While we can’t accredit The Art Institute or the MoMA to our city, Omaha is home to multiple expansive and impressive museums. Many of us can remember being enrolled in various summer camps at some of these places, but as we’ve become more mature we can now view these places in a different light and appreciate them more fully. Craze decided to partake in a museum crawl to check out some of the premier museums Omaha has to offer.

`The Joslyn Art Museum is the prime location for fine art in Omaha. Located in downtown Omaha, it is the only art museum in the state of Nebraska with an expansive permanent collection. Collections range from ancient Greek pottery, Native American works, and European 16th and 17th century works featuring pieces from well-known names such as Monet and Renoir. There is no general admission so the public can enjoy the museum as they please. Temporary exhibits are frequently held with free admission for students, making the Joslyn worth revisiting. With its beautiful craftsmanship, the architecture of the building is art itself, which makes walking through this museum a fulfilling experience.

2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE 68102

The Omaha Children’s Museum is an interactive learning space for kids. Like many of Omaha’s top notch museums, it is located in the downtown area. Growing up in Omaha, many of us visited this museum as kids but with new additions and improvements over the years, it’s worth checking it out again. Earning an award from the Associate of Science and Technology Museums, the Children’s Museum exhibits demonstrate art, science, and humanities in a fun way for children to learn. Also, the room with the machine that shoots out balls may be a nice blast to the past for anyone who visited the Children’s Museum as a kid.

500 S 20th St, Omaha, NE 68102

While not necessarily a museum, The Hot Shops Art Center hosts many artists of various crafts from Omaha. Within Hot Shops you will find studios for pottery, blacksmithing, glass, among other things. Hot Shops contains three art galleries within the large building and often host various large events. Hot Shops also offers classes and workshops from artists within the building such as glassblowing, painting, and screen printing. If you are interested in the arts beyond drawing and painting, Hot Shops is a great resource to connect with the community.

1301 Nicholas St, Omaha, NE 68102

story by nick protzman, photos by kendall brekke and kaelyn mettler

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