BNIM was retained by the National Arbor Day Foundation to analyze the Arbor Day Farm site in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and create a schematic design for the new Exploratory building. The new building design includes 6,000 square feet of exhibit space and 2,000 square feet of classrooms for the client. The project also includes plans to renovate an existing café and gift shop.

The Dimensions Educational Research Foundation is collaborating with the National Arbor Day Foundation to create interactive exhibits and an experiential curriculum for visitors to learn about tree conservation.

Nebraska City, Nebraska
13,500 square feet
LEED Gold goal
Completion: Unbuilt

Building materials will be chosen carefully to reflect the Foundations mission to “inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.” The facility will target a LEED Gold Rating.

The Exploratory was sited and designed to serve as a transition from the park entrance to the outdoor trails and educational programming of the Farm. The building, which opens into the landscape and embraces the natural qualities of the heavily wooded site, utilizes the adjacency of the Arbor Day Farm greenhouse to teach about the impact trees have on our environment. The Exploratory furthers Arbor Day Foundation’s mission of using trees to advance global environmental stewardship for the benefit of this and future generations.