Museums in Las Vegas | A Glimpse into the Past
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Most people do not think about museums in Las Vegas when they think about our great city. Naturally, hotels, casinos, gambling, and drinking are usually the first thoughts. But Vegas is more than the Strip and as time marches on more and more culture is coming to town.
Museums in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Natural History Museum
The Las Vegas Natural History Museum opened in 1991. Its exhibits are a wide-ranging assortment of prehistoric and wildlife collections. The permanent exhibits are:
- Engelstad Family Prehistoric Life Gallery
- Dinosaur Mummy CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation
- Treasures of Egypt
- International Wildlife Gallery
- Las Vegas Founders’ African Gallery
- E. L. Wiegand Foundation, Wild Nevada Gallery
- Marine Life Gallery
- Geology Gallery
- MGM/Mirage Young Scientist Center
The museum is located at 900 Las Vegas Blvd North, Las Vegas, NV 89101. Their telephone number is 702-384-2466. Click here to visit their website.
Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum at McCarran International Airport
This museum’s main exhibit is situated above the baggage claim. There are additional exhibits in the ticketing areas of A, B, C, and D gates. It highlights the history of aviation in Southern Nevada. It is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
There is one aircraft on display in the museum. It is a 1958 Cessna 172. It set the World Endurance Aloft flying record in 1959. It flew for 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and 5 seconds. The Hacienda Hotel and Casino sponsored the flight as a fundraiser for the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund.
Nevada State Museum
This is one of the more important museums in Las Vegas. Part of the Springs Preserve, the Nevada State Museum has expansive historical collections. It is located in a architecturally beautiful, 70,000 square foot building. Visitors can enter a stalactite cave, see an atomic explosion, see Nevada’s state fossil, and enjoy the history of Las Vegas’ glamour and allure.
The Nevada State Museum address is in the Springs Preserve at, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89107.
Neon Museum
If you are looking for museums in Las Vegas that have a touch of old time Vegas, look no further than the Neon Museum. The museum has a large collection of Las Vegas signs in their two acre campus. The Neon Boneyard is outside and the visitor’s center is located inside the former La Concha Motel.
Pieces at the Neon museum record the changes and development of trends in sign technology and design. The Neon Museum has helped preserve the history of Las Vegas with each sign representing a piece of Vegas times gone by.
Neon Museum
770 Las Vegas Boulevard North
Las Vegas, NV 89101
A List of Other Museums in Las Vegas
Although we have only highlighted a few of the museums in Las Vegas, there are more great museums to visit. We’ve picked a few of the other museums in Las Vegas to list here, but there are even more than this!
Carroll Shelby Museum
6755 Speedway Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89115
Atomic Testing Museum
755 East Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Erotic Heritage Museum
3275 Industrial Road
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Telephone: 702-369-6442
Clark County Heritage Museum
1830 South Boulder Highway
Henderson, NV 89002
Telephone: 702-455-7955
Imperial Palace Auto Collection
3535 Las Vegas Blvd., South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Telephone: 702-794-3174
What museums in Las Vegas have you visited? What is your favorite? Let us know in the comment section below.
