• Visit Omaha, the state's largest city, and the nearby Girls and Boys Town, the famous homeless children's community (website: www.boystown.org).

• See the world's largest indoor tropical rainforest at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (website: www.omahazoo.com); watch brown sharks swim ominously close in the aquarium; experience three desert climates in one biosphere in the Desert Dome; or venture into the nocturnal exhibit, Kingdoms of the Night.

• Take in Omaha's culture at the Holland Performing Arts Center (website: www.omahaperformingarts.org), or the free Shakespeare on the Green (Nebraska Shakespeare) festival (website: www.nebraskashakespeare.com), which takes place in late June and early July in Elmwood Park.

• Explore the state capital, Lincoln, and enjoy spectacular views from the top floor of the State Capitol building. Discover the history of the Plains Indians at the Museum of Nebraska History, or see the largest mounted mammoth in a US museum at the University of Nebraska State Museum (website: www.museum.unl.edu).

• Study the stars at Mueller Planetarium (website: www.spacelaser.com); or enjoy a collection of Warhol Pop Art at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery (website: www.sheldonartgallery.org).

• Tour the Strategic Air & Space Museum (website: www.strategicairandspace.com), near Ashland, which features exhibitions and displays of aircraft and missiles, and is regarded as one of the best in the USA.

• Discover state attractions such as the pioneer landmark of Chimney Rock; and Fort Robinson State Park, where Chief Crazy Horse surrendered in 1877.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.