December, 2019
Lincoln – Two remarkable museum additions in Lincoln and Seward invite the public to see the past and consider the future.
One is the stunning new fourth floor redesign of the State Museum at Morrill Hall on the UNL campus. It offers a look at Nebraska flora and fauna over millions of years, interspersed with contemporary descriptions. There are surprises around every corner for children and adults, regardless of age. The big globe onto which short videos are projected is a welcome departure from flat video screens. There are plenty of benches for rest along the way.
Nebraska soil and water get special attention. Visitors are challenged to think about how they use or misuse these natural resources. Climate change is met head-on by UNL scientists, with descriptions of droughts, floods, and rapidly altered growing zones.
The other is the Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward. It is instructive as to the Guard's long history, established in 1854. Particularly well done are the museum's descriptions of Nebraska Guard involvement in the Spanish American War, the Philippine American War, and the two World Wars.
For the Spanish American War display, the museum has obtained the statue of William Jennings Bryan that stood for decades in the U.S. Capitol. Colonel Bryan led the Nebraska Guard in 1898 but the regiment was assigned to a disease-ridden camp by President William McKinley, who did not want his political opponent to get favorable attention for his military service.
The Philippine American War narrative notes the heroic deeds of Major Frank Eager and Colonel John Stotsenburg of Lincoln in the 1899 Battle of Manila. Eager won the Silver Star; Stotsenburg was killed in action and buried with ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Nebraska Private William Grayson's role in the war is duly noted. (I'd put an asterisk by it to show that his role is controversial, at best, as he violated good order and discipline by needlessly killing a Filipino lieutenant while on guard duty, touching off the war.)
Both museums unintentionally but unavoidably raise questions of state government versus federal government missions and powers.
At Morrill Hall, the work of state university scientists contrasts with current federal efforts to discount science in the natural resources, especially climate science. The split is having profound effect on all Nebraska, especially on agriculture. Nationally, the split is so bad that unlikely groups and individuals are gathering to recognize the urgency of climate action.
At the Nebraska Guard museum in Seward, two display boards differentiate the federal mission of the Guard from the state mission. It is not often that the missions are in conflict, but the possibility increasingly exists as states begin to assert more strongly their sovereign rights against federal policies they find contrary to their own establishment of law and order. It's happening: more on state guards in subsequent posts.
Unequivocal recommendation: visit these two wonderful museums in Lincoln and Seward.
