Young girls touching the mouth of the barbourofelis fricki model in the Cherish Nebraska exhibit

Cherish Nebraska

Seven galleries celebrate Nebraska’s natural heritage – the variation of life that has been shaped over millennia by Nebraska’s changing environments. Visitors can journey from Nebraska’s landscapes through time and space and learn how our state’s natural heritage – birds, plants and animals - is shaped by geological changes and human impacts.

With a variety of digital and hands-on interactives, crawl-through spaces, and hundreds of specimens and objects, visitors can investigate on their own. Cherish Nebraska provides over 11,000 square feet of exploration.

Visitors can experience the joy and excitement of scientific discovery as they talk with scientists in the Visible Lab, and investigate their own research questions in the Science Exploration Zone.

A mom and three children examine an exhibit about rattlesnakes.
Visitors dig through rubber mulch to create a topographic map simulating watershed
Families watch a video on oceans on the 5-foot globe display, like an inverted planetarium
A father and son examine a large rock under a microscope displaying to a large monitor

These exhibits were made possible by the generous donations of the Hubbard Family Foundation, Ruth and Bill Scott Foundation, Nebraska Environmental Trust, and rest of recognition board. Over 50 scientists donated their time to the research needed to create the exhibits designed by Gallagher & Associates, and fabrication led by Pacific Studios. Northern Lights Production designed and created the digital displays, interactive parasite table, and digital globe videos.