Current Exhibits
Hall of Heroes
NOW – APril 16, 2023
The Durham Museum is unmasking its first exhibition of the 2023 calendar year with Hall of Heroes. This popular traveling exhibition celebrates and explores both the history and science behind America’s fascination with superheroes and how they impacted our popular culture throughout the 20th century and beyond. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to explore, learn and test their heroic abilities at engaging and challenging interactive stations.
Ever wonder how your favorite super-powered characters were created? Hall of Heroes provides an immersive experience for visitors to understand the world of heroes, crime-fighters and gadgets. Their journey takes them through several themed environments with surprises around every corner. Visitors will explore the histories of heroes and the circumstances that created them, while discovering the ideals that make them the heroes that we know and love. Hall of Heroes includes:
- Life-sized statues of the Incredible Hulk, Ironman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Black Panther and Superman (great for photo ops!).
- A full-scale interactive recreation of the iconic 1960’s Batmobile and Batcave, and a showcase of the various gadgets used in the television series.
- Movie props, reproductions and rare artifacts from past and present major motion pictures and television shows.
Hall of Heroes was created by Stage Nine Design and is distributed by Exhibits Development Group.
|
Hall of Heroes is Supported Locally by |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Parker Family Foundation |
Verhalen Family Foundation |
|
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY |
MEDIA SUPPORT BY |
THE LUNCHBOX: PACKED WITH POP CULTURE
MARCH 4 – SEPTEMBER 3, 2023
In 1993, Mark Kelehan stumbled across a 1980 Pac Man lunchbox for sale at a flea market in Omaha, Nebraska. The imagery of this lunchbox triggered a sense of nostalgia about his childhood. That lunchbox would kick off a 30-year journey of exploring and researching the rich history of lunchboxes. The Durham Museum is pleased to partner with Kelehan to present a never-before-seen exhibit, The Lunchbox: Packed with Pop Culture.
Featuring over 500 hundred lunchboxes as well as one-of-a-kind original paintings, the display provides an overview of the history of lunchboxes, insight into the production process and an educational introduction into the dynamic world of collecting. The Lunchbox demonstrates how lunchboxes are time capsules of American pop culture from the 1950s through the 1980s. Across America and beyond, schoolchildren celebrated heroes of the big and small screen, radio, sports and more on metal lunchboxes. Before computers made digital art a reality, lunchbox art came to life with the assistance of professional illustrators, whose brilliant work was transferred onto tens of millions of lunchboxes year after year. From practical beginnings, a culture of collecting was born that allowed individuals to recapture some nostalgia, history and art.
This is a celebration of the lunchbox and is designed to take you down memory lane as you see the lunchbox you had (or wanted!).
About Mark Kelehan: Mark lives in Elkhorn, Nebraska, with his wife Lori, and their four daughters Amelia, Julia, Penelope and Violet. Mark picked up the passion for collecting from his mom and has been collecting lunchboxes for nearly 30 years. Mark graduated from Creighton University in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and International Business, and he earned his M.B.A from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in 2008. Mark currently works in the Marketing & Sales Department at Union Pacific and serves as an adjunct professor at Creighton University teaching Investment Banking. In his free time, he enjoys creating lunchbox exhibits and (more importantly) spending time with his family, especially watching his girls play sports and coaching his twins’ first-grade basketball team!
Education Alley
DESCENDANTS OF DeWITTY
NOW – MAY 28, 2023
This 27-photo exhibition shares the history of the people of DeWitty, later known as Audacious, the largest and longest-lasting African American settlement in rural Nebraska. The settlers, including former slaves who had fled to Canada before the Civil War and their descendants, began to arrive in 1906-07, attracted by the 1904 Kinkaid Act’s offer of 640 acres of free land in the Sandhills. The traveling gallery exhibit is on loan from the Descendants of DeWitty, NE organization.
BYRON REED FAVORITES
NOW – AUGUST 6, 2023
In the late 19th century, Omaha real estate agent Byron Reed gradually put together a stunning collection of coins, documents, books, maps and other items of great historical importance. Upon his death in 1891, Reed gave his collection to the city of Omaha, and it is housed and cared for at The Durham Museum. Only a small portion of his collection is ever on display at any given time, with the rest tucked away for safekeeping. The staff that is charged with caring for these items has chosen some of their favorites from the vault to show you. Their favorites include items related to national history, early Omaha and Byron Reed himself!
Photo Archive
OMAHA WORKERS: STRIKING A CHANGE IN HISTORY
now – AUGUST 6, 2023
From streetcar workers to pharmacists and farmers, striking unions have often been a tool for Nebraskans to try to earn the “good life” and fight for social causes. This exhibit, featuring nine images from the museum’s Photo Archive, explores the stories of some notable strikes in Omaha. Tracing the history of nine incidents from the mid-30s to the late 70s, this photo exhibit explains what the strikers were working for and what outcomes they achieved.
This exhibition was developed by Durham Museum Intern and University of Nebraska Lincoln graduate William James Roe.
ADMISSION
Adults: $13*
Seniors (62+): $10*
Military/Veteran: $10*
Children (ages 3 – 12): $7*
*PLUS TAX
Children 2 years and under FREE
Members: FREE!
BOOK YOUR TICKET »
Advance reservations are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.
Members, your free admission discount is applied near the end of the online registration process.
