Durham Museum is a beautifully renovated Union Station railroad facility in downtown Omaha. The renovation itself is stunning, and the historical installations (i.e. the "museum" part) was all very well done; all were interesting and packed with information and descriptions. The maintenance of the displays was perhaps the best I've ever seen at almost any kind/form of museum. You often find cobwebs, layers of dust, and deteriorating displays at many museums and public spaces. At the Durham it appeared that the entire facility had just been installed the prior day. Perhaps that was true of one or two sections, but certainly not the entire location yet the entire place was extremely well kept. Kudos to the maintenance staff here. This was a great stop to spend a couple of hours on a cool, rainy afternoon learning something about the history of the City of Omaha and the railroad and gateway to America's western frontier.

Great trip. We arrived at approximately 10:30 am and made our way towards the entrance of the museum. The museum was relatively large and was the site of the former union train station. We bought our admission tickets and started to explore the museum. The ground floor contained restrooms, and several food options. The main exhibits were mostly located on the underground level. There were many artifacts out for display, along with informational plaques that detailed what we were seeing in front of us. The museum covered the history of Omaha and how the city was founded. The museum also talked about many things that were unique to Omaha, such as the train station and the people that helped shape it. There were many train cars out for display, and we were able to walk through several of them, in order to get a glimpse of the past. We also viewed a short 15 minute documentary about the history of Omaha and how the town was formed. Tip: I recommend spending 3 hours here if you truly want to see everything.

I took an adventure to the Durham Museum. Housed inside the beautiful Omaha Union Station, we had a chance to enhance our Christmas fix once we laid eyes on the beautiful, 40-foot decorated Christmas tree in the main hall of the building. It was dedicated by Steve Croy in memory of his father who planted it in 1985. I was swept away by the beauty of the train station and its décor. After snapping a few pictures, I made my way to the lower level. White Christmas-The Exhibition, was a treat for the eyes. My journey began at the display that featured the coat, whistle and viewfinder used by Robert Alton, who was the choreographer and dance director for the movie. Edith Head, designed the clothing. The famous “blue dresses” seen in the musical number, Sisters, is displayed along with one of the blue ostrich fans that Danny Kaye used with Bing Crosby in their mock up of the above song later in the film. Costumes used during the dance scene, Mandy, are still just as stunning as they appeared in the movie. Later, at the display of the cast party, the dress worn by actress, Mary Wickes, who played the housekeeper at the almost defunct inn, was a St. Louis, Missouri native. She had a long-acting career and died in 1995 after her vocal work on the Disney film, Hunchback of Notre Dame. While viewing the clothing worn by both the women and men from various scenes that I could quote from the movie, it felt as though I were on the actual set. At the end of the exhibit, the original red dresses worn during the final musical number in the film, were never located by Paramount. The ones that were displayed during in the exhibit were replicas. Anyone in the Omaha, NE area, that loves the movie White Christmas as much as we do, should take a moment out of your busy, crazy, whirlwind day, and get lost in this exhibition that will make you smile.

We loved this museum, an incredible value with so many interesting exhibits. The model train and exploring the trains and streetcars were a couple of our favorites. The Omaha at Work and Trans-Mississippi galleries were both very interesting in highlighting the role Omaha played in the westward expansion during the 1800's. Lastly, have TOYTOPIA as a temporary exhibit is a blast for young and old alike. At only $15 ($12 for seniors), this makes for an outstanding value.

We really didn’t expect much, but thought let’s see it. The reviews were good, I read to expect to stay 1-2 hours there. We stayed about 4 hours. The museum is deceiving large. The displays and info were very well done. After doing the whole museum we had old fashioned floats and malts!! This is a must for everyone.

A very interesting museum! Lots of Omaha history. I especially liked the Native American exhibits and railroad cars. The coin and token exhibit was phenomenal! Also tried a malted milk shake at the retro soda fountain counter.

First, the station itself it beautiful, with interesting history explained and some really cool bronze 'real life' statues (Other places have versions of these - Galveston's are in white and arranged as even more of a vignette). Really nicely done. Then there is locomotive and 3 full access railcars. But the real museum - anything and everything you wanted to know about Omaha is tucked deceivingly away down there as well. Much more expansive than you initially think with displays at scale enough to keep kids interested, but also detailed signage if you would like to stop and learn about a subject in more depth. You could wander through this for a couple of hours if desired. Skipped the Jane Goodall exhibit, so no opinion there - just needed to move on to something else that day. Ample, free parking.

Extensive museum with displays and activities to engage all ages! My wife and I especially liked the chance to walk through train cars and imagine what it would have been like to travel years ago. We also enjoyed the short film about Omaha's history -- between that and the many exhibits, we learned a lot about the early years of this fine city. And oh, what a lot of interesting history! In addition, we had a delicious lunch at the throwback cafe--most especially the old-fashioned soda and the Art Deco Delight Sundae.

Must visit when in Omaha! This museum is housed in Omaha’s former Union Station, an architectural gem. There is something for everyone with historical exhibits, kid friendly exhibits and the building itself. Museum entrance is the top level where you experience Union Station beautifully restored, the gift shop and museum cafe. Recommend walking around this level to appreciate beautiful architecture. Then descend to the main museum level, a larger space with a later extension that houses historic passenger train carriages arranged in chronological order so you will experience Victorian-esque decor, art deco then a sleeper cabin. These have been beautifully restored and a friendly volunteer was onboard during our visit to share stories of the carriages. Volunteer did a great job with historical stories for the adults and piqued interest of the kids. There are historical exhibit so you can learn something about Omaha. The museum has temporary exhibits as well and Jane Goodall was featured in Aug’24.