Crane Meadows Observatory

Crane Meadows Nature Center is a year-round educational organization dedicated to providing an understanding of, and access to, the ecosystems of the Platte River valley. Open daily, with expanded hours during the crane season (8 a.m.-6 p.m.)

The Kool-Aid Birth Place

This building is known locally as the birthplace of Kool-Aid. More accurately, it was the home of the Perkins Products Company, the manufacturing and retail enterprise of Kool-Aid inventor Edwin E. Perkins and his family. The company was housed here from 1923 until 1931

Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History

Hastings Museum.... What a wonderful world!

From immense polar bears to tiny hummingbirds, the many forms of animal life from around the planet are on display in dioramas representing the natural habitat of each.

Sandhill Crane Migration

Fossil records reveal the sandhill cranes have been visiting this region for more than nine million years. For five weeks each spring, visitors to the Platte River valley in south-central Nebraska can enjoy the symphony of sounds and dancing rituals of 90 percent of the world'

The Clarke Hotel

When the Clarke Hotel was dedicated in February 1914, it was hailed as a triumph of local initiative. It was designed by architect C.W. Way and built by the John Hamper Company, both of Hastings. Bricks made in Hastings