Nebraska150's mobile children's museum logs nearly 34,000 visitors, claims No. 1 spot on Tourism's Digital Passport Program

The Nebraska150 Celebration’s largest project, “Truckin’ Through Nebraska: A Mobile Children’s Museum,” has closed out its 42-community, 26-week tour of the state - logging close to 34,000 visitors, 6,000 miles and claiming the number one spot on the 2017 Nebraska Tourism Commission Digital Passport Program.

The Mobile Children’s Museum received 1,688 Digital Passport Stamps, the most of 80 stops included the program. Total booklet stamp counts won’t be released for a few weeks.

First Lady Susanne Shore said, “It was our privilege to bring this experience to so many of Nebraska’s children. It took hundreds of amazing volunteers across the state working alongside us in their communities to make this program successful. I want to thank our generous sponsors for believing in our vision of uniting our state through a shared fun, educational experience for our kids. They put a lot of faith in us and I hope we exceeded their expectations.”

Nebraska Passport Program Manager Erin Wirth said, “Passport participants loved visiting ‘Truckin’ Through Nebraska.’ I heard over and over how much fun families had completing the activities and learning about Nebraska. As one traveler said, ‘This was a wonderful Passport stop. My kids loved the experience this unique museum provided. What a wonderful way to celebrate 150 years of Nebraska history!’”

The Mobile Children’s Museum was contained in a leased state-of-the-art trailer specially designed and outfitted for traveling museum exhibits. It launched in early April from the Omaha Children’s Museum, which partnered with the Nebraska150 Celebration on the project.

Executive Director Regan Anson said, “One of the things we have been asked most often is what would happen to the museum when the tour concludes. I’m happy to say the exhibits will live on. We have gifted the majority of the components to our wonderful partner on the project, the Omaha Children’s Museum. The one exception is the Nebraska Panorama photo wall, which has found a permanent home at the Nebraska State Fair. We are confident the exhibits will be put to excellent use and enjoyed by Nebraskans for years to come.”

Omaha Children’s Museum Executive Director Lindy Hoyer said, “Omaha Children’s Museum was honored to serve as a partner and consultant on this incredible statewide outreach. Our team made great friends and allies as we collaborated to fulfill the visionary commitment on the part of First Lady Susanne Shore to create something that would make a lasting impact on children and families across our great state. As we focus on what comes next, we are grateful to be the recipients of many of these educational components and look forward to upholding the commitment of our First Lady to continue getting them out of Omaha and into our state to reach even more children and families in the future.”

The Nebraska150 Celebration created the Mobile Children’s Museum to provide a fun, hands-on learning experience for children who may not otherwise be able to easily access a children’s museum. Through play, interactivity and the latest technology, Nebraska’s children were able to explore their heritage and envision their futures. The experience was intended to help power the imagination and create an excitement about learning.

Interior exhibits included areas where kids could build shelters and test them in a wind chamber or earthquake simulator, design their own 10-acre homestead, test their knowledge of Nebraska, create their own movie, explore toys from the past, craft their own postcards and more. Exhibits also surrounded the exterior of the trailer, allowing for optimal play and learning space. Those exhibits included a timed “chore” challenge obstacle course, foam block invention area and toy creation station.

The Mobile Children’s Museum was sponsored in part by Cargill, Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, First National Bank, Peter Kiewit Foundation, BNSF Railway, the Ricketts Family, Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America – Nebraska Chapter, AGC Nebraska Building Chapter, TransCanada, Nebraska Cattlemen Foundation and Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST 529).

More information about the Nebraska150 Celebration is available at http://www.ne150.org , on Facebook at facebook.com/nebraska150 and on Twitter @ne150.