New-look tractor museum to host open house April 12

            The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum will host an open house on April 12 to showcase its new look and refocused mission.

            Since becoming the manager of exhibits in 2012, Lance Todd has organized an update of the East Campus museum. The new direction -- which includes a mission to showcase tractors that were innovative and/or actually tested at the UNL facility -- has allowed Todd to open up the museum's limited space and advance an industrialized design theme.

            "In my first year here, my goal was to figure out what we have in the museum's collection that is important and better define the mission of the museum," Todd said. "Now, we are working to feature the important stories this museum should tell, showcasing things you will not see at other ag-related museums."

            The updated mission is on display in a new exhibit that showcases an SC-Case tractor tested at UNL and an Oliver 60 with a unique decorative design. The exhibit shows both tractors as if they were stored for many years in a grassy area behind a barn -- a realistic setting that breaks from the museum's traditional display of tractors parked inside the historic Nebraska Tractor Test building.

            "The Oliver from the 1940s is one of the earliest models that features a stylish, modern design. It really wasn't until the late 1970s that other tractor designs became similar," Todd said. "The Case tractor was one that was officially tested and stayed at UNL. It became a utility tractor that was used for many, many campus projects."

            The open house will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, northeast of 35th and Fair streets. Activities include tours of the museum, free food and drinks, a tractor show and a tractor pull for kids. Individuals can enter tractors in the show by contacting the museum by email or 402-472-8389. The Kiddie Tractor Pull will be divided into three age categories. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each age group.

            For more information, go to http://tractormuseum.unl.edu.

Writer: Troy Fedderson, University Communications