Protests at the state Capitol resulted in 84 tour groups deciding not to come for guided tours. They're back on, just in time for the upcoming busy season.
Visitors going into the capitol still have to go through metal detectors, but free, guided tours have resumed.
From mid-February through the end of March, more than 80 groups, most of them school kids, canceled or rescheduled. 150 freshmen from Appleton North High School were all set to go at the height of the protests. Civics teacher Curt Salm says it would have been a chance to witness what he calls "Democracy in action". However, the trip was canceled.
"We had phone calls from parents asking us not to go," says Salm. "I got a phone call the day before saying, "Are you sure you want to come down?" It was so loud in the Capitol that tour guides could not even be heard."
Protests over collective bargaining changes initially made it difficult to access legislative and executive rooms at the Capitol. Gerilyn Schneider -- who oversees Capitol tours for the Department of Administration -- says things are getting back to normal.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We were able to get into the governor's conference room for the first time in two weeks. And we were able to get into the Assembly galleries."
Schneider says 90,000 people--half of them 4th graders--take formal tours of Wisconsin's Capitol each year.
