Neville Public Museum: Exhibits and Opening Days

The Neville Public Museum keeps Northeast Wisconsin's story under one roof, from Stompy the Mastodon to footballs, on the west bank of the Fox River at 210 Museum Place. It tells that story through art, history and science, in a building that opened in 1983. If you are sorting through the attractions around Green Bay, this is the indoor option downtown, and it is a regional museum, not a national one. Go for the local story.

What is inside the Neville Public Museum

The Generations Gallery is the core exhibit, organized by theme around the people of Northeast Wisconsin. The museum finished the renovation after about a year and a half of work and held its grand opening in August 2020. It brought back public favorites such as Stompy the Mastodon and the Ice Harvesting video, and it added artwork and collection pieces that had been sitting in storage. A later update added a Childhood section on how local children played, traveled, learned and dressed.

Spectacular Science is the hands-on side, a gallery of four mini science exhibits. The Discovery Room is the kids' space, and the museum has run it since 2004. A parent reviewer praised its play activities and book collection and said they could make a full day of the museum if their kids were younger. Check the museum's site for the age range before you bring toddlers, because the exhibits page does not list one.

Two exhibits run to dates. A Place at the Table: Food, Culture, and Community in Northeast Wisconsin opened March 14, 2026 and is scheduled to close in September 2027, covering Indigenous foodways, agricultural heritage and immigrant influences through stories and recipes (the museum notes dates can change). The 81st Art Annual, a juried show that began in 1942, runs September 19 to November 8, 2026. The press room says it hangs 74 works by 63 artists from Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. A smaller community space is showing The Commonwealth of New Island, an invented island nation with its own maps, coins and flag, through January 17, 2027.

Neville Public Museum hours and admission

As listed on the museum's site, the Neville is open Sunday noon to 5pm, Tuesday noon to 8pm, and Wednesday through Saturday 9am to 5pm. It is closed Mondays. Adults 16 to 61 pay $12, seniors 62 and up pay $10, children 3 to 15 pay $6, and children 2 and under are free. Friends of the Neville and active, reserve and veteran military members are also free.

The best deal is Explorer Wednesday. On the first Wednesday of each month, 9am to 8pm, Brown County residents get in free with proof of residency, with a craft activity at 10am while supplies last. The next ones are November 4 and December 2, 2026. Organized groups such as schools and scout troops do not qualify. The museum closes on major holidays, so the homepage lists November 26, December 24 and December 31 as closed this year, and it is closed on December 8 for its "A Night at the Museum" fundraiser. Hours and prices change, so confirm on the museum's site or at 920-448-4460 before you go.

How the museum began

The Neville started in 1915 when nine members of the Green Bay Art Club put on a one-week exhibit of local historic objects in the library basement. It drew enough interest that the club incorporated the Green Bay Public Museum that December. The Masons, a New York couple, gave $60,000 for a dedicated building, and Mrs. Mason asked that it carry the name of Arthur and Mrs. Neville, for their civic work. That building opened on July 23, 1927. Brown County began sharing operating costs with the city in 1962, and the current building opened on April 9, 1983 after a 1980 county referendum. In 2004 the museum charged admission for the first time in 89 years.

On renovation, the one project the museum documents is the Generations Gallery, finished in 2020. Brown County's 2026 adopted budget for the museum mentions no building renovation. It does show the county levy at about $1.04 million against $170,000 budgeted for charges and fees, which may include admission. Wikipedia also describes the museum as the trailhead of the Packers Heritage Trail, a free tour of 25 bronze plaques, though check the trail's own page before planning around that.

Making a day of it downtown

The Broadway District sits right beside the museum. Farmers Market On Broadway is about 0.1 miles away, a street market of produce, baked goods and carry-out food by its own description. Check its season before you plan around it.

Staying nearby is easy. Hampton Inn Green Bay Downtown is about 0.3 miles off, on the river and attached to the KI Convention Center.

Hotel Northland is also about 0.3 miles away. It opened on March 21, 1924 and was restored to a boutique hotel that reopened in 2019. Hyatt Regency Green Bay is about 0.4 miles away and has an indoor pool and a pub-style sports bar. All three sit on the east bank, so you cross the river to reach the museum.

For an evening, the Meyer Theatre is about 0.3 miles away. It opened in 1930 as the Fox Theatre, holds about 1,000 people, and has tribute and comedy nights on its November calendar.

If a show is the plan, check what is on at the Meyer Theatre before you book a room.

Plan the rest of your day around downtown Green Bay, then pick dinner from the Green Bay restaurants we list.

Parking: Google shows a free lot at the museum, while Downtown Green Bay Inc names Parking Lot BW at 130 N Broadway and Lot F at 200 N Chestnut nearby. Rules and fees change, so check signs and the museum's Directions page.

Is the Neville worth your time?

It is, if you want Green Bay's own story, a mastodon and a hands-on room for kids without a full day's commitment. It will not compete with a big-city museum, and the exhibits that rotate, like the Art Annual, are only up for a few weeks, so check what is on before you pick a day. Go on a first Wednesday if you live in Brown County, and pair it with the river. Whatever day you pick, the draw is the one this page started with: Stompy the Mastodon and a few hours of Northeast Wisconsin's own story.