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What exactly is a luminarium? In the case of the Kiewit Luminarium in Omaha, it’s part museum, part workshop, and part playland—for children of all ages. The 83,000-square-foot building on the banks of the Nebraska side of the Missouri River was designed by locally headquartered HDR as a versatile container to accommodate a diverse range of programming and exhibits.

View of the Kiewit Luminarium from across the Missouri River with downtown Omaha in the distance. Photo © Dan Schwalm

Facing downtown Omaha, the western side of the simple shed structure elevates from the ground, creating an illuminated canvas. The building geometry emerged as a “grain” to the landscape that organizes the container into two forms. The boxy structure shears to create an entry plaza, near a newly built playground out front, and a concealed service area in the rear. Facing east, vertical sunshades protect against harsh early sun exposure while preserving views of the Missouri River and its emblematic pedestrian bridge.

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An immersive stellated icosahedron soars above the main entrance hall (1); the museum café, Fig., has both indoor and outdoor seating (2). Photos © Dan Schwalm

Two floors of visually connected exhibition space form the core of the vast, bare-bones building. The Kiewit Luminarium team worked with San Francisco’s renowned Exploratorium on the exhibition design, including several immersive exhibits integrated with the architecture. For instance, the Grid is a two-story tower that invites visitors to consider the innovation, technology, and skills used daily in the care of our belongings and communities. Elsewhere, there is hands-on exploration of the fundamental physics and universal phenomena that shape our world, and also our own bodies.

The playground by the luminarium’s entrance is part of a larger 72-acre riverfront project by landscape and urban planning practice OJB that repositions three distinct parks in the city’s core—two of them remediated brownfields—connecting downtown Omaha to the riverfront for the first time in generations. To better serve the community and the newly developed riverfront promenade, the luminarium’s program also includes a field trip room, makerspace, flexible classrooms, and a café accessible to visitors and the public.

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The museum is located on Riverfront Drive at Lewis & Clark Landing (3); inside, core exhibition areas include the physics-exploring Catch Waves (4), the Geometry Playground (5), and Dig Deeper, which focuses on the relationship between humans and the natural environment (6). Photos © Dan Schwalm

The privately funded, community-backed science center, which has already exceeded visitation goals since opening in April 2023, aims to become a family-friendly destination, serving as a cultural amenity for Omaha that helps inspire children’s interest in STEM.