Nebraska Fun Facts
Information About Nebraska, Nebraska Geography, and Nebraska Schools

Nebraska is abbreviated NE. Nebraska's sate capital is Lincoln, and its largest city is Omaha. Residents of Nebraska are referred to as Nebraskans.

Nebraska is unofficially called "The Cornhusker State" or "The Tree Planters' State." Nebraska's state song is "Beautiful Nebraska." Nebraska's motto is "Equality Before the Law."

The state of Nebraska is actually named after the Platte River from the French meaning "broad river." The Omaha Indians called the river "ibôápka", also meaning "broad river."

The state bird of Nebraska is the Western Meadowlark. The Goldenrod is the state flower and the Cottonwood is the state tree.

Nebraska is ranked 38th in population and received its statehood March 1, 1867.

Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota and Wyoming are bordering states of Nebraska. The Missouri River is the main body of water within Nebraska.

One of Nebraska's major industries is the farming of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. Grain processing, meat-packing, and the Air Force Strategic Air Command are also major industries within Nebraska.

There were 291,967 K12 students in the Nebraska public schools in 1996. Out of those students 22,224 were first grade students. There were also 20,174 K12 public school teachers in the Nebraska public schools system. There were a total of 1,396 Nebraska public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)