Nebraska - More than Meets the I-80

Anyone traveling through Nebraska is likely to be driving along Interstate 80, the only highway that crosses the entire state. While this highway has its own history and memorable characteristics, the must-see stops along this route might be even more impressive. Though Nebraska is full of exciting family-friendly and unique places to experience, we're going to focus on Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, with award-winning exhibits and the world's largest indoor jungle! Then we're heading to the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln, which houses the world's largest mammoth fossil, found right there in Lincoln County, as well as a myriad of exhibits sure to satisfy any fossil lover. Though it might sound like our Nebraska feature focuses on animals, these marvels are also testaments to architecture, design, and engineering.

If you're traveling through Nebraska, you're likely to be traveling on Interstate 80, the state's only interstate that travels from one end of the state to the other. At 455 miles long, and without any major north-south highway, I-80 is not only the main route across Nebraska, it was also the first. While we're talking about firsts, Nebraska also completed its entire Interstate Highway System before any other state, on October 19, 1974. Though the first 52-mile-long segment of I-80 opened in 1961, the last was completed in 1974, commemorated with a brass connector inserted into the roadway to emulate the golden spike that signified the end of the first transcontinental railroad. Since then, Interstate 80 has brought billions in annual revenue to Nebraska and remains one of the busiest transcontinental routes. In 2021, over 18 million vehicles traveled across the state, surpassing numbers from other transcontinental interstates like I-90 and I-40. This heavy traffic flow greatly contributes to Nebraska's tourism success. Notable stops line I-80, like the Sunken Gardens, Kearney's Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Lake McConaughy in Ogallala, and the historic Pony Express Monument in Sidney and more. However, the most impressive attraction along I-80 is the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, which is a must-see for anyone traveling through.

That's right, if you're traveling through Nebraska, the peak of all zoos is right in Omaha, and it touts several awards such as TripAdvisor's "World's Best Zoo" out of 275 major zoos worldwide. In 1894, the first collection of animals exhibited here was named the Riverview Park Zoo, which grew to over 120 animals by 1898. To preserve this historical legacy, the Omaha Zoological Society was founded in 1952 to continue the zoo's long-term efforts. In 1963, Margaret Hitchcock Doorly donated $750,000 with the request that the zoo be renamed in honor of her late husband, who was the chairman of the World Publishing Company. In 1968, the zoo partnered with Union Pacific, which helped the zoo lay 2.5 miles of track for the inaugural run of the Omaha Zoo Railroad on July 22, 1968. Since the 1990s, the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has been creating some of the most unique and impressive exhibits, which have contributed to its success and notoriety.

There's so much to see at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium that it can't be experienced in a single day. The African exhibit alone spans 28 acres, the Asian Highlands exhibit is an 8-acre recreation of the highlands of central Asia, including India and China, designed to simulate a mountain ascent. The Desert Dome is one of the world's largest indoor deserts at 42,000 sq ft and recreates features from deserts around the world: Namib Desert of southern Africa, Red Center of Australia, and the Sonoran Desert of the southwest United States. The Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium is over 1 million US gallons of water in a 71,000 sq ft building—needless to say, it's one of the largest indoor zoo aquariums in the world. The aquarium features aquatic habitats from polar regions, temperate oceans, the flooded Amazon rainforest, and coral reefs, a dedicated shark tank with a shark tunnel, and tanks for jellyfish, a Giant Pacific octopus and more.

Finally, the exhibit that has brought the zoo quite a bit of fame: the Lied Jungle. Located in an 80-ft tall building that fills 1.5 acres, it is the world's largest indoor rainforest exhibit. Visitors peek through from behind a 50-ft waterfall, walk along a trail on the floor of the jungle, or view from above as they walk around and above the animals. The jungle is split into levels and by continent: Asia, Africa, and South America. Some of the more notable awards the Lied Jungle has won are the "Single Best Zoo Exhibit in the Country" by Family Life Magazine, "Significant Achievement Award for Exhibit Design" by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, "Top Ten Designs in the World" by Time Magazine, and "Top Eight US Engineering Accomplishments" by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

By Hanyou23 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40611079

Nebraska is where the animal lovers are, and this includes the ancient ones! In 1921, Lincoln County farmer Henry Kariger saw his chickens pecking at something unusual. He wrote to the director of the University of Nebraska State Museum, Erwin Barbour, about his findings and was told to wait until spring, when he could send out a museum crew to assess the findings. Kariger refused and hauled them up with a team of horses. Luckily, the fossils remained unscathed, and he showed them off at the 1922 Nebraska State Fair. According to museum records, Barbour purchased the skeleton for $250 and added it to the museum collection. In December of 1922, Kariger found a tusk on his property but damaged the findings by removing it himself and allowing pigs to chew on it. This mammoth fossil is now the largest ever discovered in the world and is fondly referred to as Archie.

Later, a Malcolm-based artist named Fred Hoppe recreated Archie in bronze. After 86 cast sections and 3 tons of bronze, Archie's statue is cared for as diligently as the fossil remains themselves. The museum still features both, as well as an Elephant Hall that displays how elephants got to North America and eventually disappeared. There are ten different mastodon or mammoth displays, a newer exhibit that showcases ancient "Bizarre Beasts" that developed unusual features due to environmental factors. They even have a unique collection of "Weapons Throughout Time." This museum, along with both the "real" Archie and the Archie statue, can be seen at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Whether you're stopping in Omaha to check out the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium or checking out the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln as you trek across I-80, remember that Interstate Signways marked the way!