Hastings Museum, Hastings

4.6

Natural History Museum · Museum

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The Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History is located in Hastings, Nebraska. It claims to be the largest municipal museum between Chicago and Denver. It is housed in a building funded by the Works Progress Administration and dedicated on June 15, 1939. The museum exhibits include Kool-Aid, natural history dioramas, local history, weapons, life of pioneers on the Plains, rocks, minerals, fossils, antique vehicles, coins, and a planetarium.

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Hastings Museum reviews

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117 reviews

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4.6

By JnTLibby

Upon our arrival we noticed there was an ev charging station, which throughout our entire road trip we had not seen anywhere we visited. Our rented vehicle is a hybrid so we decided to give it a...

Upon our arrival we noticed there was an ev charging station, which throughout our entire road trip we had not seen anywhere we visited. Our rented vehicle is a hybrid so we decided to give it a... more »
By Chris L

What a cool museum! We were travelling to California when my daughter so a billboard for this place. I decide what the hack and drove the 15-20 miles off our route to visit it. I was not...

What a cool museum! We were travelling to California when my daughter so a billboard for this place. I decide what the hack and drove the 15-20 miles off our route to visit it. I was not... more »
By ckarabin

This museum had a bit of everything and all very well done. Excellent animal dioramas, an outstanding car collection from the very early 1900's, a unique exhibit on Kool Aid that was first invented...

This museum had a bit of everything and all very well done. Excellent animal dioramas, an outstanding car collection from the very early 1900's, a unique exhibit on Kool Aid that was first invented... more »

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By Nick Zuck

A pretty cool museum. We mainly went for the Kool-Aid exhibit and it was a good one, as far as museum exhibits go. Probably not worth the drive from Omaha…. But still fun, nonetheless.

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By Myron Jackson

My goal was to actually see the Kool-Aid exhibit at this museum. But I was very impressed and surprised at the rest of the facility. There is a planetarium with regular shows. There are a bunch of antique vehicles in the basement area. Their dioramas with various animals on the main floor. It is quite a collection and well worth the admission price. There is an elevator for those who need that accessibility. It was interesting seeing the history of Kool-Aid. Museum included everything from a replica of a store to costumes of the pitcher. There are lots of photos and displays of advertising and products from that time. Including variations on kool-aid. Museum is easy to get to. It's adjacent to an arboretum which is another pleasant excursion. There was a nice museum gift shop. It's very well done.

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By Brittany Bearss

The Hastings Museum was bigger than expected (3 floors)!! It was well worth the drive from Lincoln. The planetarium show was very interesting. The shows also have listening and captioning devices available for those who request them. Also a great place to go for Nebraska history, as they have displays of native species from thousands of years ago and fossils/bones of mammoths found in Nebraska. They also have replicas of local shops and newspapers from Hastings in the 1900s. They have so many things to see. In many of the exhibits there are draws below the top viewing area with just hundreds more things to see. Definitely a great place for families with kids, especially young ones. However it was still very fun as two adults going without children. Would highly recommend!!

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By Shelby Miller

All kinds of things to see and learn about here! From prairie settlers, to a planetarium, kool aid exhibit and lots of animals... we had lots of fun! An awesome employee offered us a tour and info about how things were acquired/ some of the changes that they hoped to make or add. This is a great inexpensive place to visit!

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By Rick Newman

Fun for the WHOLE family...highly recommended!

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