Nebraska passed its tractor test law in 1919 — every tractor with 40+ horsepower sold in the state had to prove it performed as advertised — and the testing started in this building in March 1920 and never stopped. When the lab moved to new quarters, the original facility became the Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum, dedicated to longtime chief engineer Lester F. Larsen. It remains the only tractor testing museum and the only complete tractor test laboratory in the world.
The collection holds more than 40 historic tractors, including a 1915 Waterloo Boy — the first tractor model to complete the Nebraska test, and the predecessor to the John Deere line. If the engineers are in the current lab next door, tours of the active test facility come with your visit, and on some days you can watch a tractor being tested on the track right outside.
Open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Mondays, weekends, and university holidays). Admission is by donation, $5 per adult suggested. It’s on East Campus at 35th and Fair — look for the tall brick smokestack; the museum is the small white building at its base.