We recently discovered the wonderful city of Neenah, Wisconsin. We’d never even really heard of Neenah before, although we’ve been many times to other cities in the Fox Valley. We recommend you check out this destination.
We headed up there to visit the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass. The museum is located in the former Bergstrom residence in a very swanky neighborhood of Neenah, along the Lake Winnebago shoreline. After a brief review in the car about ‘looking but not touching once inside,’ we went into the museum. We were enthusiastically greeted by a docent on the front steps, who made sure to remind us to check out the upper level.
Tip: Admission is free with a note about a suggested donation. There are restrooms but no other services.
We were impressed right away to find that in the lobby there was a hands-on display! The kiddoes played with colorful glass triangles on a light table, creating their own little art works, before we headed into the main museum. And there we found another hands-on display inviting us to use paintbrushes to manipulate glass sand into designs of our own making. What fun! We hadn’t expected to be able to touch anything in this museum, but we were pleasantly surprised. 
After viewing dozens of glass paperweights and beautiful artworks, we were surprised again to find that the museum gift shop had small glass items for sale that were very suitable for young patrons.
You won’t spend a lot of time at this museum, but it is well worth incorporating into your day trip!
Directly across the street from the museum, we discovered a fabulous park and playground. Located right on the waterfront, Riverside Park features a rocket-ship themed play area with a giant rocket climbing structure, moon cars, and more! The kids tired themselves out before we headed for lunch.
Downtown Neenah hosts a lively farmers market and has numerous fun shops and cafes along Wisconsin Avenue. We had a quick lunch and grabbed some ice cream before heading home with the whole family asking when we’d come back to Neenah.
We look forward to our next trip to this city- what unexplored treasures await us? The lighthouse? Another cool park? We’ll let you know what we find.