Nebraska Science Festival

Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects®
2025-04-14 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-15 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-16 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-17 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-18 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-19 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-20 09:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-21 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) and 9 more dates | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108
BUILD a great garden adventure during Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects®: Made with LEGO® Bricks all month long at Lauritzen Gardens. This exhibit celebrates the beauty of nature but also emphasizes the delicate connections that exist between all living things. Marvel at 18 larger-than-life sculptures built from more than 275,000 LEGO® bricks, including a majestic monarch butterfly, a hovering hummingbird, a sly fox, and more! Ignite your imagination, make your own brick-built creations, and leave with a deeper appreciation for the relationships and connections that sustain our ecosystems.

Third Tuesday Bird Outings
2025-04-15 08:00 - 10:00 | Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, 11700 SW 100th Street, Denton, NE, 68339, United States
Join Spring Creek Prairie on April 15, from 8-10am, for an experienced birding guide and fellow birding enthusiasts for an outing along the prairie trails. Learn the birds of the prairie from spring migration to summer breeding and fall migration. Great for beginners and experts alike. Binoculars will be available for use.
Free admission. Registration is now open.

Raptor Trivia at Kros Strain
2025-04-15 18:30 - 20:00 | Kros Strain Brewing, 10411 Portal Rd #102, LaVista, NE, 68128, United States
Join Fontenelle Forest for an evening of feathered fun during Raptor Trivia Night at Kros Strain in partnership with NE SciFest! This engaging and educational event will test your wits and give you the opportunity to see several of our educational raptor ambassadors up close.
Get ready to put your raptor knowledge to the test with a thrilling trivia competition.
Questions will cover a range of topics, from species identification and habitats to their incredible hunting techniques and conservation efforts.
Prizes include raptor merch that you can only find at Fontenelle Forest!

Smelly Science: Weasels & Skunks STINK! - POSTPONED
2025-04-16 18:00 - 19:30 | Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, 11700 SW 100th Street, Denton, NE, 68339, United States
STAY TUNED FOR A NEW DATE FOR THIS EVENT!
Join Nebraska Game and Parks Commission & Spring Creek Prairie for a fun and informative evening for an adult-based workshop, “Smelly Science: Weasels & Skunks Stink.” This engaging event will kick off with a half-hour deep dive into the fascinating world of weasels and skunks, exploring their unique behaviors and, of course, their famous stinks! After the indoor session, we’ll head out on a hike through the prairie, where you’ll get to participate in hands-on activities such as learning about the Eastern Spotted Skunk Community Science Project. Then, we’ll wrap things up indoors with a lively trivia game, fun goodies, and helpful resources to take home. Come for the science, stay for the fun — and be prepared for a bit of stink!
Free admission, but registration required.
Registration is now open. Click here to register for either the in-person program at Spring Creek Prairie or the Zoom broadcast.
**Note: This is an in-person event at Spring Creek Prairie, but there will be an online Zoom link for those wishing to just watch the half-hour informational presentation.

Seeds & Sprouts
2025-04-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Crete Public Library, 1515 Forest Ave, Crete, NE, 68333, United States
Looking for a fun, educational, and hands-on activity for the whole family? Bring your loved ones closer to nature with Crete Public Library‘s Seeds & Sprouts program! Whether you’re seasoned gardeners or total beginners, there’s something for everyone.

Lincoln Earth Day
2025-04-19 10:00 - 14:00 | Nebraska Innovation Campus, 2021 Transformation Drive, Lincoln, NE, 68508, United States
The Lincoln Earth Day Celebration is an annual celebration in Lincoln, Nebraska. The exciting community event has approximately 2,500 attendees annually and their Coalition wants you to join in the fun. There will be dozens of booths that all promote, educate, and celebrate environmental stewardship, green education, and sustainable living.
Grab your friends, families and coworkers and join us for this year’s environmental education and family fun!

Earth Day in the Greenhouse
2025-04-19 11:00 - 14:00 | Mulhall’s, 3615 N 120th Street, Omaha, NE, 68164, United States
Come join Mulhall’s in the Greenhouse to kick off the season and celebrate the planet with live music from local singer-songwriter Andre Vander Velde!
Learn more about the vital research and conservation efforts dedicated to preserving the extraordinary biological diversity of the Great Plains, presented by Lauritzen Gardens.
While you’re here, bring your garden tools, mower blades, scissors, and even kitchen cutlery! Foster’s Sharpening Service will hone your blades, preparing them for another season of use.
Enjoy delicious lunch options from Kitchen Table, cold-pressed juice from The Grove Juicery, and take a moment to relax and recharge. Find your favorite new threads from Great Plains Vintage.
Stop by to chat with some amazing community partners, including The Nature Conservancy, Hillside Solutions, Heron Haven, Keep Omaha Beautiful, Whispering Roots, and Omaha Parks Foundation.
Spend the afternoon in the Greenhouse, connect with wonderful community partners, and see how fun it can be to care for our Earth. Let’s make a positive impact together!

Incredible Edible Landfill
2025-04-21 14:00 - 15:00 | Charles B. Washington Branch, 2868 Ames Ave., Omaha, NE, 68111, United States
Have you ever wondered what happens once you throw something into the trash can? How important is recycling? Join the Omaha Public Library as they explore these issues in a fun (and tasty) way! Participants will use pudding, candy, cookies, cereal, and other tasty treats to create an edible landfill.
This program contains allergens such as wheat, milk, eggs, soy and tree nuts. However, the treat can be made without all the ingredients for children that still want to participate.
This is a free event for children ages 7-12. First come first served. Childcare groups and groups larger than 10, please call in advance.
Parents/caregivers must remain with their child(ren) for the duration of the program.

Roots, Research and Resilience: Exploring the Future of the Nebraska Sandhills
2025-04-25 10:45 - 11:45 | UNL East Campus Union, 1705 Arbor Drive, Lincoln, NE, 68503, United States
Dr. Mary Ann Vinton will present “Roots, Research and Resilience: Exploring the Future of the Nebraska Sandhills,” for the 2025 Maiben Lecture at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 2025 Annual Spring Meeting at the UNL East Campus Union. In her presentation, she will blend ideas from natural and social science to explore the status and future of the Nebraska Sandhills as one of the most intact grasslands in the world.
Dr. Mary Ann Vinton grew up as a member of a five-generation family of cattle ranchers in the Nebraska Sandhills. She did an undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Wyoming, a MS at Kansas State University, and a PhD in Ecology at Colorado State University. She is now Professor of Biology and Director of Environmental Science at Creighton University in Omaha. Dr. Vinton teaches courses in biology, ecology, and environmental science. Her research program revolves around the ecosystem consequences of human impacts on plant communities, such as impacts wrought by invasive plants or the demise of once-common plants. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA-Nebraska Space Grant, and Nebraska Environmental Trust, and involves close mentoring of undergraduate research students. Recently, she has returned to the Sandhills to reconnect with her roots and study how landscapes are changing with management and climate. Dr. Vinton inherited a section of land on the Dismal River from her mother and “Kinkaided” by her great, great aunt, Mary Crouch. The section is known as the “Aunt Mary” and is surrounded by family. She has used the Aunt Mary as a study site for biodiversity work and analyses of the landscape diversity inherent in the wet meadows and dry dunes in the Sandhills. In talking with friends and family, Dr. Vinton has become interested in the factors that affect land management and how decisions and attitudes are often not based on science or economic optimization, but often involve feelings of obligation and connection, stemming from long relationships between one another and land.
Visit neacadsci.org for more information.

Earth Day Omaha 2025
2025-04-26 11:00 - 16:00 | Elmwood Park, 6232 Pacific Street, Omaha, NE, 68106
A celebration of our planet and a commitment to sustainability, Earth Day Omaha brings together community members, organizations, and businesses to showcase their dedication to the environment.

With a variety of educational exhibits, interactive activities, and informative presentations, attendees will learn about the importance of reducing waste, conserving energy, and preserving our natural resources. From local food trucks to environmental demos, Earth Day Omaha 2025 promises to be a fun-filled day for the whole family!

Incredible Edible Landfill
2025-04-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Downtown Branch, 1401 Jones St., Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Have you ever wondered what happens once you throw something into the trash can? How important is recycling? Join the Omaha Public Library as they explore these issues in a fun (and tasty) way! Participants will use pudding, candy, cookies, cereal, and other tasty treats to create an edible landfill.
This program contains allergens such as wheat, milk, eggs, soy and tree nuts. However, the treat can be made without all the ingredients for children that still want to participate.
This is a free event for children ages 7-12. Registration is required and opens April 1. Please call 402-444-4828 to register.
Parents/caregivers must remain in the building with their child(ren) for the duration of the program.

Earth Day at The RiverFront
2025-04-27 12:00 - 15:00 | The RiverFront, 900 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Earth Day at The RiverFront will be a fun, Earth-friendly day of festivities along the Missouri River. Please join us along the RiverFront Promenade and at the Riverfront Plaza in Lewis and Clark Landing for information booths, sustainability activities, terra cotta pot painting, giveaways, a clothing drive, and live music. Scatter Joy Acres will bring animals for a petting zoo.
Science Sunday will move locations, from the slides to the plaza, to participate from 1-2pm in this event.

Science Sunday
2025-04-27 13:00 - 14:00 | Omaha RiverFront, 1001 Douglas Street, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Join the Nebraska Science Festival for Science Sunday from 1-2pm in April at the Omaha RiverFront. This is a free family friendly hour for you to learn about nature, astronomy, chemistry, medicine and more with hands-on science activities (while supplies last).
Science Sunday Activities:

April 6 – Tin Foil Watercolor Eggs

April 13 – Seed Bombs

April 27 – Make your own Constellation

Wonderful Worms
2025-04-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Saddlebrook Branch, 14850 Laurel Ave., Omaha, NE, 68116, United States
Help the Omaha Public Library celebrate slippery, slimy, wonderful worms! This special storytime will feature books and songs all about wiggly worms. At the conclusion of storytime, stay and observe real worms. If real worms make you squirm, don’t worry, worm-themed crafts will be available.
All supplies included. While supplies last.
