This list of museums in Wisconsin encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has defined five tourism regions of Wisconsin as follows below:
Counties in the central area: Adams, Calumet, Clark, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Juneau, Marathon, Marquette, Menominee, Monroe, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood
Counties in the eastern area along Lake Michigan, including the Door Peninsula: Brown, Door, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marathon, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oconto, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan
Counties in the north central and northwest area: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Florence, Forest, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn
South central and southwest area along the Mississippi and Chippewa rivers: Buffalo, Chippewa, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon
South central area: Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha