Mobility & Cognition Screening
2025-04-04 11:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | UNMC’s Engage Wellness Medical Fitness Center, 730 South 38th Avenue, Omaha, NE, 68105, United States
Engage Wellness is offering free mobility and cognition screenings to the public (adults 60 & older) on April 4 from 11am to 1pm.
The screening will take approximately 30min.
No sign up required, just stop by the wellness center.

Growing Medicine with Lakota Made
2025-04-05 11:00 - 13:00 | Kiewit Luminarium, 345 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Megan Bull Bear, owner of Lakota Made, will visit the Kiewit Luminarium with an interactive experience exploring practices of growing and tending to medicinal plants. Megan will share traditional Indigenous insights into a variety of plants, their medicinal benefits, and practices of building relationships with the natural world. The discussion will highlight the importance of food sovereignty, urban gardening, and community sustainability. The Luminarium will have a selection of seeds to take home so you can practice what you’ve learned and begin growing your own medicinal garden!

This workshop is open to anyone interested in sustainable living, herbal medicine, and urban gardening – no prior gardening experience is necessary.

This event is included with any daily admission ticket or with a membership.

Science Sunday
2025-04-06 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, next to the slides. 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 *we will be down by the Kiewit Luminarium at The RiverFront for ‘Earth Day at The RiverFront’ on this Sunday

Science Sunday
2025-04-13 13:00 - 14:00, 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

Genealogy Quest
2025-04-15 14:00 - 15:00 | City of Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Avenue, Kearney, NE, 68847, United States
If you love digging into your ancestral past, this is the study hall for you! Use the Kearney Public Library‘s resources to help you in your quest. This class won’t teach you what to do, but volunteers from the Buffalo County Historical Society and library staff will be there to give assistance when needed. So, if you enjoy delving into your ancestry but haven’t been finding time to work on it — come search with us!
This study hall is a partnership between the library and Buffalo County Historical Society, with special thanks to Elaine Batenhorst.

16th annual Richard B. Davis, MD, PhD History of Medicine Lecture
2025-04-16 12:00 - 13:00 | University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), 42nd and Emile, Omaha, NE, 68198
Discover the true story of the Black Angels at the 16th annual Richard B. Davis, MD, PhD History of Medicine Lecture on April 16, from noon–1 pm, online via Zoom (registration required).
Author Maria Smilios learned about the Black Angels while working as a science book editor at Springer Publishing. As a native New Yorker and lover of history, medicine, and women’s narratives, she became determined to tell their story.
“The Black Angels” is the true story of the Black nurses who, in 1929, wagered their lives by leaving the Jim Crow south and went north to work on an isolated hilltop in Staten Island at Sea View Hospital. The “pest house” was an overcrowded municipal tuberculosis sanatorium where the city sent its poorest residents, considered “uncouth and un-American consumptives” to languish and die.
Interested in attending the lecture? Register to attend via Zoom.

Artificial Womb Technology: Brave New World is Closer Than We Think
2025-04-17 18:30 - 19:30 | UNO, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, 6320 Maverick Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68182, United States
In this public talk, Dr. Laura Johnson Dahlke will discuss the future of human reproduction and present timely information on the scientific development of artificial womb technology and its implications for humanity.
She will further explore the value of pregnancy and childbirth in the 21st century, questioning the notion that mechanical gestation will lead to full gender equality.

Professor Dahlke is the author is Outer Origin: A Discourse on Ectogenesis and the Value of Human Experience. She is passionate about topics relating to pregnancy, childbirth, and reproductive technologies. In her work she synthesizes complex ideas from various disciplines such as medical science, philosophy, literature, and psychology–with clarity and readability.

Skeletons on the Screen: Dr. Katie East
2025-04-18 14:00 - 15:00 | Saddlebrook Branch, 14850 Laurel Ave., Omaha, NE, 68116, United States
Join Dr. Katie East for an entertaining look into forensic anthropology on the screen to learn what forensic anthropologists actually do. Compare television, movies and real life. It may be entertaining when pop culture gets forensic anthropology wrong, but the consequences are more real than you think.
This is a free event for teens aged 13-19.
Registration is required and opens March 15. Call 402-444-5780 to register.

Indigenous Foraging with the Moon Cycle - Featuring Bluebird Cultural Initiative
2025-04-19 11:00 - 13:00 | Kiewit Luminarium, 345 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
In this workshop, learn about the intimate relationship between Indigenous practices of plant foraging and the cycles of the moon. Sicangu Lakota artist and educator Steve Tamayo will share insight on the many plant medicines Indigenous communities have relied on for generations, how these relationships with plant relatives were impacted by colonization, and how they remain vital still today.

Steve Tamayo is the founder of the nonprofit Bluebird Cultural Initiative. The organization’s mission is to provide meaningful programming to the community that enriches their understanding of the history and cultural traditions of Native American peoples of the Great Plains.

This event is included with any daily admission ticket or with a membership at Kiewit Luminarium.

Skeletons on the Screen: Dr. Katie East
2025-04-19 14:00 - 15:00 | Milton R. Abrahams Branch, 5111 N. 90th St., Omaha, NE, 68134, United States
Join Dr. Katie East for an entertaining look into forensic anthropology on the screen to learn what forensic anthropologists actually do. Compare television, movies and real life. It may be entertaining when pop culture gets forensic anthropology wrong, but the consequences are more real than you think.
This is a free event for teens aged 13-19.

Omaha Science Cafe - "The Teenage Brain Today"
2025-04-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Slowdown, 729 N 14th St., Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Join Giorgia Picci,Ph.D., the Susan & George Haddix Endowed Chair in Developmental Neuroscience in the Institute for Human Neuroscience at Boys Town National Research Hospital, for the April 22 Omaha Science Cafe as she presents, “The Teenage Brain,” 7pm at the Slowdown.
The teenage brain is built for change. Decades of research have shown that adolescence is one of the most dynamic periods of brain development. This rapid transformation is driven by a mix of biological and social factors, including pubertal hormones, shifting social dynamics, and the push toward independence. This interplay creates a developmental paradox—a window of both great opportunity and heightened vulnerability. In today’s world, added complexities like social media are reshaping the landscape of adolescence. Dr. Picci will unpack these topics and discuss how they may help explain the rising rates of mental health challenges in teens.
Science Cafés address science topics in casual settings like pubs and coffeehouses. The events are open to everyone (21 and older).
Using plain language, an easygoing atmosphere and inclusive conversation, these interactive events are welcoming and comfortable for people with no science background. Each presentation is followed by a question-and-answer period.

Skeletons on the Screen: Dr. Katie East
2025-04-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Willa Cather Branch, 905 S. 44th St., Omaha, NE, 68105, United States

The Sounds of Science: Hearing Music Through Art and Science
2025-04-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Site-1 Brewing, 2566 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE, 68131, United States
Stop out to Site-1 Brewing on April 29 at 7pm to learn about “The Sounds of Science: Hearing Music Through Art and Science.”
Moderated by Dr. Allison Coffin, Associate Professor at Creighton University, panelists Dr. Chris Strecker, Director of the Technology Core and Spatial Hearing and Auditory Neuroscience Lab and Dr. A. Barron Breland, Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs & Dean of the Graduate School at Creighton University, will lead a discussion on how we perceive sound and hearing from the arts and science perspectives.

Speaker Bios:
Dr. Chris Stecker is the Director of the Technology Core and Spatial Hearing and Auditory Neuroscience Lab. Dr. Stecker has a bachelor’s degree in cognitive science and a doctorate in cognitive psychology. His current research focuses on using behavioral, computational, and neuroimaging (functional MRI) techniques to study how the brain processes spatial information.
Dr. A. Barron Breland is Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs & Dean of the Graduate School at Creighton University where he previously served as Chair of the Department of Fine & Performing Arts. He holds degrees in Music Theory and Choral Conducting from the University of Georgia and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has arranged, conducted, and performed broadly and across genres. He is also the Artistic Director of the Heartland Mixed Chorus.
Dr. Allison Coffin is an Associate Professor at Creighton University. Her research examines the cellular mechanisms of hearing loss from diverse toxic insults (noise, ototoxic drugs) and works to develop preventative or restorative therapies. Current research seeks to identify occult hearing (oto) toxins and develop predictive models to determine ototoxic potential early in pre-clinical drug development. She is also the co-founder and President of the Association of Science Communicators, a professional organization that seeks to increase the impact of science in society.
