Exhibit open March 17 – July 29, 2018

Do you have what it takes to survive? Take a step back into history to find out. In 1607, settlers landed on the shores of Virginia and called it home, creating the first permanent European settlement. Little did they know that less than half of them would survive the year in this new wilderness. Minotaur Mazes’ American Adventure takes visitors on an immersive, educational role-play adventure that asks people to conquer one great challenge: survive the year as one of the original Jamestown colonists. Sound easy? Think again. Only 38 of the 104 settlers survived. But don’t worry – you’re not tied to their destiny. You can beat the odds and determine your fate – it all depends on the choices you make…and a bit of luck.

Blending historical accuracy and the complexities of real life and death decisions, American Adventure delivers a truly unique and effective learning experience. Visitors choose a unique identity of one the Jamestown colonists and track a series of life choices on an easy to use abacus representing “life points” for health, wealth, food, and morale. You have to maintain all of them to “survive” the exhibit. Visitors will encounter four content-rich “Season Galleries” and engage in hands-on activities that result in choices relevant to their character. Survival is based on visitor knowledge and ingenuity but also the abilities and priorities of chosen identity. The American Adventure experience quickly reveals the reality of what Jamestown’s settlers faced, but also how everyday decisions and interactions with the environment can be a matter of life and death. Even if you don’t survive, try again! There’s a new adventure every time you enter the exhibit!

EXHIBIT ON DISPLAY FEBRUARY 17 – JULY 15, 2018
In the years leading up to World War II, racial segregation and discrimination were part of daily life for many in the United States. For most African Americans, even the most basic rights and services were fragmented or denied altogether. To be black was to know the limits of freedom—excluded from the very opportunity, equality and justice on which the country was founded. Yet, once World War II began, thousands of African Americans rushed to enlist, intent on serving the nation that treated them as second-class citizens. They were determined to fight to preserve the freedom that they themselves had been denied. Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in WWII features artifacts, photographs and oral histories to highlight some of the extraordinary achievements and challenges of African Americans during World War II, both overseas and at home. It illustrates how hopes for securing equality inspired many to enlist, the discouraging reality of the segregated non-combat roles given to black recruits and the continuing fight for “Double Victory” that laid the groundwork for the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Through a myriad of interactive experiences, visitors will discover the wartime stories of individual service members who took part in this journey of extraordinary challenge, from unheralded heroes to famous names, including Alex Haley (US Coast Guard); Sammy Davis, Jr. (US Army); Benjamin Davis, Jr. (US Army Air Forces); Medgar Evers (US Army) and more. The centerpiece of the exhibit is an original eight-minute video about the famed 332nd Fighter Group (better known as the Tuskegee Airmen), who in many ways became the public focus of African American participation during the war. Additionally, two medals are featured that represent the seven African Americans who were awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997, the bittersweet result of a long investigation by the US military on discriminatory policies in the awarding of combat medals. The exhibit will also provide in-depth coverage of lesser-known events and service, such as that of the USS Mason, the first American ship to have a predominately African American crew.
Fighting for the Right to Fight was developed by The National WWII Museum of New Orleans, LA, and sponsored nationally by Abbott Downing and Wells Fargo. A national advisory committee, including the late Dr. Clement Alexander Price of Rutgers University, was commissioned to help frame the exhibition. The committee, led by co-chairs Dr. John Morrow of the University of Georgia and Claudine Brown of the Smithsonian Institution, helped advise on the exhibition’s narrative arc and content.

Master of the Lodge: Byron Reed and the Golden Age of Fraternalism in Nebraska
Now – July 8, 2018

Byron Reed rose through the ranks as a member of the Freemasons. The Masons are a fraternal organization based on the bonds of brotherhood and civic leadership. Freemasonry spread westward across the plains with settlers like Reed, and as a philanthropist, community leader and lifelong learner, his collection reflects the importance of the organization in his life. Reed’s books on secret rites, ceremonies and coded language offer a glimpse into his secret journey from Entered Apprentice to Knight Templar.

North Omaha: A Community of Change
Now – January 2019

North Omaha is one of many distinct neighborhoods whose people contributed to the development of the city at large. While the borders of North Omaha are not firmly established, Florence, the Near North Side, Kountze Place and Walnut Hill are areas found within its boundary. From the earliest pioneers, this area has been a hub of development. Many of Omaha’s community leaders came from this neighborhood, like Mildred Brown, who in 1938 co-founded the Omaha Star, an African American newspaper still in circulation today. North Omaha served as the stage for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898 whose exhibitions and structures rivaled any World’s Fair and placed Omaha on the international map. Through a selection of images from the Photo Archive this display showcases some of the remarkable people, places and events from North Omaha.

Exhibit on Display March 10, 2018 – January 27, 2019
The “anthropocene” is a proposed new geological era currently under consideration by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. It makes a bold claim that humans have become a geologically significant force in earth’s history. Objects are also important material sources of these historical changes. This collaborative exhibition centers on the material history of the anthropocene using objects from the collection of The Durham Museum.
The Durham Museum partnered with Creighton University’s History Department to produce an immersive, interdisciplinary experience for students in the fall semester of 2017. In conjunction with the curriculum of Dr. Adam Sundberg, Assistant Professor of History and Digital Humanities, museum staff instructed and assisted Creighton students with independent research related to The Durham Museum’s collection, distillation of that research into a lecture presented near the end of the fall semester and an exhibition.
This exhibit is supported by Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the Creighton University Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship.

Romantically Speaking: The Development of American Literature in the 19th Century
Now – July 8, 2018

With the need to form an identity separate from their European counterparts, American authors adopted Romanticism as the norm for the development of American literature in the 1800s. Emphasis on individualism and freedom were highly popular in Romanticism and blended with ideals Americans wanted to spread through the country. The four authors featured in this exhibit are examples of Romanticism’s presence in American literature in the 19th century.

Exhibit on display February 3 – July 29, 2018
The field of Women’s History expands the story of our nation’s past by exploring the role women have played in the historical record. Traditional history focuses on politics, wars and seminal events, and oftentimes ignores women, people of color and the mass of America’s ordinary citizens. At the same time, Western history examines the unique and complicated relationships between the people and places of the North American west.
The Durham Museum partnered with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s History Department and Service Learning Academy to produce an immersive, interdisciplinary experience focused on Nebraska women and their lives in the Midwest for students in the spring and fall semesters of 2017. In conjunction with the curriculum of Dr. Elaine Nelson, Assistant Professor of History and Executive Director of the Western History Association, museum staff instructed UNO students on conducting oral histories, independent research related to the experience of women in the Western United States and the distillation of that research and the modern oral histories into an exhibition.