Add Culture to Your Nebraska Visit at These Museums and Performing Arts Sites

Music
You'll find all kinds of music in Nebraska. Native son Preston Love grew up in Omaha before playing with the Count Basie Orchestra and many Motown Bands. The Love Jazz & Arts Center in Omaha is a combination museum, cultural size, and performance space where visitors can learn about the African-American experience and hear great music.

Head to the Performing Arts Center at the University of Nebraska in Omaha for a variety of live music performances on stage; the Nebraska Wind Symphony is just one of the groups that performs there. High art hits the high notes when Opera Omaha performs at the Orpheum Theater.

There's a great indie music scene in Omaha, with bands performing at clubs in town. Lincoln's Zoo Bar is known for its nightly blues performances.

Museums
Nebraska's own art talent is the focus of the state's Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, where the collection spans more than 175 years of creative works by Nebraskans. At the Joslyn Museum, the collection extends far beyond Nebraska. The permanent collection's "American" works include Native American, Old West, and Latin American art, plus European, Asian, and Ancient works. The outdoor sculpture garden features four galleries of large-scale works. Special activities include Story Adventures in the galleries for children.

Children have the entire museum to play in at the Omaha Children's Museum and the Lincoln Children's Museum. Both feature pint-sized exhibits where kids enjoy hands-only learning.

Discover Nebraska's history at museums that focus on the pioneers and other people who lived and worked here during the state's early days. The Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island literally brings history to life in its Railroad Town, a living history center where you can talk with the re-enactors who populate the 1890s town. The Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron displays artifacts related to the traders and Native Americans who exchanged furs and other goods during pioneer times. At the Durham Museum in Omaha, the photographs, documents, and historic artifacts offer a glimpse into the way life used to be lived.

Theater
Contemporary talent takes the stage at the historic Orpheum Theater in Omaha. The former vaudeville house's décor dates to its 1927-opening, with crystal chandeliers and marble and ironwork details. The theater hosts performances like Broadway Across America-Omaha.

The historic Haymarket District in Lincoln features several live theater houses, including the Haymarket Theatre and the TADA Theater. Lincoln's Lied Center for Performing Arts brings music, dance, and theater performers to its stages.

You'll find community theaters around the state, including the country's largest, the Omaha Community Playhouse. The Lincoln Community Playhouse is another great choice for a theater performance when you're in Nebraska.