Omaha Field Trips Guide

Field Trip Categories In And Around Omaha

Zoos, Aquariums, And Wildlife

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is known for building entire environments on a huge scale. The Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforests, with visitors moving above and below a densely planted habitat; the Desert Dome encloses desert ecosystems beneath a glazed geodesic dome, and below it Kingdoms of the Night recreates nocturnal habitats including a large indoor swamp. The Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium adds a walk-through shark tunnel, while African Grasslands spreads large mammals across outdoor habitats. The zoo traces its roots to Riverview Park in the 1890s and was renamed for benefactor Henry Doorly in 1963. Families can easily spend a full day, and school groups should choose two biomes to compare rather than attempt everything. Elementary through high-school students can study adaptation, habitat design, conservation and the engineering required to maintain tropical, desert and aquatic climates in Nebraska.
Street Address: 3701 S 10th St, Omaha, NE 68107
Web Address: https://www.omahazoo.com/

Museums, Tours, And Local Landmarks

Durham Museum
The Durham Museum occupies Omaha's former Union Station, a 1931 Art Deco railroad terminal whose restored Great Hall still has its original ticket windows, terrazzo floor and sculptural details. That building gives the museum an immediate transportation lesson before visitors reach any exhibit. Permanent galleries cover Omaha and regional history, including Native peoples, immigration, commerce and the rise of the railroads, while historic railcars parked on the lower level let students step into passenger travel from another era. The station closed to regular passenger service in 1971 and later became a museum, making adaptive reuse part of the story. Elementary students usually gravitate toward the trains and recreated storefronts; older groups can examine how Omaha's location on the Missouri River and transcontinental rail network shaped its growth. Pairing the architecture upstairs with the cars downstairs makes the visit more coherent than treating each display as an isolated artifact.
Street Address: 801 S 10th St, Omaha, NE 68108
Web Address: https://durhammuseum.org/

Omaha Children's Museum
Omaha Children's Museum is designed for learning through play, particularly for preschool and elementary ages. Rather than glass cases, it uses role-play environments, building areas, science demonstrations and rotating hands-on exhibits where children can test ideas with their bodies and hands. The museum has long emphasized STEAM learning, with spaces that may involve simple machines, art-making, water, construction or imaginative community roles depending on the current installation. For a school group, the strongest use is not to give children a worksheet but to assign a challenge—build something that moves, cooperate on a structure, or explain why an experiment changed after one variable was altered. Older elementary students can still engage if the teacher frames activities as design tasks; teens will generally outgrow the core experience. Families should check the current traveling exhibit in advance because it can substantially change what is available beyond the permanent play-and-science areas.
Street Address: 500 S 20th St, Omaha, NE 68102
Web Address: https://ocm.org/

Arts, Culture, And Performance

Joslyn Art Museum
Joslyn Art Museum is as notable for its building as for its collection. The original 1931 structure is clad in pink Georgia marble and filled with Art Deco details; a major expansion and renovation completed in 2024 added the Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion and reworked the museum campus. The collection is particularly strong in art of the American West, including work by Karl Bodmer and Alfred Jacob Miller, as well as European paintings, Native American art and modern and contemporary works. Because admission to the permanent collection has traditionally been free, it is practical for school groups to make a focused visit rather than trying to justify an all-day schedule. Elementary students can compare landscape, portrait and sculpture; older students can examine how artists represented western expansion and Native peoples. The contrast between the historic marble building and the new pavilion also gives architecture and design classes a ready-made study in how museums expand without erasing their original identity.
Street Address: 2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE 68102
Web Address: https://joslyn.org/

Gardens, Parks, And Outdoor Learning

Lauritzen Gardens
Lauritzen Gardens is Omaha's 100-acre botanical center, with collections arranged so students can move from highly designed gardens to landscapes that echo the Great Plains. The Marjorie K. Daugherty Conservatory provides tropical and temperate environments under glass; outdoors, visitors can explore a rose garden, Victorian garden, model railroad garden, arboretum and prairie-related plantings. A striking feature is the large garden-scale model railroad, which uses miniature trains and structures among living plants and is especially effective for younger children. The garden overlooks the Missouri River corridor and connects naturally to lessons on regional climate and plant selection. Preschoolers can focus on texture, color and trains, while older students can compare drought tolerance, pollinator value and landscape design. Because gardens change from week to week, teachers should ask what is blooming and use those live conditions as the lesson rather than relying on a fixed exhibit list.
Street Address: 100 Bancroft St, Omaha, NE 68108
Web Address: https://www.lauritzengardens.org/

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