Moving into the 1960s the museum began clarifying the focus of their exhibits on Nebraska flora and fauna. This was characterized by sixteen diorama exhibits focused on displaying the wildlife and terrain of the state of Nebraska. Taxidermied animals, painted backdrops, and recreations of native plants were all featured. Director Schultz stated "The purpose of these displays is to allow visitors to take a tour of the state, in a way that they can see all that it has to offer without extensive travel." Animals that were near extinction, such as the American bison or the passenger pigeon, could be seen by all. Visitors from other states, or even other countries, would be able to view native wildlife and gain a sense for the natural beauty of Nebraska without having a search along backroads.

Another extension of this new focus on Nebraska could be seen in the Highway Salvage Program for Vertebrate Paleontology. This cooperation between the Nebraska state museum and the Nebraska roads department began in 1960. This program allowed for museum archaeologist salvage teams to be notified before a construction project begins. They were provided the location, and any history of past finds in the area. With that information, the team decided whether there would be sufficient grounds for an excavation. If there were, a small excavation unit would be sent, to scour the area for an possible fossils or other historically significaticant items. Through this program, the museum gained many new specimens, as well as geographic data for much of the state of Nebraska. The program continues to operate today successfully, and has been a boon to students of anthropology and paleontology.