Last updated on March 31st, 2024 at 02:57 pm
Wondering where to find the best museums in Las Vegas?
Thereâs more to Sin City than shows and gambling, especially if you are visiting Las Vegas with kids.
When you think of Las Vegas, the word âmuseumâ doesnât typically come to mind. But there are many Las Vegas museums that are interesting, entertaining, and quintessentially Vegas! Because we live so close and have relatives in Las Vegas, I am there quite a bit! We have visited just about every museum in Las Vegas and I am excited to share the details.
The great thing about Las Vegas museums is you have a variety of options. There are exhibits you wonât find anywhere else in the world, such as Zak Bagansâ Haunted Museum, The Mob Museum, and the Pinball Hall of Fame. We’ve put together this list of the best museums in Vegas to help you plan your trip.
Top 5 Picks: Las Vegas Museums
If you are just looking for a quick list of the can’t miss, very best museums in Las Vegas, I am here to help! Here are our Top 5 recommendations.
âș For a taste of vintage Las Vegas, check out the outdoor Neon Museum and stroll among original giant signs of long-gone hotels and Vegas attractions.
âș Learn about the history of organized crime and sit in the actual courtroom where hearings were held at The Mob Museum.
âș Let kids have some hands-on fun while learning cool things at the interactive DISCOVERY Childrenâs Museum.
âș The Pinball Hall of Fame has free admission and you can play vintage arcade games if you want!
âș Named the Best Museum in Las Vegas by the LV Review-Journal, The Haunted Museum is dedicated to paranormal and downright chilling history. (This one is for adults only!
Keep reading for more details on these top five Vegas museums, plus lots more ideas to help you plan your trip! Whether you are visiting with kids or on an adults-only getaway, here are 12 cool museums in Las Vegas not to be missed.
12 Must See Museums in Las Vegas
1. The Neon Museum
Nothing provides a glimpse into Las Vegas history like a visit to the Neon Museum in downtown Las Vegas.
The Neon Museum features iconic Las Vegas signs from former casinos and other Vegas businesses displayed outdoors over six acres. Affectionately called the Boneyard, the Neon Museum is in fact a graveyard of sorts. You can take a guided tour or explore at your own pace.
I was in Vegas with a friend, and we ventured off the Strip to visit the Neon Museum. Even though it was a crazy hot June day, wandering around the Boneyard was a great diversion. Spending some time poking around this Las Vegas museum and photographing the classic neon signs is a cool way to get a feel for vintage Vegas.
A word to the wise! Although the Neon Museum provides umbrellas to help block the sun, be sure to bring sunscreen and wear a hat if you have one! Or, check out their night program to enjoy this open-air museum without the sun beating down on you.
2. The Mob Museum
Located downtown, the Mob Museum Las Vegas is a very cool spot for a history lesson that can only happen in Vegas.
I really loved visiting this museum! Officially named the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, the Mob Museum features artifacts, photos, and interactive displays for a colorful look at the history of organized crime, as well as how law enforcement worked to stop them. There is no other place like it in the United States, and it is my personal favorite museum in Las Vegas!
Although the museum is fairly new (it opened in 2012), it is housed in the former Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse, built in 1933. This historic building gives it an authentic old feel. In fact, the centerpiece of the Mob Museum is its second floor courtroom, which was the actual location of mob hearings in the 1950s.
One very cool artifact at the museum is a pair of sunglasses owned by mobster Bugsy Siegel. When he was killed in 1947 at his girlfriend Virginia Hillâs home in Beverly Hills, California, he had left various personal items in a bedroom of friend George Raftâs home. These sunglasses were among those items.
Another one-of-kind display is the blood-stained wall where the infamous St. Valentineâs Day Massacre took place. Other exhibits focus on mob violence, casino money skimming and wiretapping, featuring interactive exhibits, games, films and real like artifacts from throughout the mobâs history.
Make sure you plan a good 3-4 hours to really experience the whole museum. My friend and I thought weâd breeze through in about an hour, but enjoyed it so much we were there for three. We would have stayed even longer, but got hungry and the buffet was calling!’
âș Is the Mob Museum good for kids? Read this complete guide to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.
3. Bodies: The Exhibit
- A display at Bodies: The Exhibit in Las Vegas.
Part educational, part downright gross, 100% awesome. Bodies: The Exhibit Las Vegas is an experience not to pass up!
You may already be familiar with this exhibit, as there are a number of them all over the country. We visited Bodies at the Luxor Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
If you are not familiar, Bodies is an exhibit that displays real preserved human bodies and body parts. The exhibit showcases 13 whole-body specimens and more than 260 organs and partial body specimens. The bodies are ârespectfully presented,â giving visitors the opportunity to view the beauty and complexity of their own muscles, organs and systems.
Guests visit multiple rooms where the bodies of various gender and size are fixed in poses, showing you the muscles at work. Additionally, youâll see interesting displays like a healthy lung and a smokerâs blackened lung. The museum is both an educational experience and a riveting look at how the human body works.
4. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
Also located inside the Luxor, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is extremely well designed and one of the more interesting museums Las Vegas contains. Dishes, chandeliers, luggage, and wine bottles are just a few of the over 250 artifacts â recovered by divers from the ocean floor â on display.
After many years of meaning to go but never quite making it, I finally visited this Las Vegas Titanic Museum and truly wondered why I waited so long! They did a beautiful job putting it together, allowing visitors to travel through the different areas of the ship â steerage, crew quarters, second class, and finally first class cabins. Youâll experience what the passengers experienced onboard a luxury cruise ship in 1912, before it devastatingly struck an iceberg and sank.
Then youâll see artifacts recovered from the wreckage, and even a large piece of the ship itself.
Whether you are a history buff or just loved the movie Titanic, this is a great Las Vegas museum to explore.
5. The National Atomic Testing Museum
For many years in the mid-20th century, the Southern Nevada desert was home to nuclear testing, so it is only fitting that there is an Atomic Museum in Las Vegas. This is a crucial part of Nevada’s fascinating history and the museum does an excellent job making it educational as well as entertaining.
My teenage son and I recently visited and we both enjoyed it very much! Located just off the Strip (aka not far away in the desert where the testing of atomic bombs actually occurred), the National Atomic Testing Museum is easy to get to and makes for an interesting couple of hours.
With more than 12,000 artifacts, the museum is packed with information and displays about atomic energy and the Cold War race for nuclear arms. A highlight is the atomic explosion simulator, where youâll feel the blast.
6. Nevada State Museum
Located in Carson City, the Nevada State Museum celebrates the state’s natural and cultural heritage. It provides an interesting and engaging look at the history of Las Vegas and the region as a whole.
It has a variety of permanent exhibits, changing galleries, and special events ranging from Nevada’s human history to its natural landscapes, rocks, and minerals dating back to prehistoric times. This one might be best for older kids and adults.
7. Pinball Hall of Fame
One of the newer additions to the Las Vegas Strip is the Pinball Hall of Fame. Located just across the street from Mandalay Bay, the Pinball Hall of Fame is home to 10,000 square feet of classic pinball machine games â more than 200 to be precise.
Best of all, it is completely free to enter, making this one of many unique fun and free things to do in Las Vegas with kids! You just have to pay if you want to play, and even then, the games are only 25 or 50 cents each. The Pinball Hall of fame is a fun, inexpensive, and family-friendly way to kill a few hours in Vegas.
All the pinball machines, some dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, are owned by Tim Arnold, a former arcade operator and member of the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club. Proceeds from the museum go to charity.
8. Madame Tussauds Museum
At the other end of the Vegas Strip, located adjacent to the Venetian Resort, youâll find Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
True, this museum is not unique to Las Vegas â there are many locations all over the world. But this is a fun spot to visit if you love celebrities and superheroes. And bonus if you are already dressed up on your Vegas vacation, you can take all the selfies you like.
This Las Vegas museum has wax figures of some very Vegas celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton, Siegfried and Roy, the Blue Man Group, Lady Gaga, and many others!
9. Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum
Any fans of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel? If so, then you know paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, producer and star of the show.
Zak Bagansâ The Haunted Museum is a unique experience dedicated to all things creepy and paranormal. Located in a 1938 Tudor mansion (reportedly the site of demonic activities in the 1970s) in downtown Las Vegas, the museum will take you on a guided tour through 30 themed rooms filled with artifacts from real life murders and paranormal events collected by this team of ghost hunters.
This Las Vegas museum is essentially for adults only, as visitors must be at least 16 years old to enter. This age requirement really speaks to the level of creepiness, which should be a plus for true thrill seekers.
10. DISCOVERY Childrenâs Museum
The DISCOVERY Childrenâs Museum is a favorite for local families and the only childrenâs museum in the area. It has the best exhibits in Las Vegas for kids, including many interactive exhibits.
This 3-story, 26,000 square foot museum features numerous exhibits covering art, science, culture and more. Popular exhibits include Eco City, Toddler Town, Water World, and Young at Art. The museum is also home to DISCOVERY Lab, an innovative makerspace, a first of its kind in Nevada!
DISCOVERY Childrenâs Museum is conveniently located off the 15 freeway, just a few exit north of the Las Vegas Strip.
11. The Shelby Heritage Center
12. Las Vegas Natural History Museum
The Las Vegas Natural History Museum is another Las Vegas museum popular among local residents. The museum is not the largest natural history museum, but itâs compact size makes for a fun and short visit. Even so, it has a wide variety of exhibits, including everything from a Prehistoric Gallery with dinosaurs to the Marine Life Gallery with actual live sharks.
The Las Vegas Natural History Museum is located just five miles north of the Vegas Strip. Admission is very reasonable, too, making this museum in Las Vegas a family-friendly and affordable excursion.
âș Traveling to Vegas with kids? Be sure to check out these top family-friendly hotels in Las Vegas.
Final Thoughts: Las Vegas Museums
If you are planning a visit to Las Vegas, definitely make time to add one or more of these museums to your itinerary. For a town know as “Sin City,” they have a surprisingly large array of wholesome and interesting museums, and visiting one is a great way to learn something new.
Save These Las Vegas Museums for Later!
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