has grown into so much more than that,” said Wendy Dobrzynski, group tour manager for Visit Milwaukee, the city’s convention and visitors bureau. “We are a sophisticated urban city with amazing history and entertainment.”
Dollar signs and a video display of gold coins jumping around on my screen helped kick off my tour of Potawatomi Bingo Casino. Leaving the ringing Chinese-themed slot machine before my beginner’s luck wore off, I toured the 780,000-square-foot casino whose design and décor stay true to the Native American heritage of its owners, the Potawatomi tribe, or “keepers of the fire.” The wooden lodge-themed casino rippled its size in 2008 to offer 3,100 slot machines, 20 poker tables, more than 100 table games and the 1,350-seat bingo hall.
 |
"It all started as a bingo hall,” said Ryan Amundson, external communications manager for the casino. “It is the eighth-largest bingo hall in the world. It’s a fun way for people to play a more social game than the traditional card games or electronic machines, which we also have.”
The next day I explored one of the nation’s oldest and largest natural-history museums: the Milwaukee Public Museum. The 1882 museum presents scenes from around the world with realistic dioramas that often tricked me for a split second into expecting the figures to move. A tribal African lion hunt, a dinosaur fight and a 20th-century re-creation of downtown Milwaukee all seemed believable in the museum’s various dioramas.
“The idea of depicting artifacts in their natural environments started in this museum,” said Jason Rehorst, special events manager for the Milwaukee Public Museum. “Prior to that, people used to just put things in cases without any explanations and little organization.”
The revving engines from numerous motorcycles parking outside signaled to me I had found the Harley-Davidson Museum. Inside, a long row of motorcycles illustrates the history of the vehicle from the first Harley-Davidson bike to the latest models. Interactive opportunities also helped dispel my motorcycle naivete with different engine sounds, a computer program to design my own bike and the Experience Gallery, where I swung onto a Harley while watching videos of a simulated ride across America.
 |
“You do not need to be a motorcyclist to appreciate the Harley-Davidson Museum, because from 1902 on, motorcycles were a part of history,” said Dobrzynski. “Harley-Davidson is a true American icon, because most people know someone into Harleys. They [the museum] also have videos where individuals tell why they ride, which puts another face besides the big burley guy to show what Harley is all about.”
Later, I found a piece of Milwaukee that stays tropical year-round at the Mitchell Park Domes. The domes contain three glassed-in gardens separated into tropical, arid and show domes. Inside the arid dome, I admired the odd twisting plants from Madagascar, and in the tropical dome, a jungle environment enveloped me with sweet smells and brightly colored exotic orchids.
