brown minimalist interior design photo collage

Las Vegas museums are as unique and entertaining as the city itself. Check out 15 of the most fun and memorable museum experiences that Vegas has to offer. 

Neon Museum

Any picture of Las Vegas at night will be filled with all the spectacular neon signs that the city is known for. But, have you ever wondered what happens to those signs once they “retire,” or where some of the iconic signs of yesterday ended up? If they’re lucky, they find their way to the Neon Museum Las Vegas

neon museum

Founded in 1996, the Neon Museum is a collection of neon signs that serve as a memory of the history of the lights and glitz of Las Vegas. Many of the signs have been restored, and you can view them up close and personal. Visit the Neon Boneyard for a glimpse of signs you’ll immediately recognize and others that will spark your curiosity. Then, visit the North Gallery for signs and lost arcade art that has been rescued but not yet restored. 

Pro Tip: Make sure to bring your camera and plan on taking lots of pics. The museum is open into the evening, so dusk or just after is a great time to visit and see some lights all lit up in their full glory. 

The Mob Museum

the mob museum

Las Vegas has never had a reputation of being an innocent city, but back in the day, it was a destination that some of the most notorious criminals and mobsters claimed as their own personal playground. If you’re interested in the history of organized crime, its effect on history, and have an interest in events like the Valentine’s Day Massacre, the Mob Museum is a cool must-see museum to add to your list. 

The Mob Museum is located in Downtown Las Vegas and is housed in the former Las Vegas US Post Office and Courthouse. Just imagine for a minute the secrets this building could spill if it could take. Today, each floor is dedicated to a different theme of the exhibit, with exhibits including 100 Years of Made Men, The Kefauver Hearings, Organized Crime Today, a crime lab, and so much more. 

After you’re done exploring the history of organized crime and law enforcement, head down to the basement, where you’ll find a speakeasy, distillery, and an exhibit on prohibition, just to help you all the more appreciate that bourbon on the rocks you’re sipping on. 

Titanic Museum

titanic museum

The Titanic and its devastating fate are a memorable part of history. History buffs and those with a fascination with the Titanic will enjoy exploring the real artifacts that have been recovered from miles below the surface where the Titanic disaster occurred. 

The Titanic Museum is located at the Luxor Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. You can view more than 250 official, true artifacts from the Titanic ocean liner. Artifacts range from chandeliers, fine china that amazingly survived, luggage, unopened champagne, and more. There are also recreations of the Grand Staircase, The Promenade Deck, and other main areas of the ship for you to explore in this 25,000 sq ft Las Vegas exhibit. 

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

madame tussauds wax museum

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is possibly one of the most famous and most fun museums you’ll ever visit. Famous for the real-looking wax statues, this museum in Las Vegas offers the chance to take a snapshot with your favorite celeb without any bodyguards present. 

Madame Tussauds has locations around the world, but in Las Vegas, you can visit the museum in the Grand Canal Shoppes of the Venetian Hotel. The themes change, but you can find amazingly accurate wax replicas of your favorite celebs in exhibits such as “Club Tussaud’s,” “Sports,” “Music Icons,” and “Viva Las Vegas.” 

There are also experiences like the MARVEL Universe 4D Movie, a virtual reality experience, and the Hangover Movie Bar. 

Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum

27655304 166204824013834 7730572069872427644 n

Zac Bagans’ Haunted Museum is one of the newest additions to the Las Vegas museum scene, and it’s also one of the most popular and one of the scariest attractions in Sin City. The museum has been voted as the #1 Best Haunted Destination in America by USA Today’s Readers Choice Awards, and we can’t disagree. 

Zak Bagans is a paranormal investigator with the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, and with his experience, has created one of the eeriest adventures you can have in Las Vegas. The museum is located in an early 1900s Tudor mansion, which also has a reputation for dark and sinister paranormal activities. All of this adds to the ambiance, leaving you feeling creeped out in a good way. 

Wander the museum and view the eerie oddities and haunted room experiences. Those chills might be your imagination or the fingers of unsettled spirits traveling up your arm. It’s half a haunted house and half a museum of dark and demonic happenings. See if any scream-worthy surprises are lurking for you around the corner in this museum of macabre treasures. 

Discovery Children’s Museum

discovery childrens museum

Families with kids are always looking for something kid-friendly to do in Las Vegas, and the Discovery Children’s Museum is the perfect destination to let kids wander, explore themes, and have fun while learning. 

The Discovery Children’s Museum is one of the best museums, featuring three floors designed to encourage exploration and hands-on play. There’s a designated toddler area where the youngest guests can feel right at home. Other exhibits include Water World, Fantasy Festival, Red Rock, Eco City, The Discovery Lab, Patents Pending, and many more. It’s the perfect young science center. 

Both children and adults will want to spend a lot of time exploring all that this family-friendly museum has to offer, so make sure to leave plenty of room in your itinerary for the experience. 

Pinball Hall of Fame

Pinball Hall of Fame

Are you of an age to remember when pinball fever was alive and well? Some would say that it never died, and once you step into the Pinball Hall of Fame, you’re going to agree with them. The outside is anything but Las Vegas glitz and glamor. Actually, it’s rather plain-looking. But inside is where you’ll find more than 200 pinball machines…many that you can actually play!

It’s the world’s largest pinball collection, with classics from the early days of pinball to more modern games, and all the machines have been restored. The owner is a former arcade operator, and this museum is 100% non-profit and staffed by volunteers who have an insatiable love for pinball machines and want to keep the pinball culture alive and well. 

The Pinball Hall of Fame is located on Las Vegas Blvd.  Still, with the Pinball Hall of Fame’s unassuming exterior, you really have to look for the building to enjoy this uniquely memorable gaming experience and one of the treasures among museums in Las Vegas. 

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

las vegas natural history museum

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum is one of the best museums and an experience that both adults and children will enjoy. The museum focuses on the wonders of the natural world and encourages critical thought and scientific exploration. 

The Jurassic area of the museum is a favorite, along with live shark feedings and the Nevada wildlife area. Explore everything from animals of the world to ancient Egyptian artifacts and more at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. 

Erotic Heritage Museum

erotic heritage museum

Las Vegas isn’t called Sin City for no reason. If you’re going to find an Erotic Heritage Museum anywhere in the world, of course, it will be in Las Vegas. Coined as the world’s most provocative museum, the Erotic Heritage Museum is part sauciness and part of true cultural history. 

Think of exhibits along the lines of the Evolution of Human Sexuality, The World’s Largest Sex Bike, and Sex in Space. If that doesn’t tantalize you, you can always hang around for a performance of Puppetry of the  Penis. Who said museums are boring?

Museum Fiasco at Area 15

museum fiasco at area 15

Are you ready to have your sense of perception challenged? Museum Fiasco at Area 15 is a completely new type of audiovisual experience. This is where you can find Cluster, a display that fuses sound and light in a hypnotic, almost psychic type of experience. 

Strobe lights are part of the experience at Museum Fiasco, so anyone with sensitivities to them should avoid the exhibit. 

Bodies Exhibit

bodies exhibit

The Bodies Exhibition at the Luxor Las Vegas is a unique museum experience. At the Bodies Exhibition, there are 13 full-body specimens, along with hundreds of partial-body specimens and organs on display. What makes this unique from other science museums that offer exhibits on the human body is that these are real, meticulously preserved human bodies.

Visitors experience a view and perspective of the human body that is typically only reserved for medical students in a laboratory setting. Don’t worry. There’s nothing grotesque or disrespectful about this exhibit.

Each body is respectfully displayed and is an incredible glimpse into the insides of the human body, along with visual examples of how certain diseases affect our organs. 

Hollywood Car Museum

hollywood car museum

There are a lot of museums in Las Vegas, but if you’re both a movie buff and a lover of cars, the Hollywood Car Museum is the one that should be at the top of your list. This museum is an incredible trove of movie history’s most famous cars. 

Spanning 30,000 sq ft, you can get an up-close and personal view of famous cars from movies including “Back To The Future,” “RoboCop,” and “Porky’s.” You can also see the Batmobile, General Lee, Herbie the Love Bug, and the car from the Flintstones.  

The Selfie Museum

selfie museum

Selfie WRLD is one of the museums in Las Vegas that’s different from the rest. It’s not a museum in the traditional sense, like a fine art gallery or filled with art exhibitions. Instead, this museum is a collection of expertly and artistically curated spots for you to take the perfect selfie. 

The Selfie Museum is a family-friendly destination, so feel free to bring everyone along for an Instagram-worthy stop during your stay in Las Vegas. You can also bring a professional-grade camera if selfies on your phone aren’t your thing, but bulky photography equipment isn’t allowed. 

National Atomic Testing Museum

national atomic testing museum

The National Atomic Testing Museum is one of the best museums to experience a glimpse into Nevada and Las Vegas history that many of us know nothing about. The National Atomic Testing Museum depicts the story of the nation’s nuclear weapons testing program, which is heavily centered in this region of the country. 

View many different collections of nuclear history and atomic testing artifacts. You can see firsthand what it must have been like to see experiments that were carried out at the famous Nevada test site. When you’re done touring the museum, don’t forget to stop by the Ground Zero Theater for even more entertainment. 

Shelby Museum

shelby museum

The Shelby Museum and Heritage Center is an experience that any automobile buff will love. The museum features more than 30 authentic Shelby vehicles. The museum spans 15,000 sq ft, and while there are some permanent exhibits, they also continually revisit and add to the collection to keep it fresh and interesting for anyone who walks through. 

The Shelby Heritage Center is one of the Vegas legends of museums. Here, you can visit the history of Carroll Shelby and a collection of his vehicles through a self-guided tour or special behind-the-scenes tours that also offers a glimpse at the adjacent production facility. 

Planning Your Las Vegas Museum Visit

As with any activity, there are a few things to keep in mind when planning your visits to museums in Las Vegas. Each museum offers something unique and has different policies in place, both for your safety and to make your visit more enjoyable. 

The first thing to consider is the people you’re with when visiting museums in Las Vegas. There’s a cost for admittance into almost all museums, and you want to make sure that everyone will get something from the experience, or else you’re simply wasting your money. 

It’s also a good idea to go into a museum with an open mind. A lover of fine art might think that Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum has nothing to offer them but then find themselves intrigued by the museum that’s also a half oddities collection. Someone interested in retro Vegas might love the Neon Museum, but also the criminal history that’s unearthed at the Mob Museum. 

Not all museums in Las Vegas are family-friendly, so keep this in mind when planning your day. Also, consider how long it typically takes to fully explore a museum. If you have young people with short attention spans in your group, a museum that might take several hours to explore probably isn’t the best idea. Each of our in-depth articles on the individual museums listed here offers more guidance on this area. 

Travel and logistics is another important detail to consider. Las Vegas is notoriously difficult to navigate, and it can take a long time to get to one destination from another. Trams are available mostly along the Strip, but many museums in Las Vegas are located off the Strip and require a bit of a walk or drive. Make sure your estimated travel times are realistic, especially for timed entrance tickets. 

Finally, keep in mind that almost every museum accepts donations. If you truly enjoy the experience and have a few extra dollars to spare, your donation can help keep a museum operating or go towards a new, exciting artifact exhibition. 

With so many options, how can you not find a Las Vegas museum that ignites your curiosity? These are just some of the incredible and best museums you can enjoy while in Vegas. When you desperately need a break from the casinos and nightlife and maybe crave a little cultural enrichment, these unique museums in Las Vegas are a treasure to explore.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *