Exhibits

Bizarre Beasts

Explore some of the strangest creatures ever to inhabit the Earth, past and present.

Created by renowned artist and Nebraska native Gary Staab of Staab Studios Inc., this dramatic exhibit takes visitors on a journey back in time as they come face-to-face with some of Mother Nature's most curious creatures and discover how their environments shaped their freaky features. Interactive and educational displays in this newly renovated gallery showcase cast skeletons and remarkable life-size models of natural oddities, including a pterosaur, a giant reptile with a 15-foot wingspan; Diatryma, a 6-foot-tall flightless bird; Helicoprion, a 13-foot shark with a row of teeth that resembles a buzz saw, and much more.

"The Nebraska State Museum
is a true treasure and must see
for all age groups."

Ted Hubbard, Hubbard Family Foundation

The exhibit is made possible with a gift of more than $300,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation from the museum's longtime benefactor, the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation of Omaha.

"Bizarre Beasts" was previously displayed in leading museums such as the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, among others.