Nebraska is affectionately known as the Cornhusker State or the Wheat State, but this particular swath of Big Sky Country could also be called “The Land of Very Cool Collections.” From monuments to powdered beverages to love letters to roller skates, here are four exhibits worth a visit.
Hastings, Nebraska, is the birthplace of Kool-Aid, and to honor Edwin Perkins’s sweet 1927 invention, a local museum has dedicated an entire exhibit to the drink. Visitors will learn about the drink’s precursor, Fruit Smack, a flavored syrup that frustrated Perkins because bottles had a habit of cracking and leaking. And they can also marvel at nostalgic packaging and discontinued products—though there’s no opportunity to sip ‘em. (Read more.)
1330 N Burlington Ave, Hastings, NE 68901
For the past 40 years, the National Museum of Roller Skating has celebrated the glory of wheeled shoes. The museum is temporarily shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but when it’s open, visitors can zip past displays about roller hockey, derby, and more—including jetpack skates that once propelled a man named Antonio Pirrello at 40 miles an hour. (Read more.)
4730 South St, Lincoln, NE 68506
Twin brothers Harvey and Howard Kenfieldin filled a gallery with petrified wood figurines and structures, many of which they crafted themselves. Stop in to see the brothers’ teeny tiny twists on Old West structures, and stunning pieces of petrified wood from around the world, on loan from other collectors. (Read more.)
418 E 1st St, Ogallala, NE 69153
If you really, truly love the mail, you might find your heart fluttering at the sight of a giant ball of sticky postage. This gigantic ball of stamps measures 32 inches in diameter, weighs about 600 pounds, and is estimated to contain over four million canceled stamps. It dates to 1953, when a group called the Boys Town Stamp Collecting Club began pressing postage around a golf ball. They stopped adding to the sticky sphere two yeas later, so the behemoth ball is the same size it was in 1955. It’s on view in the Leon Myers Stamp Center, which is within the Boys Town Visitors Center—but that facility is currently closed due to COVID-19. Pay the ball a visit when the center reopens—and in the meantime, send a postcard or two. (Read more.)
13628 Flanagan Blvd, Boys Town, NE 68010