The Milwaukee Public Museum is one of the city’s prized historical jewels—and a unique place to host a memorable wedding, corporate meeting or private event. The facility, which first opened its doors in 1965, is home to more than four million specimens. For many years, visitors have been entranced by the humpback whale skeleton strung from the ceiling, a live Butterfly Vivarium, the nostalgia of the Streets of Old Milwaukee and 150,000 square feet of exhibit space leading from Africa to the Artic to the Costa Rican rainforest.

Jennifer Janviere Photography
MPM is the only museum in Milwaukee that offers you the unique opportunity to host an event on both its exhibit floors and inside a large gallery that can easily seat up to 500 guests, making it the number one choice for those looking for one-of-a-kind weddings and custom events. The Bert L. & Patricia Steigleder Special Exhibits Gallery can be transformed for corporate or private events and accommodates all your entertainment needs. Guests can roam the museum’s interactive first or third floors, sipping cocktails and nibbling on hors d’oeuvres, before making their way to the second floor for a delicious sit-down meal in the Steigleder Gallery.
A Space to Engage Imagination
The Steigleder Gallery is a blank canvas where you can make your own memories. With soaring 16’ high ceilings, an interchangeable wall and ceiling track system, and more than 12,000 square feet of flexible event space, the Steigleder Gallery can be easily customized for any event—big or small. This space is a perfect fit for galas, award banquets, weddings, conferences, proms and more.
In the corporate world, guests often visit the Steigleder Gallery after enjoying social hours within iconic museum exhibitions like Streets of Old Milwaukee, re-imagined in December 2016, or the Bison Hunt, the largest open-air diorama of its time. The Steigleder Gallery can function an all-in-one daytime conference space, hosting a general session on one side and then using its interchangeable wall system to create custom smaller spaces for break-out sessions right next door.
The Steigleder Gallery has also hosted its fair share of magnificent weddings. The room offers a warm, intimate atmosphere with ample space for newlyweds to greet tables filled with smiling friends and family, dance under the sparkling chandeliers and party the night away with your choice entertainment—whether it be a pair of dueling pianos, a favorite DJ or rockin’ live band. Be sure to take advantage of the room’s uplighting capabilities for added romance!

Front Room Photography
Dinner and Adventure All in One
The beauty of this gallery is that it is a place to dine, celebrate and come together before guests can break away and wander through the museum’s exhibits or take in a private viewing of a film or live interactive show at the Dome Theater and Planetarium. Talk about unique, built-in entertainment for your guests! Whether they choose to wander the cobble Streets of Old Milwaukee, take a selfie in front of one of the world’s largest dinosaur skulls, marvel at relics from the ancient worlds or blast off into outer space at a planetarium show, no Milwaukee Public Museum event will ever be the same experience twice.

Red Wave Pictures
Zilli Hospitality Group is proud to be MPM’s catering and hospitality provider. We’re well-known throughout Milwaukee for our high level of service and menu customization, making us a natural fit for MPM. Our partnership with the museum provides you with polished event managers, security and visitor services support, high-tech audiovisual capabilities, a variety of delicious food and beverage options, floral services via Adorn (our in-house floral division) and other add-ons of your choosing. We invite you to share your creative event visions with us! For a closer look at our food capabilities, browse our sample menus.
Stand out from the crowd with your next event! Book the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Steigleder Gallery and your favorite museum exhibitions for a one-of-a-kind memory-making adventure featuring built-in entertainment, top-notch catering and full-service coordination.
We’d love to see what you can do with the place. If you’re interested in hosting your next event here, visit us online or call (262) 547-9447.
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- Kristin and Carl’s Wedding at the Milwaukee Public Museum
- A Casino-Themed Company Holiday Party at the Milwaukee Public Museum