Things to Do in Sheboygan

The night sky is a vast ocean of celestial objects such as the moon, the bright lights of our closest stars, and the warm glow of neighboring galaxies. Located at the University of Wisconsin Fox Valley, Barlow Planetarium helps uncover the vastness of the universe through a 3-D-capable Digistar projector, which—combined with 10,000 watts of digital sound and a 48-foot projection screen—transports guests into the deepest trenches of space. The facility's star shows include family programs that make astronomy easy to understand as well as feature shows that tickle the minds of more hardened astronomy buffs. Along with celestial exploration, the planetarium transforms with dancing lights and rich sounds during laser shows. These programs add visual touches to music from the likes of The Beatles or Isaac Newton's little-known punk band.

The planetarium also hosts academic programs for grade-school children. These include the Wisconsin Space Academy, in which students build and launch rockets, and the Wisconsin Astronomy Academy, which lets pupils peer through telescopes and discover vending machines floating through space.

Dedicated to fostering social change by bringing the community together, the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee engages denizens through a host of activities, events, and educational programs. The organization's focus can be distilled into three parts, the first of which promotes the development of area youth via programs that help them realize their potential. Secondly, a commitment to bettering the community's health manifests itself in everything from group exercise classes to youth sports teams. Thirdly, YMCA volunteers take the reigns of social responsibility as they organize local initiatives that focus on empowering children with disabilities and promoting workplace wellness. Trained staffers also helm a variety of childcare programs that boost literacy and help develop skills, and the Y's Camps Matawa and Minikani grant city dwellers and runaway trees a much-needed reunion with nature.

Snugly situated on a historic 1881 farm once known as the Schwabenlander Homestead, Mulberry Lane Farm takes its name from an ancient mulberry tree that once served as a favorite playplace for the Schwabenlander children. In those days, the 100-year-old tree was so esteemed that the children were not allowed to climb it while wearing shoes. Because of this rule, it wasn’t uncommon to find Lawrence, Harry, Norbert, and their nine other brothers and sisters swinging from its boughs, their shoes respectfully lined around its base.

Today, children still play in the shadow of that mulberry tree thanks to the founders of Green Meadows Farm, the Keyes family. Close friends of the last of the Schwabenlander boys, the Keyes adopted the farmstead and its original brick farmhouse into their petting farm empire in 2005 but gave it its own identity to honor the legacy of the original owners. Guided tours lead groups around the farm on foot and by hayride, where kids and adults are encouraged to interact and swap salad recipes with the goats, chickens, sheep, and rabbits that call the farm home. Along the way, visitors can learn how to milk cows and ride ponies or practice catching a chicken, then swing by the barn to snuggle kittens and Otis, the 900-pound boar. Before departing, visitors each receive a free souvenir in the spring and summer, and those who come in the fall have the chance to pick their own pumpkins from the 6-acre pumpkin patch.