Published March 2, 2025 | Updated June 16, 2026

The Kiewit Luminarium, Omaha’s science museum, has quickly become a favorite of ours, though it was long overdue.

By the time Omaha announced it was building a museum dedicated to science in 2020, the absence of one was a long-standing gap. Most cities in the Midwest, including Des Moines, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Wichita, had one for decades.

Open since 2023, the Kiewit Luminarium is designed as an accessible space for everyone at the “intersection of science, art, and human perception.” The Kiewit is a next-generation science center that describes itself as a place to “dream, play, wonder, experiment, and consider something new.” It combines a museum experience and workshop with more than 100 interactive exhibits and a variety of programming.

Sitting along the Missouri River and within Lewis & Clark Landing, the two-story, 82,000-square-foot structure was designed by HDR, which described it as a “container” that harkens back to a machine shed that is intentionally “simple, honest, and performative.”

The bulk of the exhibits sit on the first floor, as does its onsite cafe, Fig. Some of our favorites include a maker space that allows for a hands-on experience building objects and experimenting. Some of these include attaching wires to power small lights and fans as well as Legos. The gravel path is a must-visit for our son so he can harness his inner ninja to see just how quietly he walks. The heat camera will display a heat image of your body to measure just how hot you are. A favorite on the second floor, which offers a quiet space with seating so you can take a break, is the geometry-based climbing structure. This will help get out the wiggles, especially in the winter when it’s too cold to play on the outdoor playground next door. To keep things interesting, some of the exhibits rotate throughout the year.

The Luminarium also hosts events including Holland Talks; Night Light, a 21+ adults-only night with cocktails, music, and hands-on exhibits; and a BioDiscovery Lab that allows for experiments in biotechnology. It’s also open for field trips and hosts a summer camp for kids.

For us, no visit is complete without a snack from Fig. It offers freshly baked pastries, sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items, as well as coffee and other beverages, adult and otherwise. Fig offers some upscale menu items not to be confused with old-school cafeteria-type food. Its patio overlooks the Missouri River and can be visited without purchasing tickets to the museum.

The $101M museum was built on the former Asarco (American Smelting and Refining Company) site at 345 Riverfront Drive, a strategic location designed to draw people back to the river, a goal of the city for decades. To meet the expectation that it would rank among the best in the country, the city partnered with San Francisco’s Exploratorium, which is regularly ranked among the nation’s top science museums. Like its peers, it centers around hands-on learning while inspiring a new generation of kids to pursue STEM careers that include science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The museum was named after Kiewit Corporation, a significant donor, while the word Luminarium was chosen because the center is expected to illuminate the minds of children (and adults) who visit.

Its location within the RiverFront parks is an added bonus. It allows a visitor to leisurely walk from Gene Leahy Mall at 13th and Farnam through Heartland of America Park east of 8th and Farnam and north to Lewis & Clark Landing, where you can not only experience the exhibits at the Luminarium but also walk a bit further and hop onto the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.

While the wait was long, the Kiewit Luminarium was worth it. We found it to be a welcoming spot for the curious, whether you’re young or not.

The Kiewit Luminarium is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Thursday, which is open until 7 p.m. For more information on tickets, memberships, which include a range of pricing options to make it accessible, and events, check out its website: https://kiewitluminarium.org/

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