Museums & Attractions

• Wisconsin Innovations: From the Iconic to the Unexpected, an exhibit highlighting inventions, concepts and traditions with origins that can be traced back to the state, will be on display at the Wisconsin History Museum through the end of the year. Wisconsin was the breeding ground for ideas ranging from the music of Les Paul and the Prairie style of architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, to the typewriter and snowmobile. The museum offers guided tours and regular exhibits examine Wisconsin’s state history and culture. For more information, call 608.264.6555 or visit historicalmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org.

Destination Dispatch

• The Chicago North Suburbs CVB merged with the Chicago North Shore CVB in April. The newly formed bureau encompasses the suburban communities of Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette and Northbrook along Lake Michigan. For more information, visit www.visitchicagonorthshore.com.


• Located 50 miles from Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Geneva, The Abbey Resort partnered with Brunswick Billiards to restock its game room with $20,000 worth of deluxe gaming equipment and furnishings. The new gaming suite is available for group events. The 90-acre resort offers 334 guest rooms, a on-site sports bar, 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space and proximity to local golf courses. For more information, call 800.709.1323 or visit www.theabbeyresort.com.

Tech Update

• The It Happened Here smartphone app offers travelers fun facts and local trivia on the go. The app is available for Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, New York and New Orleans. Available from the Apple iTunes store, the app pinpoints users’ locations using GPS and recounts important events that happened nearby. It can be customized to provide information in preferred categories, including history, pop culture and politics. Chicago sites include the mall where Michelle and Barack Obama shared their first kiss, and sites from the 1985 movie The Breakfast Club.