This exhibition features elementary school favorites highlighted from the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
Scroll to the bottom for related lesson plans.
See if you can spot all of these objects during your visit!
OBJECT HISTORY: Pasty
The lead mining industry of the 1830s and 1840s brought miners from Cornwall, England to southwestern Wisconsin. The miners brought Cornish traditions like the pasty, a filling food for hungry miners. The availability of pasties today demonstrates the lasting traditions of early European immigrants in Wisconsin. Pasties are folded pastries filled with meat and vegetables.…
OBJECT HISTORY: Vacuum
People in the early 20th century witnessed the invention of all kinds of household tools we take for granted today, such as the vacuum cleaner, laundry machine, and refrigerator. This is a manual vacuum cleaner from 1911 at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. This small upright vacuum was designed to be operated by hand and easy…
OBJECT HISTORY: Babcock Ice Cream Carton
Ice cream has been a delicacy for hundreds of years, but in the last century, Wisconsin has come to be considered home to some of the world’s best ice cream. Babcock Hall, established in 1951, has contributed to this reputation, establishing ice cream as a symbol both of Wisconsin’s dairy farming past and its appeal…
OBJECT HISTORY: Trade Blanket
This blanket, ordinary though it may seem, tells the story of an important meeting of cultures that occurred in Wisconsin between 1634 and 1763. Not long after the explorer Jean Nicolet first set foot in Wisconsin, French traders saw an opportunity to make money by sending beaver furs back to Europe for use in stylish…
OBJECT HISTORY: Nash Car
By the beginning of the twentieth century, horses and wagons were quickly giving way to new horseless carriages, or automobiles—and the landscape of Wisconsin’s towns and roadways began to change as well. Wagon shops, once part of one of the largest industries in Wisconsin, began making automobile parts instead. By 1925, motor vehicle manufacture had…
OBJECT HISTORY: Aztalan Fishing Weir
Fishing can take a lot of patience. A person could sit with their fishing pole for hours before they get a bite! Fishing weirs are time-saving technologies built in the water to trap fish. This fishing weir was created by the people who lived in the Early Mississippian settlement, Aztalan, sometime between the 10th and…
OBJECT HISTORY: Fiddle
As the lumber industry flourished in Wisconsin beginning in the 1840s, immigrants from all over Europe and Canada came to live and work in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. All winter, men called lumberjacks would cut down pine trees, preparing the timber to be used as building material, or sometimes to be turned into pulp or…
OBJECT HISTORY: Galena
Galena, the official state mineral of Wisconsin, is the raw material used to produce lead. During the Wisconsin “lead rush” of the 1820s-40s, lead was more valuable than gold. That is because just about everybody, rich or poor, used objects made of lead in their daily lives – products that ranged from plumbing to toothpaste!…
OBJECT HISTORY: Cradleboard
Native Americans used cradleboards in North America to protect, carry, and entertain their babies. Cradleboards allowed women to keep babies close to their side. Women carried cradleboards on their backs. They also could rest them against a tree. The cradleboard protected babies from danger and kept them happy. Native tribes made cradleboards in many ways,…
OBJECT HISTORY: Log-Marking Hammer
Between the 1840s and the 1890s, logs meant money. Wisconsin had a large supply of trees. Lumber mills made money by cutting down trees. Logging was one of the largest industries in Wisconsin. There were more than 450 lumber camps across Wisconsin. If we study this log-marking hammer and think about the people that used…
OBJECT HISTORY: Jar of Marbles
Today, the Wisconsin State Fair is full of attractions, rides, and great food, but in its early years, it was a place for farmers to gather and share ideas about the agricultural industry. It wasn’t …
OBJECT HISTORY: Norwegian Trunk
In the 1800s, European immigrants coming to America had to find a way to preserve the objects indispensable to their lives, bringing their most precious belongings on an ocean voyage to a far-away new home. …
OBJECT HISTORY: Slovak Catholic Altar
During the 19th and early 20th century, immigrants from all across Europe began coming to Wisconsin. Some had heard of economic opportunity from industries like mining, logging, or farming. Some were being treated unfairly in …
OBJECT HISTORY: Beaver Felt Hat
The beaver felt hat was one of the main reasons for the success of the fur trade in northern states, such as Wisconsin, and in Canada. But why was this hat more popular than others? …
Explore Wisconsin 101: Our History in Objects
Learn about objects in Wisconsin's history
The objects and stories featured on Wisconsin 101 cut across the diverse regional, cultural, economic, and political differences of our state, providing a rich sense of our shared heritage.
Explore stories by subject
What unexpected histories can you discover behind ordinary objects in your day-to-day life?
Write your own story
Everyone is invited to participate in building this interactive, public resource for exploring Wisconsin’s history and geography. Please share your story!
