Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MM Circus World Museum
The site of the Circus World Museum (426 Water St., Baraboo, 608/356-0800,
www.circusworldmuseum.com , 9am-6pm daily May-Labor Day, 10am-4pm Mon.-Sat. and
11am-4pm Sun. Labor Day-Apr., $15 adults, $7 in winter) was the original headquarters
of the Ringling Brothers circus, in an attractive setting along the Baraboo River. Summer-
time (May-Sept.) is the best time to visit, when the capacious 51-acre grounds are open and
the three-ring circus and sideshows reappear. Under the big top is a dazzling, frenetic, fun-
as-heck mélange of jugglers, aerialists, clowns, bands, magic, circus nuts-and-bolts, steam-
driven calliope concerts, and animal shows. Another hall has memorabilia and displays
from long-gone U.S. circuses and an exhaustive historical rundown of the Ringlings. Also
inthehallistheworld'smostcompletecollectionofcircusvehicles(214andcounting)and
circus posters (8,000 and counting). Or ride a pachyderm or a pony if you prefer—great
family entertainment includes kids' clown shows, in which ecstatic urchins can slap on the
face paint and go wild, and circus music demonstrations, which feature hands-on access to
rarecircusmusicalinstruments.A$2.5millionexpansionhasaddedastate-of-the-art facil-
ity for restoring circus wagons.
International Crane Foundation
The most inspiring attraction is the respected ornithological preservation ongoing northeast
of Baraboo at the International Crane Foundation (E11376 Shady Lane Rd., 608/
356-9462, www.savingcranes.com , 9am-5pm daily mid-April-late Oct., $9.50 adults). This
world-renowned institution is dedicated to saving the world's largest flying birds, all 15
speciesofwhichareendangeredorthreatened;thisistheonlyplaceintheworldthathouses
all species. The whooping crane population, from a nadir of 15 birds in 1940, has amaz-
inglyreboundedtomorethan200birds.Sorespectedisthisplacethatthecrownprincessof
Japan came as a researcher, and Indira Gandhi later founded the Keoladeo Ghana National
Park in India to protect the Siberian crane after a visit. Guided tours are given at 10am and
1 and 3pm daily (weekends only in spring and early fall); self-guided tours to view adult
birds, restored Wisconsin prairie, and marshland are always available.
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