Things to do in Kearney, Nebraska (NE): The Best Museums

This collection of over 200 cars represents one man's 41-year love affair with the automobile. It also represents America's love affair and fascination with automobiles and the evolution of our society around the world of wheels. You'll see a variety of body types and styles. You'll enjoy the incredible detail crafted into many of these vehicles - artistic hood ornaments, instrument gauge panels, wheel styles and headlights. Coordinated together to tell their own stories and help us track the evolution of the model and of the age of automobiles. IPads are provided free of charge to give you additional photographs of the vehicle's details - some not able to be seen by the public as well as more information about the vehicles. This attraction is more than just automobiles. It features artistic displays, interactive multi-media shows and models.

Spanning I-80 at Exit 275 in Kearney, NE, the Archway's unique, family-friendly experience tells the story of the adventurers who followed the Great Platte River Road across Nebraska and helped to build America. Spend about an hour or more in our historical exhibit. Our personal audio guide lets you set the pace. Walk with the pioneers on the Oregon Trail. Watch a rider make a stop at a Pony Express Station. Hear Mark Twain's account of a cross-country stagecoach trip. Relive the creation the nation's first Transcontinental Railroad. Hear stories of early auto travel on the Lincoln Highway. Watch traffic pass below you on I-80. Then, see the replica sod house. Stretch your legs on our hike/bike trail. Picnic on the Archway grounds. Discover unique souvenirs at the Archway Mining Company. Make the Archway part of your family's travel adventure.

The Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) celebrates the history of Nebraska's visual art for diverse audiences. MONA collects, preserves, researches, exhibits, and interprets the work of artists who were born, lived, trained, or worked in Nebraska or who created artworks that reflect the culture of Nebraska.

The G.W. Frank Museum is a unique window into Kearney's history- come take a free tour in this opulent mansion built in 1890 as well as multiple exhibits.

Experience the traveler’s journey through Buffalo County! Tour six historic buildings, plus a new blacksmith shop, livery barn, and a UP train! The new Family History Center opened mid-2017 and is the new Museum welcome center which also houses the extensive archive department which includes the Buffalo County records used by researchers world-wide. Join us for several special events through-out the year, including the annual Wagons West Celebration and the Buffalo County Stampede 1/2 marathon, 10K, & 5K! The Trails & Rails Museum is located on the original Mormon Trail route (current 11th St.). The Museum is owned and operated by the Buffalo County Historical Society, which is a not-for-profit, 501C-3 organization. Please check out www.bchs.us for additional details and special events. Summer hours are 10-6 daily, except Sundays are 1-5 pm. September through May hours: M-F 1-5 pm. Archive hours are Mondays from 1-4 or by appointment. We are closed on all major holidays.

We are proud to offer more than twenty interactive exhibits that cover a wide variety of interests that include an art studio, science center, train depot, grocery store, fire station, and agriculture area. Guests have the opportunity to explore at their own pace, and are invited to touch, push, pull, build, and play with every exhibit.