Sara Stevens-Stehl Flavors Travel Writer! Stop #35

Filed Under: All Posts, Winsome on July 19, 2010

From the Flavors of Nebraska Brochure – See original photos of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, antique cars and implements, and the world famous WWII German POW
Interpretive Center.

Hello, my name is Sara, and I am a museum addict. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite, I love them all. What is your favorite Nebraska museum?

For me, it started in childhood. My father was a history buff who drug me to enough museums around the state of Nebraska that in my first summer as a Nebraska Vacation Guide the veteran guides were amazed that I had visited all but one of the museums on our ten-day training tour.

My childhood adventures in appreciation of history are no match for today’s Nebraska Prairie Museum in Holdrege. This Flavor of Nebraska is truly a hidden treasure – the unassuming entrance does not foretell the amazing collection of artifacts contained inside. The facility is very well named – if you are looking to understand the history of the prairie, particularly since the arrival of pale-faced pioneers, this is the place.

An outreach of the Phelps County Historical Society, the exhibits profile the immigrant communities of the county. This rural county intersects world history with an amazing exhibit from the WW II prisoner of war camp that was located near the community of Atlanta. A replica of the guard tower has been constructed on site and the original architect’s model of the camp provides an overview of how the prisoner’s lived. One of the highlights is the exhibit of paintings by Thomas F. Naegele, who served as a liaison between the German prisoners and their American captors.

Words simply can’t do justice to the variety of exhibits and opportunities for historical and genealogical research. You just need to get in your car, head down I-80 to exit 257, go south on Highway 183, and as you’re about to ease into Holdrege, hang a right into the entrance of the Nebraska Prairie Museum. It’s pure pleasure on the prairie.

Let me know which museum YOU plan to visit this summer! I’m a museum addict. If I can’t get to them all this summer I can live vicariously through you!

2701 Burlington
Holdrege, NE 68949
(308)995-5015 | nebraskaprairie.org
Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm; Sat-Sun: 1pm-5pm

For more info on other Flavors of Nebraska locations check out www.flavorsofnebraska.org