Founded in 1927, Hastings Museum is the largest municipal museum between Chicago and Denver. It features a theatre with a 65-foot-wide screen, full domed Planetarium, and dozens of animal species set in their natural habitats, allowing an up-close look at many amazing creatures!

We provide a look back at the fascinating sea creatures that used to roam this area and swim in the Cretaceous Sea and chronicle the history of the early inhabitants of the Nebraska plains from Paleo-Indians to Euro-Americans. You'll discover how Kool-Aid, the famous soft drink invented in Hastings, came to be a global success.

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Hastings Museum is visited by over 30,000 people each year. It connects people to the world and universe through educational programs, exhibits, and films. Each year the JM McDonald Planetarium holds over 550 planetarium shows attended by more than 10,600 people and nearly 6,000 students from Hastings, Greater Nebraska, and Kansas visited through school field trips. Truly, the Hastings Museum inspires greater public awareness and understanding of our past to positively affect our future.