This 414 Day celebrates a Milwaukee original that changed how people see the natural world. Stepping inside the Milwaukee Public Museum means stepping into the animals' world, but it was not always like this.
"Prior to the Milwaukee style diorama, museums everywhere were more like cabinets of curiosity. There wasn't much context," Director of Communications for MPM Madeline Anderson said.
That changed in 1890, when taxidermist Carl Akeley set out to show animals as they actually lived. His muskrats habitat group was built to look and feel real, becoming what is now called the Milwaukee-style diorama.
"We take pride in being the birthplace... This style has been adopted around the country and the world," Anderson said.
Watch: 414 day: How Milwaukee changed museums forever
For many, this was their first glimpse of the wild, long before television or easy travel. From elephants in a bamboo forest to lions just feet away, these displays brought places that seemed far away closer than ever.
"The water level is cut in half so you can see both above and below."
More than a century later, the museum is still pushing the experience further. Anderson told TMJ4 that the museum has continuously innovated their dioramas since then. 'The Streets of Old Milwaukee' exhibit was the first ever walk through diorama. The museum has some behind the glass and some where visitors can go through.
"Throughout our 145 year history we have been innovative in many ways," Anderson said.
With plans to bring this style into the Nature and Culture Museum of Wisconsin, Milwaukee's signature dioramas are not just history, they are still evolving.
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