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‘Everybody has a pothole story’: Kiewit Luminarium exhibit shares local pothole perspectives

March 15, 2024

It’s the season for pesky potholes and a timely exhibit at the Kiewit Luminarium wants you to share your pothole perspective.

Article originally published by KETV and Jack Keenan.
View original story here(opens in a new tab).

March is prime pothole season, where one unfortunate collision can cost you dearly.

“You can see damage to under shields,” said Travis Dowling, G.M. of Kaizen Collision Center. “If you’re looking at tire, wheel and suspension, that probably is close to a thousand dollars.”

At the Kiewit Luminarium, a less punishing look at potholes is on display inside the Grewcock Family Grid.

“We knew we had really struck gold with this idea,” said Luminarium CEO Silva Raker. “Everybody has a pothole story, and you can see that here. They want to tell you the story.”

The exhibit asks a simple question: ‘What would an Omaha without potholes be like?’ The fun comes with seeing the community’s different answers and perspectives.

“We ask that question in Spanish and English, and the answer here is: Heaven,” read Raker.

Others said they’d be out of a job, and there’d be fewer repair shops. The exhibit hopes to provoke questions by sharing our everyday world through a different lens.

“Why do they exist? What forms a pothole? Why are there so many of them here in Nebraska?” said Raker. “By talking about technology and science through the lens of everyday objects and experiences you make it more relevant and more accessible to folks.”

You can share your pothole perspective inside the Luminarium’s Grewcock Family Grid, a first-floor area filled with stories from local STEM field workers.