Omaha is much more than flyover country. The folks who live there know it, and so should you. Set in the epicenter of the Midwest, the pastimes here tend to be family-oriented and the pace decidedly laidback.
Among the sites worth seeing are these suggested by the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau:
- Visit the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, a 130-acre enclave of exhibits and gardens. Some of those exhibits are world-class. See Expedition Madagascar, Hubbard Gorilla Valley, Kingdoms of the Night, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion, Scott Aquarium and the popular Wildlife Safari Park.
- The Durham Museum is housed in Omaha’s Union Station, an elegant art deco edifice that packs some powerful stuff. The restored rail cars are a must-see. Just as evocative of times past is a superb collection of 1940s storefronts. Coin collectors will find some of the planet’s rarest right here, in the Byron Reed Collection.
- After the choo-choo train take the kids to the Omaha Children’s Museum, an interactive wonderland that focuses on art, science and unbounded joys of early childhood. There’s a properly sized children’s grocery store, a science and technology lab and lots of art opportunities.
- To get an insight into the history of this part of Nebraska, and a better appreciation of the hardships folks endured to cross it, be sure to see the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Quarters. It lays out the 1846 – 1860 migration of some 90,000 pioneers out to the Rockies. There’s a full-sized log cabin and a covered wagon.
- End your Omaha getaway at Lauritzen Gardens, a 100-acre retreat down near the river. The Victorian garden is lovely, the children’s garden delightful.
No problem getting to OMA. Omaha’s Eppley Airfield is nicely connected.
(Images: kiszka king)
