Hastings Museum

Deep Sea Fossil Night
2023-07-20 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Hastings Museum
Film & Q&A with Dr. Leah LeVay
Thursday evening, July 20
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6:30 Film: Dinosaurs of Antarctica
(regular large format film rates)

7:30 Q&A: Dr. LeVay via Zoom on the Super Screen
(free add on!)

What is the JOIDES Resolution (JR)?
JR is a research vessel that drills into the ocean floor to collect and study core samples. Scientists use data from the JR to better understand climate change, geology and Earth’s history. It is a part of the International Ocean Discovery Program and is funded by the National Science Foundation. Dr. LeVay is currently onboard JR (which is so cool). And we are proud to tell you, she’s a homegrown scientist. Yup, she’s from Hastings! (Psst: And when she lived here, she worked at the Museum!) Dr. LeVay researches paleo fossils found in the oceans. Her specific research interests include: Calcareous nannofossil assemblage evolution, paleoecology, paleoproductivity, biostratigraphy, and Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic paleoceanography.
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We’ll post more details about this event soon. Mark your calendars today!
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More about Dr. LeVay: Professional Affiliations

Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University
American Geophysical Union
International Nannoplankton Association (INA)

Preschool Playday
2023-07-08 14:00 - 14:45 | Hastings Museum
Preschool Playday

Saturday, JULY 8, 2-2:45 p.m.

Theme: Pioneer Art
Memories of the Old West will come alive as we create our own game to take home and practice our punching skills as we make a tin punch picture along with other pioneer skills.
This program is FREE for Museum Members or included with regular Museum admission! Participation in each Preschool Playday is limited to 20 children. Please RSVP by noon the Friday before by calling (402) 461-2399. If you and your child have paid Museum admission to attend Preschool Playday, your admission is good for the entire day. We encourage you to stay and enjoy the exhibits, or come early and catch a planetarium show. It’s all included.

PRESCHOOL PLAYDAYS are scheduled for the second Saturday of the month. REMINDER: Playdays are now in the afternoon from 2 p.m. until 2:45 or 3 p.m.

Upcoming Dates & Themes:

No Preschool Playday in August.
Instead, join us in celebrating Kool-Aid Days!

Solar Observing, June 17
2023-06-17 11:00 - 12:00 | Hastings Museum
FREE fun on the third Saturday of each month from 11 am – Noon. Join us for an opportunity to use our specially equipped telescope and safely look at the sun. Weather permitting, you’ll see the star at the center of our solar system in rich, rewarding detail. This program is offered April through September, so this is the first solar observing opportunity this year! This event goes on hiatus October through March. No RSVP necessary. Check in at the front desk or meet us on our front patio! Interested in more out of this world fun? Check out the shows in our Planetarium.
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Film & Speaker: Our Promise
2023-06-15 18:30 - 20:30 | Hastings Museum
JUNE 15*, 17-18 & 21

*After the June 15 show hear from Bud Pettigrew—Hastings resident, former marine, and one of just 10 commissioners nationwide on the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Live at the Museum!
Freewill Offering | First come, First seated | Film length: 57 mins
The American Battle Monuments Commission began the commemoration of its centennial anniversary in March of this year with the premiere of the documentary Our Promise: 100 years of the American Battle Monuments Commission at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., co-hosted with the National Archives Foundation. This documentary represents just a fraction of ABMC’s history. The staff and commissioners of the ABMC are honored to steward their memory of fallen soldiers and ensure their sacrifice is never forgotten.

On June 15, the film will be followed by a Q&A with Bud Pettigrew—Hastings resident and one of just 10 commissioners nationwide on the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). Bud Pettigrew served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1982-1983, before being medically discharged as a result of a broken neck. He taught History and coached football, wrestling, and track in various Nebraska public schools from 1989 to 2009. Pettigrew holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Social Science Education from Hastings College, Hastings, Neb., and did graduate work in History at Wayne State College.
June 15, 6:30 pm, with speaker (Thursday)
June 17, 1:30 pm (Saturday)
June 18, 1:30 pm (Sunday)
June 21, 10 am (Wednesday)

Our Promise: 100 years of the American Battle Monuments Commission captures moments at ABMC sites and stories from its history. From misty mornings in Normandy to the golden hour in the Philippines, the documentary is a celebration of the care that America gives to its fallen soldiers who have been laid to rest on foreign soil. The film shows the voices of families of the fallen remembered by ABMC, ABMC employees, and Americans visiting sites abroad. Viewers also hear from citizens of other countries who work at the sites and whose ancestors fought alongside Americans—all sharing what it means to be involved in the process of caring for, maintaining, and honoring the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. (A recording of the event and the documentary can be found on ABMC’s YouTube platform.)
On March 4, 1923, President Warren G. Harding signed into law a bill presented by Congressman Stephen Porter of Pennsylvania, establishing ABMC to build, and later maintain, cemeteries and memorials for fallen service members overseas. Today, ABMC administers, operates, and maintains 26 permanent American burial grounds and 32 separate memorials, monuments, and markers on five continents as they continue to uphold the promise made by the agency’s first chairman, General of the Armies John J. Pershing, that “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

Below is a brief clip from the documentary.

Preschool Playday
2023-06-10 14:00 - 14:45 | Hastings Museum
Preschool Playday

Saturday, JUNE 10, 2-2:45 p.m.

Theme: Fairy Tale Science
Sleeping Beauty was taking a nap, but the fairies are causing a stir with the color of her afternoon snack. Can you help them with this color-changing science? We will be experimenting with pH color changes, acids and bases, in noodles and lemonade.
This program is FREE for Museum Members or included with regular Museum admission! Participation in each Preschool Playday is limited to 20 children. Please RSVP by noon the Friday before by calling (402) 461-2399. If you and your child have paid Museum admission to attend Preschool Playday, your admission is good for the entire day. We encourage you to stay and enjoy the exhibits, or come early and catch a planetarium show. It’s all included.

PRESCHOOL PLAYDAYS are scheduled for the second Saturday of the month. REMINDER: Playdays are now in the afternoon from 2 p.m. until 2:45 or 3 p.m.

Upcoming Dates & Themes:

July 8: Pioneer Art

Member Celebration | June 8
2023-06-08 16:00 - 20:00 | Hastings Museum, P.O. Box 1286, Hastings, NE, 68902
When: Thursday, June 8 | A more detailed schedule is listed below.
RSVP: Required! Please call by Monday, June 5 to let us know you are coming: (402) 461-2399
Where: Hastings Museum
Who: All Members! Not a Member yet, purchase a membership before June 5 and join us.
Tickets: The meal, activities, and admission to the exhibits and planetarium are included with membership. Tickets to ‘Dinosaurs of Antarctica’ are required, but you are welcome to use the theatre passes that are included with your membership, if you have not yet used them.
Description: This is a great evening! In one night Members can recoup their entire cost of membership. Join us for a free Runza meal and activities for families & kids. Call in your RSVP today.

‘Dinosaurs of Antarctica’ in 2D & Fossil Talk: 4:30-5:45 & 6:30-7:45 p.m.
NEW planetarium show, Unveiling the Invisible Universe: 5:15, 6:15 & 7:15 p.m.
Meal: 5-7 p.m.
Activities for kids and families: 5:30-7 p.m.

Special Guest: Shane Tucker

Shane Tucker, highway paleontologist with the University of Nebraska State Museum, Morrill Hall
He’s Nebraska’s Highway Paleontologist who travels throughout the state collecting fossils threatened by highway construction. A UNL graduate and native of York, Tucker was always interested in paleontology. Highlights of his career include excavating a partial plesiosaur and partial mosasaur from northeast Nebraska as well as rhino skeletons at Ashfall Fossil Beds.
Sun, Earth, Universe
NEW Hands-On exhibit exploring Earth science, planetary science, and astrophysics that encourages kids to imagine what the future of Earth and space might hold.
Sponsored Locally by:

North
2900 Osborne Dr. East

Free Crafting, Dec. 27
2022-12-29 09:00 - 12:00 | Hastings Museum
Join us Wednesday, Dec. 27 for a FREE crafting event. We’re cleaning out our closets. Drop in anytime from 9 a.m.-Noon and choose from a number of different projects. We’ll be on hand to assist and provide the tools you need. In years past, crafternoon projects have included beads, foam, popsicle sticks and more! This is the perfect activity to cure Christmas break boredom. Children of all ages are welcome to attend with an adult. No RSVP is needed. We hope to see you there!

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