I've made these drives more than once -- I regret to say that I wouldn't losing any vacation days to stop along the way UNLESS (1) you want to stop anyway, because you can't drive for ten hours or (2) you are fascinated by aspects of American history. If the latter then:
Abilene was a major cattle town during the days of the cowboy
Scotts Bluff National Monument records how this was an important trail marker
Harold Warps Pioneer Village in Minden NE has a lot of memorabilia

There are a variety of things along the way. The Buffalo Bill ranch outside North Platte. This is where the Wild West Show wintered and trained. The rail yards in North Platte are something else if you are into railroading. The TI at the I-80 exit will have directions. The ARCH at Kearney is well done gives an overview of the history and wagon trails. Ft. Kearney at Kearney. Pioneer Village mentioned earlier is very nice but some distance from i_80. There is a Pony Express museum ih Gotenberg between North Platte and Kearney. SAC museum between Lincoln and Omaha. The Amana Colonies in Iowa around Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Great food.

The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument near Kearney, Neb.:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9790

During the spring and fall, five hundred thousand migrating sandhill cranes stop over to rest along the Platte River between Grand Island and Kearney Nebraska during their migration:

http://www.nebraskatravels.com/sandhill-crane-migration.html

If you get even a few miles off I-70 in Kansas, there many facinating attractions and good unique local restaurants. What type of things are you looking for?

well im looking anything to entertain kids we are driving for 10 hours two days in a row. so the second day were looking for a place to see to give us a break from the driving.

were only looking for things to do for a few hours so we dont lose driving time.

In Abilene you can make a hour or so visit to the Eisenhower Presidental Library and Musuem. Just outside of Hays ias the old Fort Hays site for history buffs.

Coming home along I-80 in Nebraska, you would go right past the Strategic Air Command Museum near Ashland (between Lincon and Omaha) and it would be well worth a stop, especially for the ages your kids are. At the same exit is Mahoney State Park which would provide a nice break...get lunch or a snack at the snack bar by the little lake, paddle boat around or take a walk; there is horseback riding if you have more time. It's really quite pretty.

Kids?

There is a beautiful medium sized zoo, just west of Salina - Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure. It is only about 3 miles off the freeway.

In addition to the fossils which might or might not interest them, the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays has life size displays recreating the seas of Kansas and what might have been found near the shore 70 million years ago. Some of the dinosaurs move. You can see the building from I-70.

But I strongly recommend that you drive a bit farther off of I-70 and visit either the Castle Rock Badlands or Monument Rocks. The chalk formations are striking and unexpected. They sit on private range land (you are welcome) and are undeveloped so it almost feels like you have discovered them.

If you chose Monument Rocks, I would also stop at the Keystone Gallery a couple of miles away. It is a fun combination of art gallery, fossil museum and souvenir shop.

http://www.kansastravel.org/castlerock.htm
http://www.kansastravel.org/monumentrocks.htm
http://www.kansastravel.org/keystonegallery.htm


Food wise, I think they would like the Cozy Inn in Salina which sells hamburgers by the sack. The tiny burgers are prepared on an 88 year old grill that is only used to cook burgers. Or the Brookville Hotel in Abeline which serves only family style chicken dinners. They do every item of the large meal extremely well. Since they serve the same food to everyone, the food is very quick.

There are lots of other possibilities. Such as Wamego with the OZ Museum and Friendship House Bakery, or Manhattan with the Insect Zoo and Call Hall Dairy Bar serving ice cream and other dairy products made at Kansas State University.

In Lawrence Kansas there is an Indian museum.

In Lawrence Kansas there is an Indian museum.

The Buffalo Bill grave site and a museum dedicated to his life and times are just a couple of miles off I-70, a few miles west of Denver. Take the Lookout Mountain exit and follow the signs.

The first capitol of Colorado Territory, Georgetown, is located a few miles farther west. It is filled with old Victorian homes and a main street out of the pioneer west.

I don't know how old your kids are, but my kids LOVED the Sternberg Museum in Hays, KS when they about 5 to 10 years old. It has lots of fossils and such, but the big draw was the animatronic dinosaurs. They loved those!

Also as mentioned above, the Rolling Hills Zoo is nice. Close to the interstate and not too big. Good for a break to get out of the car for an hour or so.

Lawrence Haskell Indian nation school

http://www.haskell.edu/cultural/index.html

thanks for all the help guys

Georgetown was never a seat of government for either the Territory or the state. Colorado City near Colorado Springs was the first Territory capitol in 1861. The capitol moved to Denver in 1867 and became a state in 1876 -- the Centennial state. Georgetown was founded in 1859 so it wasn't big enough to be the capital in 61. It is, however, the only city in Colorado that still functions under a charter granted by the Territorial government. It is worth a visit and there are a couple of very good ice cream shops. And the old railroad would be great for the kids but it is a half day activity.

I stand corrected. I lived briefly nearby and the "fact" that Georgetown was the first territorial capitol has been part of my historical lore for some reason. Thank you for the correction.

It doesn't hold to reason since the earliest settlements were along the Platte and the front range. What is probably being confused is that Georgetown is the only city of any size, type,in Colorado that is still operating under the Territorial charter which was granted to all towns, etc. prior to 1876. That is unique in itself. And it is still the county seat having taken it away from Idaho Springs in about 1861 or 2 when I Springs was considerably bigger at the time.

Before it was in the Colorado Territory, The state was split between the Utah, Nebraska and Colorado Territories. The largest chunk of what became Colorado was in the Kansas Territory with Fort Leavenworth as the provisional Territorial Capital for the first few months and LeCompton, Kansas being the Territorial Capital from the spring of 1855 until Kansas became a state in 186

1861.