Indoor things to do in Madison, WI: bowling, arcades, museums, skating and more

Bowling and arcades

• Dream Lanes (13 Atlas Ct.): open bowling and cosmic bowling, leagues, youth programs and a Pizza Pit on site.
• Schwoegler's Park Towne Lanes (444 Grand Canyon Dr.): 36 lanes with bumper bowling, plus a full-service restaurant and a sports bar with pinball and darts.
• Middleton Sport Bowl (6815 University Ave., Middleton): open bowling and leagues, a bar and menu, and weekly pub quiz and bingo nights.
• Waun-A-Bowl (301 S. Century Ave., Waunakee): open lanes, league and cosmic bowling, and a fish fry.
• NerdHaven Arcade (5417 Monona Dr., Monona): a freeplay arcade with more than 100 games, including pinball, skeeball and air hockey.
• Dave & Buster's (414 West Towne Mall): an arcade with a restaurant and a sports bar with big screens.

Fun centers, escape rooms, climbing and indoor golf

• Spare Time Madison (7415 Mineral Point Rd.): bowling, a Game Zone arcade, laser tag, escape rooms and a restaurant and bar.
• Thrill Factory Entertainment (East Towne Mall): bowling, mini golf, laser tag, escape rooms, an arcade, virtual reality and the HyperSpace indoor playground.
• Urban Air Adventure Park (7309 West Towne Way): trampolines, the Sky Rider indoor zipline, a ropes course, climbing walls, laser tag and a dodgeball court.
• Boulders Climbing Gym (129 S. Carroll St.): bouldering with adult classes, youth programs and teams, and yoga.
• Escape In Time (6527 Normandy Ln., Ste. 203): themed escape-room adventures with built sets, costumes and props.
• Escapology (160 Keenan Ct., Verona): private escape rooms with a 60-minute limit; games include Antidote and Mansion Murder, and a Star Trek room the site says is only playable at Escapology.
• PinSocial DeForest (6909 River Rd., DeForest): all-weather golf suites, duckpin bowling, mini golf, Krazy Darts and a restaurant and bar.
• The Bogey Factory (503 W. Verona Ave., Ste. 400, Verona): six TrackMan golf simulators, a sports bar and indoor leagues in fall, winter and spring.
• GOLFTEC Madison (607 Junction Rd.): four climate-controlled bays for golf lessons, club fitting and practice.

Museums and culture

• Madison Children's Museum (100 N. Hamilton St.): exhibits include Possible-opolis, Wildernest and Wonderground, plus a rooftop space called Rooftop Ramble and an Art Studio.
• Chazen Museum of Art (750 University Ave.): UW-Madison's art museum, with its permanent collection and changing exhibitions.
• Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (227 State St.): contemporary art exhibitions and a rooftop lounge.
• Wisconsin Veterans Museum (30 W. Mifflin St.): permanent and temporary exhibits on Wisconsin veterans and military history.
• Geology Museum (1215 W. Dayton St.): a mastodon display, dinosaurs, meteorites, rocks that glow and touchable volcanic rock.
• L.R. Ingersoll Wonders of Physics Museum (1150 University Ave.): more than 65 physics exhibits in Chamberlin Hall.
• National Mustard Museum (7477 Hubbard Ave., Middleton): a museum devoted to mustard in downtown Middleton.
• Explore Children's Museum (1433 W. Main St., Sun Prairie): a children's museum with a Day of Play program, classes and field trips.
• Olbrich Botanical Gardens (3330 Atwood Ave.): the Bolz Conservatory, a 50-foot-high glass pyramid of tropical plants with a waterfall, free-flying birds and orchids; the site says it stays between 65 and 95 degrees year-round.
• The Wisconsin State Capitol (Capitol Square): the Department of Administration offers Capitol tours; its photo tour covers the Rotunda, Senate Chamber, Assembly Chamber and Supreme Court.
• Madison Public Library, Central Library (201 W. Mifflin St.): meeting and study rooms, play spaces, The Bubbler art and making space, and gallery exhibitions.

Screens and shows

• Marcus Point Cinema (7825 Big Sky Dr.): showtimes and online tickets, with theatre dining.

More showtimes and live shows: see our movie theaters and theaters categories.

Skating

• McFarland Community Ice Arena (McFarland): two sheets of ice with public open skates and family skates, plus hockey and Learn to Skate programs.
• Verona Ice Arena (451 E. Verona Ave., Verona): an Olympic rink and an NHL rink, with public skating, freestyle, open hockey and Learn to Skate lessons.
• Madison Ice Arena (725 Forward Dr.): Learn-to-Skate classes, youth and adult hockey and figure skating clubs.

Around the area

Several places above are outside Madison proper: Waunakee, Middleton, Verona, McFarland, Monona, DeForest and Sun Prairie. Our family fun, bowling and museums categories list more nearby options.