hastings museum

This museum has something for everyone: an extensive collection of taxidermist animals, fossils, Native American items, guns, a planetarium, and a HUGE movie screen. Children love this place, and many weekends there are special children's activities. There are always three large-format movies running, as well as a first-run popular movie. A special exhibit is one about KoolAid and its invention and manufacture. Yep, Hastings is the home of KoolAid.

The Kool-Aid exhibit was fun and educational (plus it smelled wonderful) but it is a mere blip in this great museum full of stuff. I would say that in terms of a natural history museum it outdoes the one in Lincoln at the University. I spent a great deal of time mouth agape looking at the taxidermy specimens of birds and wildlife. If your a birder and your anywhere within 100 miles you have to stop and enjoy this. The geology exhibit is gorgeous and I particularly enjoyed the specimens with built in magnifying glasses so you could better appreciate the crystalline structure. Be sire to check out the 96 rocks on the wall exhibit, and read about the small town sign-painter who turned his hobby into a business. We stopped and watched the Imax movie The World Around Us AWESOME! They were also offering a movie about D-Day and one about Jerusalem. I generally don't enjoy 3-D movies but this was an exception. There is also a planetarium and exhibits about local native bands, frontier life, and old automobiles as well as a seasonal Christmas tree exhibit, but we ran short on time and didn't get to see everything. We spent about 5 hours and could easily have pent another 8 to 10. I felt like I did when I was 9 or 10 and first began to experience the wonders of the world around me. I wish I had more adjectives but I will end by saying PLEASE GO treat yourself to some wonder.

Though we didn't travel with our children or grandchildren, this would have been a great place to share with them. Lots of great displays and none were overwhelming.The Kool-Aid area was the reason we went, but we really enjoyed the rest of it as well.

We stopped here to see the Kool-Aid story and pretty much only looked at that part of the museum. It was a great display and really interesting story about a beloved product and the man who made it popular. Definitely worth the detour from the highway to see.

It was Kool Aid days, lots of activities for adults and children. The displays in the museum are incredible, lots of history. I would recommend this museum to persons of all ages.

This is an excellent museum, plenty of FREE parking. We spent (limited time) about 2 hours in the museum. It is located right off the main highway into town so you can't miss it. Some of the diorama's are showing their age, but overall the we found the museum well laid out and easy to follow from floor to floor. If your time is limited I suggest you start on the bottom and work your way up. You will not be disappointed when visiting this museum, you will be surprised! The Kool-Aid display is nice, the vehicles are awesome and the firearms are amazing. If you have time visit the planetarium and the IMAX theatre.

Overall, this is a good stop. The highlights include a great set of running exhibits on the mosasaur and other ancient Nebraska marine life, as well as an homage to Hastings' World War II-era ammunition plant, supplemented by a very good selection of historical firearms. Perhaps the museum's greatest attraction is an exhibit on Kool-Aid, an American staple that originated in the Hastings area. These and other good points make this a worthwhile stop, but many galleries have become trite by 2010s standards, including the large taxidermy collections (which others may like, I suppose) and the exhibits of early twentieth-century technology, which I felt were kind of tired when I last visited in the 1980s. This is a solid museum, reminiscent of Morrill Hall in Lincoln, but like that institution, it may be time for the curators to get rid of some of the cornerstone exhibits in favor of new things.

We have 3 children, 12, 6 and 18 months, and they LOVE this museum. We have a family membership and live a little over an hour away, but still make it up there about once a month. The movies are amazing at the IMax. The family/children/summerschool programs are fabulous! Hands down, we love it!

This is one of Central Nebraska's "hidden" treasures. It is a well done museum, complete with an IMax theater that has a rotating variety of shows. I would highly recommend anyone stopping by and taking a tour, you will not be disappointed.

The Hastings Museum has so much to offer for all ages. Their exhibits are educational and entertaining, and they often bring in traveling exhibits to expand our horizons. They offer classes and sessions for children and families at minimal cost. They show great movies on the big screen, not only documentaries and educational movies, but also such movies as Les Miserables and fairly recent kids' movies at great prices.

The I Max 3D was great. My 2 grandkids, 7 & 11 yrs. old, and I thought the various exhibits were well presented and interesting. The staff was very helpful and even explained that if you keep your 3D glasses and bring them back for the next movie they give you 50 cents. We are planning to go back to see more of the 3D Imax movies.

we drove all day from eastern Nebraska, and read about their christmas decorations and events on the web, we spend the day visiting Hastings and the outdoor because we thought the museum sign said Open until 8pm.. at our surprise when we entered, the whole staff is starring at us like we were some intruders, and they said the museum is closing at 4:00pm, for some unplicized event, it was 3:50pm, and he wanted to charge us $14 for 10min.. they were rude.The museum has enough billboard outside to advertise they are closing at 4:00pm, they have a facebook page, and website, but none of it was up-to-date, they insisted that we should call them first to make sure they are open!!

It's about average, lots of stuffed animals that have nothing to do with Nebraska. The rock collection and handful of old cars was cute. Not a lot of hands on stuff for small children. Watch out though, they cashier will round your tab up in the gift shop without asking and call it a "donation". Will be checking my credit card for unauthorized charges here soon.

Cute museum with friendly staff. Loved the Kool Aid display and the old cars. Lots for the kids to see and learn.

There are many interesting exhibits here. There are wildlife dioramas, ecology, military weapons, antque vehicles, fossils, minerals, and local history including the first settlers on the plains, as well as the history of Kool-Aid. There is also a planetarium, but I did not partake in that. My favorite sections were "Kool-aid" and "People on the Plains". The Kool-aid section covered the history of kool-aid, such as production, packaging and selling, and flavors. There is also a small theater where you can watch kool-aid commercials from the 1950s through today. The People on the plains section was all about local history. There were some displays about ecology, as well as Native Americans, farming, and local businesses, as well as a general store model. This is a great place to spend a few hours.