We think you'll love our college town.
When you hear Nebraska mentioned on TV shows, it's often as a stand in for "middle of nowhere." We prefer to think of it as the middle of everywhere.
Lincoln is a vibrant, diverse community drawing more than 37,000 students to the area's eight colleges and universities each year. With arts, sports, restaurants and much more, there's always something to do—not just homework. Here are a few ideas.
Ride the slides at Star City Shores
Borrow a kayak at Holmes Lake
Study with your friends at The Mill
Get a treat at Eileen’s Colossal Cookies
See the bison at Pioneers Park
Decide which of the four Walmarts and three Targets will get your business
Try the falafel at The Sultan’s Kite
Test drive a BMW at UniverCity Motors
Watch World Cup soccer in the student center
Make the world’s most perfect haystack at Union Market
Waste your hard-earned money at the Round 1 arcade
Read under the tree in Indigo Bridge bookstore
The roller skating museum? Why not?
Join a protest at the capitol
Snarf up the free samples at Costco
Disc golf
Make your mom’s birthday present at Paint Yourself Silly
Get more breadsticks at Olive Garden
Pet dogs at Capital Humane Society
Go paddle boarding at Branched Oak Lake
Volunteer for disaster response with the Red Cross
Get bouncing at Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park
Bowling
Enjoy all 131 miles of bike paths
See Hedy Lamarr’s Cadillac at the American Museum of Speed
Take a selfie with Chief Standing Bear
Teach a Pathfinder honor
Try the Meadowlark Sherbert at Ivanna Cone
Layout on the beach at Pawnee Rec Area
Get in the pilot’s seat at the Strategic Air and Space Museum
Practice for your wedding photos at Sunken Gardens
See the giraffes at the Lincoln Zoo
Help a refugee learn English
Get in a teepee at the Nebraska History Museum
Pop into the LUX Center for the Arts
Help the homeless at People's City Mission
Hum quietly to yourself
Laser tag!
Explore American Impressionism at the Sheldon Museum of Art
Get a donut 24/7 at Hurts Donuts
Flip out with the Husker gymnastics team
Go for a hole-in-one at Adventure Golf Center
Browse at Barnes and Noble
Experience a world of sweets at Licorice International
Go to Petco, the free zoo
Get the Lemon Bomb crêpe at Cultiva
Read your poem at Crescent Moon
Play Super Nintendo games at Tea Vibe
Go fishing
Bring your skateboard to a coffee shop at The Harbor
Yes, the quilt museum is more interesting than you think
Get a taste of Asia at Pho Factory
Picnic at Antelope Park
Find an epic secondhand shirt at Cause for Paws
See Saturn at the Hyde Observatory
Ride the kiddie train at the zoo
Gluten-free doesn’t mean taste-free at Goldenrod Bakery
Visit a hospice patient
Learn the 100 types of trees on campus
Be a trainer for the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry
Visit the MX track
See a triceratops at Morrill Hall
Play pickup basketball at Antelope Park
Lose your shoes at the Mud Run
Stroll around Holmes Lake
Get something tasty at the farmers’ market
Cosplay at NebrasKon
Attend European Motorcycle Night in the Haymarket
Flip through movie posters at Old Skool Video
See a one-act opera
Work on your fast five at Screamers open mic night
Do a triple Salchow at the ice hockey center
Let Mama Narges fill your plate at Daffodil Mediterranean Restaurant
Join a Messiah sing-along
Play hide-and-seek at Gateway Mall
Replace your laptop power supply at Goodwill’s electronics store
Breakfast at The Egg & I
Lunch at The Grateful Bread
Supper at Union Market
Let them bring the stars to you at the Mueller Planetarium
Watch for the hot light at Krispy Kreme
Pump iron at Larson Lifestyle Center
Get a restored Game Boy Advance at the Game Room
See the Wizard of Oz at Lincoln Community Playhouse
Don’t panic when the door locks at The Escape Room
Hang out at The Railyard
Climb the tower at the capitol building
Catch a show at the Lincoln Community Garden Performance Series
Bicycle around Capitol Beach Lake
Pamper yourself at a day spa
Talk shop at Salty Dog Cyclery
Catch a concert at the Rococo
Take a spin class at Fly
Sunday is a funday with Green Gateau brunch
Visit one of seven Adventist churches in town
Try some baba ghanoush at The Parthenon
Get lost in the woods at Wilderness Park
Play a round of big boy golf
See the nature center at Pioneers Park
Contribute to someone’s education at the College of Hair Design
Ride the ferris wheel at Scheels Sporting Goods
Visit Union
Want to see Union for yourself? Come for a free preview. We'll even help pay for your travel. Start planning your trip today.
You can afford Union
College sounds expensive. But when you crunch the numbers, you just might be surprised at how affordable Union can be. See costs and scholarships.
Union helps you succeed
Our alumni go on to do big things—both in Lincoln and all over the world. Read their stories.
The five biggest questions of your life
During college, you'll be answering five questions that will impact the rest of your life. Where do you want to make those decisions? Watch the video.
Why union students succeed
Research show that Union students are far more likely to succeed in life thanks to key experiences at Union College.
Finding a calling
What does it mean to find a calling? For these Union students, it meant discovering the person God created them to be—and then learning to be that person. Read their stories.