Maxwell Arboretum
Mature trees, shrubs, perennial beds, prairie plantings, and trial collections form a free outdoor classroom on the University of Nebraska’s East Campus.
Artwork inspired by Leonard Thiessen
Maxwell is especially useful for comparison because many woody plants grow close enough to examine side by side. Native species, cultivated selections, unusual introductions, disease pressures, and landscape performance become visible in a way that a wild woodland or commercial nursery cannot duplicate.
Choose one trait—bark, buds, leaf arrangement, fall color, fruit, or drought response—and compare five labeled plants. Campus construction and collection changes can affect routes, so use the current arboretum map and treat research or maintenance areas as working spaces.
- Setting
- University of Nebraska East Campus
- Use
- Teaching, comparison and plant evaluation
- Admission
- Free outdoor collection
Quick guide
- Interpretive pair
- University of Nebraska East Campus ↔ Teaching, comparison and plant evaluation
- Closing move
- seasonal structure, plant community, and cultivation choices
Quick guide
- Trait
- Choose bark, buds, leaf arrangement, fruit, or drought response for comparison.
- Five plants
- Study several labeled specimens side by side instead of collecting isolated names.
- Purpose
- Remember that teaching, evaluation, and maintenance make this a working collection.
- Route
- Use the current campus map and respect research, construction, and prairie boundaries.
Good to know
The collection is woven into East Campus rather than enclosed behind one gate. Use the gazebo and East Campus Loop as anchors, then compare paved display areas with mown prairie paths without assuming the latter offer the same mobility conditions.
Notice these
- University of Nebraska East Campus
- Teaching, comparison and plant evaluation
- Free outdoor collection