New Glarus’ museums are opening, or preparing to open soon, for the summer season, giving visitors another reason to spend time in New Glarus.

The season also gives local residents a chance to revisit places many may not have toured since school field trips, family visits or childhood walks through familiar exhibits.

New Glarus is known for its festivals, architecture, restaurants, shops and Swiss identity, but its museums help explain why those traditions still matter. They preserve the stories of the people who founded the village, the families who built it, and the cultural connections that continue to shape New Glarus today.

Those stories are told in different ways across the community. The Swiss Historical Village & Museum offers 14 artifact-filled buildings that show early village life and the Swiss immigrant experience. The Swiss Center of North America preserves Swiss-American culture, genealogy, archives and educational materials. And the Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum offers one of the village’s most unusual experiences, with Edwin Barlow’s Swiss chalet-style home and eclectic collections from around the world.