Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally visited the Domes.

Did you just ask aloud, “What Domes are you talking about, B?”

Let me explain.

Mitchell Park Domes, aka The Domes, are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have three domes: the show dome, the tropical dome, and the desert dome. The show dome changes its theme five times throughout the year, and it takes about two weeks for them to change themes. The theme when I visited was Railroad to Wonderland. It was beautiful!

From the outside, the Domes looks enormous, but you don’t truly grasp just how enormous until you step inside. The Domes are 140 feet across and 85 feet tall. To put 85 feet into perspective, it would be about seven stories tall.

The tropical dome has over 1,200 tropical plant species growing inside. The dome is kept humid for the plants and even has a few tropical birds hiding amongst the branches. There is also a waterfall and large pond that is home to koi fish, frogs, and even a toad. Fruit trees, spices, and even the beautiful plant in which we can make chocolate are housed within this dome.

The desert dome has plants from Madagascar, Africa, South America, Mexico, and even the American Southwest. There are trees, succulents, agaves, chili peppers, and, of course, cacti.

For the most part, the Domes are a “look but don’t touch” sort of exhibit. There were a few plants that one could touch near one of the entrances of the desert dome. They had a sign near the ones that were okay for you to touch, and signs throughout asking you not to touch the others. They also had small plaques near each plant. Some just had the name; others had educational facts for a certain plant.

The Domes also host various events throughout the year. During the winter, they have winter farmer markets. This Saturday, April 14th, they are having a Very Fairy Princess Day. One can even rent the Domes for special events.

I definitely recommend families, couples, and, yes, even you single pringles to make it a point to see the Domes at least once in your life; especially if you want to break up the lack of activities you have planned for winter. Personally, I made it a girl date with my good friend, Fronks, when I went to visit her and the new apartment.

For more details on events and history of the Domes, please visit their website: https://milwaukeedomes.org/