Nebraska Science Festival

Space: It's Out of This World
2024-03-30 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Milton R. Abrahams Branch, 5111 N. 90th St., Omaha, NE, 68134, United States
Become a Space Cadet at Omaha Public Library! Join the Omaha Children’s Museum as we tour our solar system and learn important physics, chemistry, and engineering concepts. Blast off with a combustion reaction, find out what happens when there is no air pressure, and watch as we make our own version of a comet!
This program is designed for kids grades K-5, but all ages are welcome.
Registration begins March 1. To register for this program, please email amhamernik@omahalibrary.org or call 402-444-6284.

Walk to the Moon Challenge
2024-04-01 - 2024-04-30 | NE
NE SciFest is challenging everyone in Nebraska to show their love of science by participating in a 30-day exercise challenge that will collectively take us to the moon. The challenge will start April 1, and end on April 30. Any type of exercise will count (miles, minutes or steps) and ALL exercise will be converted into steps for the challenge. The challenge is going to take all our effort as it will require us to cover 238,855 miles or 477,710,000* steps.
Collectively, Nebraska, we can do it!
*Based on the average of 2,000 steps per mile.
How to submit your steps:
Steps for App:

Download the Challenge Runner App
Register (if you haven’t already)
Scan the QR Code to enroll in our challenge
Start tracking

Steps for browser (if you don’t want to do the app and track via your smart watch).

Go to the link below on April 1: https://www.challengerunner.com/enroll/9556ay-4gmm
Register.
Upload your steps weekly or daily in the browser.

NE SciFest Essay Contest
2024-04-01 - 2024-04-30 | NE
The NE SciFest Essay Contest is back again. This year we want you to write an essay answering the question below and be entered to win a NE SciFest swag package.
This year’s SciFest essay question: In honor of our keynote speaker – and her high school science teacher and mentor, Mr. Carlock, who encouraged her interest in science – tell us about an important science mentor in your life.

Contest is open to all Nebraskans 19 years and younger. Essays must be emailed to nescifest@gmail.com by April 30, 2024.

NE SciFest Art Contest
2024-04-01 - 2024-04-30 | NE
Back for a fourth year is the NE SciFest Art Contest.
Using our keynote speakers’ background in animal behavior as inspiration, create artwork that reflects your favorite animal.
Three winners will receive a swag bag of NE SciFest goodies.
All entries must meet the following requirements:

All entrants must live in the state of Nebraska
Each participant may only submit one image. However, a teacher/coach/parent may submit multiple images
Must be able to email a clear, well photographed image of creation to NE SciFest

BRICKLIVE Brickosaurs
2024-04-01 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-02 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-03 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-04 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-05 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-06 09:00 - 17:00 | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108
On display for the first time in the United States, experience BRICKLIVE Brickosaurs, an adventure of Jurassic scale at Omaha’s Lauritzen Gardens. Marvel at 30 iconic dinosaur sculptures made from more than 1.5 million bricks and witness firsthand what it would have been like to come face-to-face with a herd of incredible reptiles, while discovering prehistoric plants in the garden’s collection. This dino-mite brick sculpture exhibit is included with garden admission and is FREE for garden members.

StoryWalk®: “Dig In!”
2024-04-01 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-02 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-03 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-04 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-05 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-06 09:00 - 17:00 | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108
Take a stroll through the Lauritzen Gardens arboretum and explore all of the creepy, crawly, dirty, muddy, green, and growing things that can be found in the garden. Following along with the story “Dig In!” by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, your family can take part in some fun activities. StoryWalk® combines the love of reading with healthy, fun activities that fit the theme of the story to exercise your brain and body. Included with paid admission or with garden membership.

Boys Town Hall of History Hands-On Weekly Activities
2024-04-01 10:00 - 16:30, 2024-04-02 10:00 - 16:30, 2024-04-03 10:00 - 16:30, 2024-04-04 10:00 - 16:30, 2024-04-05 10:00 - 16:30, 2024-04-06 10:00 - 16:30 | Boys Town Hall of History, 14057 Flanagan Blvd., Boys Town, NE, 68010, United States
Visit the Boys Town Hall of History and learn about various science topics with weekly activities. Each week, the Hall of History will host staff-led science activities during regular business hours. Stop by each week to check out the rotating activities!
Weekly Features:

April 1 – 7: Comic Book Station

Make your own comic book and take photo with our 6 ft 2 in Captain Marvel.

April 8 – 14: Magnifying

Learn about and explore with different magnifying glasses and microscopes.

April 15 – 21: Windmills

Learn about our windmill and make your own windmill.

April 22 – 30: Blueprints

Learn about blueprints, make your own blueprint and do Lego construction.

Business Hours:
Monday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sundays 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Mudpies
2024-04-02 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-04-04 09:30 - 11:00 | Fontenelle Forest, 1111 Bellevue Blvd. N., Bellevue, NE, 68005, United States
Looking for a unique setting in which to have fun with your child while learning about the natural world?
Mudpies is a structured program for children ages 3-5, at Fontenelle Forest, that encourages exploration of nature and interaction between a child and their caregiver. Each week, a natural science theme is explored through crafts, outdoor exploration, songs, stories, hikes and more! Each session will feature a different craft or activity, along with storytime and a guided hike. Come discover the joy of sharing nature with your child!
This program is for children ages 3-5 accompanied by a caregiver. Registration required.

FLIP Fabrique: Blizzard
2024-04-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Orpheum Theater, 409 S 16th St., Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
With Blizzard, FLIP Fabrique takes you on a crazy, poetic and gentle journey in the dead of winter, and invites you to lose yourself in a moment of complete wonder. With performers at the peak of their art and outstanding visual poetry, Blizzard promises to blow away everything in its path.
What if winter has taken over?
Not just outside, in the streets and in the fields,
But also in the houses, in the bedrooms
Underneath our clothes, and even right into our hearts. Everything, absolutely everything, buried under the snow, Obliterated by a white-out.
The north wind freezes time as it flows over us.
Would it be a catastrophe?
Or a chance to start over,
To fix our mistakes?
A new blank page
In the shape of a blizzard.
About the preshow Curtain Warmer
Ticketholders are invited to join us at 6:10 PM in the Orpheum Theater lobby for a preshow activity. The Luminarium will be bringing science and all things STEM to complement the thrilling acrobatics of Flip Fabrique.

Old Market Science Crawl
2024-04-04 17:30 - 19:00 | NE
Join us for the inaugural Old Market Science Crawl for NE SciFest! Stop by any of the locations below between 5:30-7pm for tours, q&a’s, self guided fun and more.
Venues offering tours will be at the following times 5:35pm, 6:20pm and 7pm. Tours last 20 minutes.
Brickway Brewery & Distillery: Enjoy a tour of the distillery with owner Zac Triemert, then stick around and treat yourself to one of their fabulous drinks (must be 21). Located at 1116 Jackson St., Omaha, NE 68102.
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: Get a guided tour of the exhibit, Neo-Custodians: Woven Narratives of Heritage, Cultural Memory, and Belonging. The exhibit focuses on the historical aspect of textiles as a vehicle for communication and representation. Linking this ancient form of expression to contemporary artworks inspired by this legacy, the thirteen artists in the exhibition engage intentionally with materials bearing complex histories. Offering unique perspectives that examine concepts around migration, identity, and environmental sustainability, these artists revisit history through the deconstruction of the canon. Reviewing personal and socio-political histories, as well as world events of the past through the lens of their diverse practices, they create a reconfiguration of ideas that births something new, centered on the regenerative properties of fibers. Located at 724 S. 12th St., Omaha, NE 68102.
Clarkson Family Medicine – Get a guided tour of the Nebraska Medicine Clarkson Family Medicine Clinic. Clarkson Family Medicine physicians specialize in medicine for the entire family: from obstetrics to newborn care, from adolescent medicine to geriatrics and everything in between. Attendees will see one of their 16 exam rooms, a minor procedure room, radiology services and more. 1319 Leavenworth St., Omaha, NE 68102.
The RiverFront: Take a self-guided stroll through the Omaha RiverFront while checking out the native plants, animals (dogs, ducks, birds) and architecture. Located at 13th and Farnam St., Omaha, NE 68102.
Passageway Gallery: Stop in between 5:30-7pm and speak to the artist on duty. On April 4, a photographer will be there to talk about their work, their process, their subjects (specializing in architecture themed photos) and more. Located at 417 S 11th St., Omaha, NE 68102.

Wellness Workshop: The Science of Meditation for Healing the Mind and Body
2024-04-05 11:00 - 12:00 | UNMC’s Engage Wellness Medical Fitness Center, 730 South 38th Avenue, Omaha, NE, 68105, United States
Please join Engage Wellness for a community presentation on the benefits of mindfulness and meditation.
This completely free workshop, open to the public, will focus on how to integrate mindfulness and meditation into daily life. Our presenter will share how meditation is an extremely powerful tool for healing the body and mind — accessible to you at any time, any place. Participants will learn relaxation exercises during the workshop.
Presented by: Sarah Fischer, PhD, Psychology, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Engage Wellness is located on the first floor of the Home Instead Center for Successful Aging on UNMC’s campus. This event will be hosted in the Group Movement Room.
Register here.

Fred G. Dale Planetarium
2024-04-05 19:00 - 19:45 | Fred G. Dale Planetarium, Gulliver Dr., Wayne, NE, 68787, United States
Doors open 20 minutes prior to the start of a show. Planetarium shows generally include a tour of the current night sky, a view of the constellations, and a full-dome video. All shows last about 45 minutes.
April Shows:
Friday, April 5 – Eclipse Weekend!
7 p.m. Planetarium show – Eclipses and Phases of the Moon
8 p.m. Planetarium show – Eclipse Across America 2024
Saturday, April 6 – Eclipse Weekend!
1 p.m. Planetarium show – Eclipse Across America 2024
2 p.m. Planetarium show – Eclipses and Phases of the Moon
Sunday, April 7 – Eclipse Weekend!
1 p.m. Planetarium show – Eclipses and Phases of the Moon
2 p.m. Planetarium show – Eclipse Across America 2024
Friday, April 12
7 p.m. Planetarium show – Tales of the Mayan Skies
Saturday, April 13
1 p.m. Planetarium show – The Sky We Don’t See
Friday, April 19
7 p.m. Planetarium show – STARS
Saturday, April 20
1 p.m. Planetarium show – Astronaut
Friday, April 26 – Spring Season Final Weekend!
7 p.m. Planetarium show – Cosmic Colors
Saturday, April 27 – Spring Season Final Weekend!
1 p.m. Planetarium show – Oasis in Space

Fred. G. Dale Planetarium
2024-04-05 20:00 - 20:45 | Fred G. Dale Planetarium, Gulliver Dr., Wayne, NE, 68787, United States

Open House at the UNL Student Observatory
2024-04-05 20:30 - 22:30 | UNL Student Observatory, 625 Stadium Dr., Lincoln, NE, 68501, United States
See the stars, planets, and moon from UNL’s campus! Please note, the event might be canceled due to clouds and weather. Decision to cancel will be posted on the calendar by 3pm on Friday. Events will occur twice a month on Friday evenings. Lets hope for good weather!
Directions: Take the elevator or stairs to the top floor. Observatory is the large dome and shed at the south-west corner of the parking garage.
