As a warrior lost on Earth, John Carter is magically transported to Mars, where the fate of the planet and its people ultimately rest in his hands. With surprising new powers and epic battles, he rises to become the man he is meant to be and the hero he truly is. With Hastings Museum’s 65-foot-wide digital 3D screen, you’ll be immersed in all the action!

Check out the trailer below!

From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton, John Carter is a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars).

John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who’s inexplicably transported to Mars and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It’s a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands. With stunning special effects, great characters and villains, John Carter 3D is a heroic and inspirational adventure that will thrill audiences beyond imagination.

This ambitious and unforgettable screen adaptation of the classic novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, stars Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the title role, Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Number 23) as Dejah Thoris, Willem Dafoe (The English Patient, Spider Man) as Tars Tarkas, and Dominic West (300, The Wire) as Sab Than.

John Carter 3D is rated PG-13 and runs for 132 minutes.

The billboards were updated to reflect the Museum’s new logo and tagline and to emphasize our fabulous 3D theatre, planetarium and focus on natural and cultural history. They also still feature a familiar character!

The billboard above is the one near Lincoln, the one below is near the Alda exit as it was being installed.

Take a look next time you’re traveling down I-80!

School season typically runs through April and early May when students from schools near and far visit Hastings Museum to see up close some of the things they have learned throughout the year or to participate in a specific program or learn about the stars and planets in our wonderful planetarium.

In April 2011, Hastings Museum had 621 students and adults visit our planetarium. This year that number jumped to 1,335 students and adults!

A year ago we had 509 students and adults do a school program in April. This year we had 1,192!

So if you’ve seen Hastings Museum’s education team and volunteers running to and fro in April, that’s why! It was a busy month…and we LOVED it!

To all the schools, teachers and parents – thank you!

A mom and her son enjoy Hastings Museum.

Hastings Museum is recognizing all the SuperMoms on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13.

During the Museum’s SuperMom celebration, all moms enjoy admission to the Museum plus any show in the theatre for free, with one paid admission per mom. (Hey kids – hint hint!)

“Kids want to do something nice for their mom on Mother’s Day and this is a great way for them to have an afternoon out, and with mom getting free admission, it makes the outing more affordable,” said Becky Matticks, director of Hastings Museum. “Kids can choose the Museum or a movie, or both. It’s a wonderful way to create some great memories.”

Admission for mother and child to the Museum is only $5.00; an edutainment-style film, such as African Adventure 3D or Tornado Alley 3D, is just $8.00; and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax in 3D is $6.50.

For a full list of what’s showing in the theatre, click here, and for a list of don’t miss exhibits, click here.

The SuperMom celebration is sponsored by Obstetricians & Gynecologists P.C.

For more information about the SuperMom celebration, contact Visitor Services at 402-461-4629, option zero.

The Lorax will be shown for Family Friday on May 4 (reservations are due by noon that day).

View the movie trailer below!

In the walled city of Thneed-Ville, where everything is artificial and even the air is a commodity, a boy named Ted hopes to win the heart of his dream girl, Audrey.

This great 3D animated adventure follows the journey of that boy as he searches for a real Truffula Tree, the one thing that will impress Audrey.

To get it, however, he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming character who fights to protect his world.

Lending their vocal talents to the movie are Danny DeVito as the Lorax, Ed Helms as the enigmatic Once-ler, Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic young boy who searches for the Lorax, and Taylor Swift as Audrey, the girl of Ted’s dreams. Rob Riggle plays financial king O’Hare, and beloved actress Betty White portrays Ted’s wise Grammy Norma.

The Lorax is rated PG and has a run time of  86 minutes.

If you look up close at the ceiling of the brown bear exhibit, you'll see "geese" flying north thanks to the romantic intentions of a young Museum employee.

In the summer of 1944, a 12-year-old boy left a permanent mark on the Museum thanks to his desire to impress an artist painting the brown bear diorama located near the planetarium.

The artist was Iris Daugherty Nunley, who hand painted many of the backgrounds you see throughout Hastings Museum’s dioramas. (For more on the backgrounds and and Nunley, click here.)

The young boy was William Kime, who shared a few stories with Museum staff about his time at Hastings Museum.

“I think that the fondest memories remaining from my brief tenure at the museum were of watching Iris [Daugherty Nunley] paint backgrounds in the new dioramas,” he said. “She was quite an attractive young woman, I would guess then of about 20 years of age, and I was definitely planning, when I got a little older, to ask for her hand in marriage. So as often as I could, I hung around charming her while she worked, which she ordinarily endured for a while before telling me to go find something else to do.”

Kime said he particularly irritated her one morning when she was painting the diorama for the Alaskan brown bear exhibit, which is located on the first floor, near the planetarium.

“I jumped up and touched three fingers to the blue-sky ceiling of the exhibit on which it turned out the paint was not yet dry,” Kime said. “She was not happy about this and said she would have to paint it over. I said those spots were migrating geese and she should leave them, which she did, and I believe if you go to that diorama today, lean in and look up, you will find those geese still there, still tirelessly flying north.”

Kime is right…if you go to the brown bear exhibit and look up, you’ll spot those geese.

Have you seen them?

The tour features more than 50 stops on all three floors and outside on Museum grounds. A yellow sign, like this one to right, means there is more information about an object or exhibit. Follow the directions on the sign by dialing the local phone number and entering the stop number on your dial pad. A recorded message will tell you more about what you are looking at.

Smart phone users can scan the QR code to listen to the information.

You can also download the audio tour to your Mp3 device before visiting the Museum. To download the audio tour to your Mp3 device, click here.

There are also OnCell Apps for your iPhone or Android. To download the apps, scan the appropriate QR code below.

Android App

iPhone App

“It’s always fun to see the kids’ creativity and hard work on their bird mobiles, and it’s great that we can feature them here at Hastings Museum,” said Teresa Kreutzer-Hodson, curator of collections.

A close-up look at one of the birds.

In building the mobiles, students learn about a variety of bird species from around the world. They use what they learn about habitat, nesting and behavior to create a unique mobile. Each mobile depicts information about the appearance, nesting, habitat and food of their chosen bird through pictures, text and artistic models of the student’s choice.

As a reward for meeting educational goals, students can share their knowledge with the community through this exhibit at Hastings Museum. The mobiles are hung on the upper level in front of the bird displays.

Regular admission or Museum membership covers the cost of admission to the exhibit. For more information contact Visitor Services at 402-461-4629, option zero.

See the trailer below!

Showing this weekend only (April 27, 28, 29), the film begins as two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, are assigned as ambassadors to resolve a trade dispute. They arrive in orbit of the threatened planet Naboo but the situation turns violent and the Jedi, along with the planet’s queen Padmé Amidala, flee Naboo in an attempt to reach the capital world of the Galactic Republic, Coruscant. There they hope to find a peaceful and diplomatic end to the dispute.

On the way, the ship stops for repairs on Tatooine, where the Jedi discover Anakin Skywalker, a boy who is strong with the Force. The group returns to Naboo and realize that the situation is much worse than they had at first thought: the evil Sith have returned.

Qui-Gon senses Anakin is destined to bring balance to the Force and against Obi-Wan’s suspicions, he decides to train Anakin as a Jedi Knight.

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace 3D is rated PG and runs 2 hours 13 minutes. Come to Hastings Museum and see it in incredible 3D this weekend – April 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. and April 29 at 5 p.m.

View out the movie trailer below!

Unable to stop him from tracking the signal to its source, Sean’s new stepfather Hank (Dwayne Johnson) joins the quest that will take them first to the South Pacific and then to a place few people have ever seen — or lived to tell about. It’s a place of stunning beauty, strange and threatening life forms, volcanoes, mountains of gold and more than one astonishing secret!

Together with Gabato (Luis Guzman), the only helicopter pilot willing to risk the trip, and Gabato’s beautiful, strong-willed daughter Kailan (Vanessa Hudgens), they set out to find the island, rescue its lone human inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island underwater and bury its treasurers forever.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is the sequel to 2008′s entertaining “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

The movie is directed by Brad Peyton and is rated PG and has a running time of 94 minutes. It is showing in 3D on the 65-foot giant screen at Hastings Museum April 20, 21 and 22. Click here for showtimes!