venture parks

LINCOLN, Neb. – A Lincoln engineering firm has won an award for its work on a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission project at Platte River State Park. JEO Consulting Group of Lincoln received a Water Resources Merit Award in the annual American Council of Engineering Companies Nebraska (ACEC) awards program for its work on improvements at Jenny Newman Lake. The Jenny Newman Lake renovation project, which was completed in 2016, remedied a deteriorated principle spillway, improved water quality, enhanced angler …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A Schoolyard Bioblitz workshop for formal and informal educators will be held at Schramm Education Center on April 27. This workshop, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will inform about citizen science, facilitating Bioblitz events, using iNaturalist in the classroom, and resources available for educators. A Bioblitz is a collaborative survey of the different species found within a defined area during a certain timeframe. It allows students to practice fieldwork, data collection, and the chance to learn …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Some services will be restricted as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission transitions from the Aksarben Aquarium’s temporary office to the new aquarium building from Dec. 17 through Dec. 22. During the transition period at the aquarium south of Gretna, there will be periods in which credit and debit card payments cannot be accepted. Cash and check payments will not be affected. Contact the aquarium office at 402-332-3901 before visiting to verify payment methods that can be …

LINCOLN, Neb. – One of the tallest climbing walls in the region is now open at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park (SP) near Ashland. Mahoney SP’s Venture Climb, housed in a new, state-of-the-art addition to the Activity Center, features a 42-foot climbing wall with both auto- and top-rope belays, as well as a bouldering structure. Climbers are treated to scenic views of the park through the facility’s floor-to-ceiling windows. “Mahoney State Park is becoming a destination for visitors who want …

The strong smell of smoke still permeates the air and eventually causes the eyes to water. Soot is on and in everything, even items and  paperwork inside drawers and cabinets. After a while your clothes begin to smell like you built the smokiest campfire ever. A structural fire, or being next to an intense structural fire and dealing with the aftermath of it, is a nasty, dirty thing that takes considerable time to professionally clean and restore. If you have not heard, our/your Nebraska Game and Parks …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider a staff recommendation to approve a proposed 2019 mountain lion season when it meets June 22 in Ogallala. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the Mid-Plains Community College conference room, 512 East B St. A public hearing on the mountain lion recommendation will begin at 9 a.m. The proposed season would provide a harvest opportunity for up to eight mountain lions in two sub-units within the Pine …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A new, two-tiered spray park is now open at Platte River State Park (SP) near Louisville. The spray park, one of the only two-tiered spray parks in the region, includes various spray features, three waterslides, a waterfall, dump buckets and a fountain, among other water features. The upper level is designed for younger children and the lower level for older kids. It also has an area that may be reserved for birthday parties, as well as picnic …

Creating a New Legacy Ropes courses and water playgrounds… state-of-the-art aquariums and touch tanks… these are just a few of the exciting attractions coming soon as part of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Venture Parks complex. Yet excitement isn’t the Commission’s only goal. After the opening of Platte River State Park’s Crawdad Creek in the fall of 2016, Owen Roberts-Day visited with his daughter, Hattie. Owen watched his daughter happily playing in the water, where children are encouraged to …