Las Vegas Museums
(Las Vegas, Nevada - NV, USA)
A city of bright lights, money and gambling, Las Vegas can also be a city of culture if you take time out to visit some of its most noteworthy museums. Whilst many are rather touristy, they are perfect for families and often located along the Strip, such as King Tut's Tomb and Museum at the Egyptian-themed Luxor Las Vegas resort complex.
One for all of the family is the downtown Natural History Museum, where many of the displays concentrate on the period when ancient Las Vegas was nothing more than an sea bed. The Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, stands within Lorenzi Park and comes with a fossil room, various video presentations, and displays relating to indigenous desert wildlife.
King Tut's Tomb and Museum
Address: 3900 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada NV, 89109, USA
Tel: +1 702 262 4000
Full of Egyptian history, artifacts and fascinating information, King Tut's Tomb and Museum features a reproduction of the famous tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamen. There are exquisite and authentic reproductions of more than 500 items that were found in the tomb when it was first discovered in 1922, by English archaeologist Howard Carter. Highlights at this attraction include King Tutankhamen's innermost golf-leaf coffin, decorated with ornate hieroglyphics and thousands of precious, simulated stones, the antechamber, which contains three wooden funerary beds carved in the form of animals, and the treasury, with gold treasures and miniature wooden boats. The King Tut's Tomb and Museum is located in the heart of the Luxor pyramid, on the southerly end of the Las Vegas Strip and just across from the McCarran International Airport.
Open hours: Sunday to Thursday - 09:00 to 23:00, Friday and Saturday - 09:00 to midnight
Admission: charge
Natural History Museum (LVNHM)
Address: 900 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, Nevada NV, 89101, USA
Tel: +1 702 384 3466
The Natural History Museum is one of the popular museums situated in downtown. Highlights within this vast complex include an enormous life-size animated replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur, a collection of live insects, many exhibitions of stuffed animals, fossils, interactive displays and a large aquarium, full of sharks.
Open hours: daily - 09:00 to 16:00
Admission: charge, discount available for children under 12 years old and seniors, children two years old and under are free
Nevada State Museum
Address: 309 South Valley View Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada NV, 89107, USA
Tel: +1 702 486 5205
The Nevada State Museum is situated in west Las Vegas and is a large complex with many varied collections. Featuring an interesting exhibition with historic information about the city's origins and evolution, many old newspapers, an extensive library and a pleasant garden, the museum also has a children's playground. One of the most surprising exhibits at this museum is an enormous skeleton of a woolly mammoth, dating back to the ice age. There is also a life-size model of a ichthyosaur, which is almost 48 feet / 15 meters in length and quite hard to miss.
Open hours: Friday to Monday - 10:00 to 18:00
Admission: charge, free for children 18 years old and under, discounts for residents of Nevada
Walker African American Museum
Address: 705 West Van Buren Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada NV, 89106, USA
Tel: +1 702 752 6043
Located in west Las Vegas, the Walker African-American Museum if full of information about the historic African / American culture many years ago. The exhibits include ancient relics and artifacts, art work, books, personal accounts of historic events and much more. The Walker African-American also has a gift shop which is full of souvenirs.
Open hours: daily - 10:00 to 17:00
Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Museum
Address: 3377 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada NV, 89109, USA
Tel: +1 702 862 7800
This popular waxworks museum has over 100 lifelike models of some of the most famous people in the world. Madame Tussaud's museums are famous for their realistic waxwork reproduction and this attraction also features interactive areas, information about the history of Madame Tussaud's, as well as a gift shop with souvenirs. The Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Museum is situated within the Venetian Resort, close to the Siegfried and Roy Secret Garden.
Open hours: June to August, daily - 10:00 to 22:00; September to May, Sunday to Thursday - 09:30 to 21:30, Friday and Saturday - 10:00 to 22:30
Admission: charge