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Preserve MKE is a nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to protecting the Milwaukee Public Museum as a public asset—including its building, its immersive environments, and the collections that generations of Milwaukeeans helped create, fund, and steward.
The Milwaukee Public Museum is the largest municipally owned museum in the world. It belongs to the public. Yet major decisions about its future—its exhibits, environments, and collections—are being made with limited transparency and minimal public involvement.
Preserve MKE exists to ensure that the public is not excluded from decisions about its own museum.
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This is not about nostalgia.
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This is about ownership, stewardship, and democratic oversight.
Why This Matters
For decades, the Milwaukee Public Museum has been a place where history, science, culture, and community intersected in a uniquely immersive way—often referred to worldwide as the “Milwaukee-style” of museum-making.
Beloved environments like the Streets of Old Milwaukee, the European Village, and historic dioramas are not just exhibits. They are shared civic memory, educational infrastructure, and publicly funded cultural assets.
When decisions about these assets are made behind closed doors, the public loses its voice—and future generations lose something irreplaceable.
Our Mission
Preserve MKE advocates for:
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Transparency in decision-making
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Public accountability for public funds
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Preservation of historically and culturally significant exhibits as and where they are whenever possible
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Meaningful community input before irreversible actions are taken
We believe progress and preservation are not opposites—and that responsible stewardship requires public participation.
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Preserve MKE is made up of Milwaukee residents, educators, preservation advocates, former museum staff, families, and community members who believe that public institutions should remain accountable to the public.
This work is grounded in documentation, public records, and civic process—not speculation or ideology.
