Our Team Building Outing in Milwaukee

A crew that plays together stays together, so we planned a fun team building outing in Milwaukee for ourselves! Not only did we go behind-the-scenes for a tour of a museum and play a shuffleboard tournament together, but the outing gives us insider knowledge to lead better tours.

We’re lucky enough to meet amazing guests on the tours we lead, but we rarely get to enjoy each other’s company as a team. We kicked off our busy Winter Season with an awesome get-together. If you want some inside tips on fun things to do now that it’s cold in Milwaukee, read on!

Milwaukee Public Museum: A Private Tour

Whether you’re new to Milwaukee or a long-time resident, the Milwaukee Public Museum is an great way to spend an afternoon either with kids or as a fun adults-only excursion! MPM tours are led by volunteer docents who are all incredible museum guides and experts in a certain area of the museum. If you’re looking for an afternoon of “Whoa, look at that!” and “I never knew that!” consider taking a docent-led tour, or if you want a more independent experience, just take some time to roam around by yourself. This Milwaukee treasure is a true qualifier for your City To-Do List. 

Did you know that the world’s first habitat diorama was created in 1890 by one Carl E. Akeley, nicknamed “the Father of Modern Taxidermy,” and sits in OUR museum? Just behind the magical-looking 1800’s-era museum re-creation at the top of the entryway stairs (aptly named the “Sense of Wonder” display) stands a display of muskrats seemingly frozen in time in their day-to-day activities. By today’s standards, with the internet at our fingertips and 3D printing a readily-available resource, we have come to expect perfection in the visuals presented to us. But before Akeley, taxidermy was nothing close to the art form it is now; he paved the way for realism, attention to detail, and a sense of context for animals collected around the world to make them lifelike for viewers. This behind-the-scenes info gave us new eyes with which to look at the incredible collections in the museum!

If you ask any Milwaukeean who has been to the Milwaukee Public Museum what their favorite exhibit is, chances are they are going to say The Streets of Old Milwaukee. To say the exhibit immerses one in nostalgia is an understatement; to say it imbues the viewer with a sense of childlike wonder is an understanding shared by any who have walked the re-created cobblestone streets. This exhibit allows you to walk back in time to what Milwaukee looked like at the turn of the century, and peek in at households representing various cultures of immigrants who made the city what it is today.

Following the Streets of Old Milwaukee, we continued through the amazing galleries on a whirlwind tour: through wetlands, forests, prehistoric oceans, and ended with….a snack. Rather, a replica of a creature for whom WE would have been a snack!

Team photo… or DINNERTIME!?!?!

Bring Some Tropic to Your Winter: a Hangout Sesh at NorthSouth Club

While winter came early this year, any true Wisconsinite (or human, really) knows that it comes EVERY YEAR. And yet, we somehow always forget the challenging transition from sunscreen to snowboots as if we are experiencing it for the first time. But we have found the secret to erasing those winter blues! Milwaukee has a new hangout spot to bring sunshine to your hibernation, and because of this we love including this sunshine break in our custom tours this season.

Enter NorthSouth Club, the beautifully appropriate name of Milwaukee’s new tropical-destination-meets-Up-Nort’ bar. At this latest addition to the interactive bars of the company BARS & REC, you can throw axes at a target to ease your anxiety while lifting a Log Roller (Jim Beam, ginger ale, and bitters) to your lips. Or you can play a rousing round of Shuffleboard while sipping on a Southern Heat Margarita. Or you can cozy up to the bar to play some video games while downing a MIL Tai (Milwaukee’s Mai Tai), or sit on one of the many I-never-want-to-leave-this-place overstuffed couches nursing a beer or cocktail from the full bar or….

The main attraction of the space is, well, the space: a former antique store, you are transported to a mini resort the minute you walk in. There are beautiful areas for lounging and forgetting your troubles and conversing with friends, filled with bright colors, green plants, and other calming aesthetics. We did the work for you of testing the place for its fun quotient, and we can tell you with confidence that it is indeed a wonderful place to spend an afternoon with friends. We’ve been excited to include this sunshine break in our custom tour itineraries and can even schedule axe throwing or shuffleboard for your team outing in Milwaukee too.

This is what all staff meetings look like, right?
Crisp action shot of that biscuit flying..

The Big Green Bus Rides Off Into The Sunset

And alas, all good things must come to an end. After preeeeeeetty intense rounds of shuffleboard (don’t worry, we’re all still friends and still have our jobs), we said goodbye to our tropical paradise and piled back into our big green chariot to whisk us away. Jealous? Don’t be! You too can have an afternoon or evening full of these wonderful things or you can just rent our party bus in Milwaukee to transport your group to their next outing! This winter, treat your team with a private tour that we design just for you complete with discovering fun and delicious hidden gems in Milwaukee. Might I suggest starting with the Christmas Lights & Desserts Bus Tour…?

We’ll be back. Will we see you there?

Planning a team outing in Milwaukee?

We are proud to offer a variety of tours perfect for groups of all kinds and sizes. Looking for a fun way to get the night started on your Bachelor/Bachelorette party? Need a new way to engage your corporate group in team bonding? Do you have a scout group aspiring to gain new badges? Looking for a fun and educational way to teach your students about the cultural origins of Milwaukee? Our private tours offer all that and more. 

We are flexible, we provide a multitude of tours, and most of all, we make it fun and easy for you. Private tours can be arranged on any of our tour options and can be customized just for your party. Generous food/drink portions are included in the per person price. We require 8 or more for a private walking tour, or 15 or more for a private bus tour – but the sky is the limit as we’ve hosted groups of 300+ on custom tour experiences. 

You pick the tour route, date and time that works best for your group, and then just email us at events@milwaukeefoodtours.com with your interest. From there, we’ll handle the rest. Five days prior to the tour date we’ll need a final head count, a list of any vegetarians in your party, and payment via credit card or check. Literally, it is that easy! Start the planning process and contact us today!