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The Durham Museum is housed in the building of the Union Station. This building was built in 1931 by architect Gilbert S. Underwood in Art Deco style. It was a busy railroad station until 1971, when passenger service ceased. In 1973, the building was donated to the city of Omaha by the Union Pacific Railroad. On October 17, 1978 the Union Station was designated as an Omaha Landmark.

The museum that today uses the building has a wonderful collection of permanent exhibits that includes, among other things, restored train cars, 1940s store fronts and a large number of artifacts showing both the history of the city and of the region. The museum also has traveling exhibits covering different subjects. The Durham Museum is affiliated with the Library of Congress, National Archives and the Chicago's Field Museum.

The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts was founded in 1981 by Jun Kaneko, Tony Hepburn, Lorne Falke and Ree Schonlau. At first the Center placed artists at industrial sites where they created their work through an Artist-In-Industry program. In 1984 began the search for a studio facility that could accommodate several artists working at the same time in different media.

This facility became the Bemis Bag Warehouse. The building was renovated and designed to include studio spaces and living accommodations for the artists on the second floor and exhibition space and administrative offices on the first floor. The art gallery of the Center contains works of artists from all around the world. Nowadays the Bemis Center presents more than 20 exhibitions per year.

KANEKO is an open space that serves as a center for creativity, a contemporary art museum, a lecture hall and a research library. It was founded by Jun and Ree Kaneko as a public non-profit organization. KANEKO has several programs destined to help the creative process in different fields - especially art. KANEKO hosts different exhibitions and performances. It also has an Experimental Idea Studio that allows artists to develop freely.

The Passageway Gallery was founded in 1981. The gallery is located in the Poppleton Block that was built in 1886 by Andrew Poppleton. The building was designated an Omaha Landmark in 1982. at this gallery are exhibited different types of works of art. Works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, pencil, scratchboard, photography, stained glass, sculpture, pottery, cast paper and copper sculpture can all be found at this gallery.

The Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, situated around the Old Market neighborhood, is a non-profit gallery. It has 32-34 art members that are elected by a jury. There are always new talented artists that have potential. The gallery is oriented to help two-dimensional and three-dimensional artists publish and show their unique works. Every month, on the first Saturday, the gallery changes its art exhibition, hence presenting us with new art, so you won’t see the same thing twice in two different months. Also you have the possibility of meeting and talking with the artists whose collections are shown.

The Omaha Children's Museum is a nonprofit learning and exploration space for young people located at 500 South 20th Street. Operated as a private nonprofit organization the mission of Omaha Children's Museum is to engage the imagination and create excitement about learning. The museum was founded in 1976 by Karen Levin and a group of local educators. It began as a traveling group of exhibits and activities, and today occupies a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) space in Downtown Omaha.

The permanent exhibits include the Creative Arts Center, which features a theater, Artist-in-Residence Studio, community sculpture and art island; the "Charlie Campbell Science and Technology Center", which houses the "Super Gravitron", a ball machine where balls powered by air wind and water travel through tubes and on rails, and an inventors workshop, pulley and vacuum chairs and the "Science Showplace" where live science presentations take place.

Other features include the "Imagination Playground", which is designed for young children; "Sandy’s Splish-Splash Garden", which is an interactive fountain area outside where kids can cool off. A 51-foot (16 m) kinetic tower and four 24-foot (7.3 m) whirligigs resembling giant pinwheels are located immediately outside the museum. In addition to its permanent exhibits, Omaha Children’s Museum regularly features traveling exhibitions and educational programming in art, science and humanities.

The Joslyn Art Museum it is the only museum in the state with a comprehensive permanent collection. Although it includes works from antiquity to the present day, its greatest strengths are in 19th and 20th century American and European art. The museum opened in 1931, a gift to the people of Omaha from Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, George A. Joslyn.

It occupies a large and impressive Art Deco building designed by John and Alan McDonald, constructed of Georgia Pink marble, with 38 different marbles from all over the world in the interior, close to downtown Omaha. The decorative panels on the exterior were designed by sculptor John David Brcin and refer to the peoples of the plains - the original Native American inhabitants and the later European explorers and settlers. Inscriptions carved on the building were written by Hartley Burr Alexander. A substantial extension, designed by Lord Norman Foster, opened in 1994.

In 2008, construction began on the Joslyn Sculpture Garden. It opened in summer 2009 in time for the annual Jazz on the Green festival. The Garden features work from local and national artists as well as a reflecting pool and waterfall. The garden is now host to the annual Jazz on the Green festival, held every summer for the past 25 years in July and August. The festival lasts for 8 weeks and features local, regional, and national jazz musicians.