Trails & Rails Museum is proud to host The Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe, a traveling exhibition from NASA that will bring the remarkable story, technology, and discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope to visitors in Kearney.

For more than three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed our understanding of the universe, capturing extraordinary images and providing scientists with new views of planets, stars, galaxies, and black holes. This traveling exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to explore Hubble’s history and discover how this groundbreaking telescope has expanded our understanding of the cosmos.

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The exhibition features a large-scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope, along with an introduction to the newer James Webb Space Telescope. Visitors can explore hands-on satellite stations that demonstrate real space technology concepts and view iconic imagery captured by Hubble.

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The exhibit also takes visitors behind the scenes of Hubble’s mission history, including tools and information from the daring astronaut servicing missions that repaired and upgraded the telescope in space. Interactive games and activities allow visitors to explore astronomical concepts by colliding galaxies, tracking different wavelengths of light, and simulating a comet striking Jupiter.

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The Hubble exhibition itself has an impressive history. Requiring approximately 2,200 square feet of indoor museum space, the exhibit takes a specialized four-person crew roughly five days to assemble. Over more than 20 years on the road, the traveling exhibition has visited museums and science centers across 28 states, bringing the story of Hubble and the universe to communities across the country.

The Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe will be on display at Trails & Rails Museum from November 2, 2026, through February 19, 2027. The exhibition will be accompanied by special educational programs and community events developed in collaboration with area educators and astronomy and science professionals.

This free exhibit provides an opportunity for visitors of all ages to explore the science, technology, history, and discoveries behind one of humanity’s most important tools for observing the universe.