Attractions

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

900 N. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 384-3466
Map it
Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Las Vegas Natural History Museum Details

  • Hours of operation: Open daily, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed Christmas Day and Thanksgiving.
  • Cost: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, military and students 12 and over, $5 for children 3-11, free for children two and younger.
  • Payment options: Cash, MasterCard, Visa.
  • Reservations: No.
  • Location: From the Vegas Strip it is about 6.5 miles. The Museum is located just south of the intersection of the Vegas Strip and Washington Ave. next to Cashman Field.
  • Age/Height/Weight restrictions: None.

Las Vegas Natural History Museum Review

Fun facts

These are just a fraction of the facts you can learn at the museum. This will give you a taste of what you'll learn on your trip.

  • The teeth of a viperfish are so sharp and long that if it closed its mouth with the teeth inside, it would pierce its brain.
  • Male humpback whales can sing up to half an hour nonstop and even mimic other whale songs.
  • When a member of a whale group is sick or injured, other whales will push it up to the surface of the water to help it breathe.
  • Dolphins are part of the whale family.
  • Sharks lose teeth a lot when they eat. Some sharks will replace as many as 25,000 teeth in a lifetime.
  • Snakes eat their body weight in one year.
  • Polar bears have black skin.
  • Bears they are not: A panda is actually in the raccoon family and koalas are marsupials.
  • Penguins mate for life and both parents care for their young.
  • Giraffes can grow more than 18 feet tall.
  • Wooly mammoths grew as tall as 14 feet, weighing 10 tons. Mammoths used tusks for protection and to attract mates.
  • Female lions are the primary hunters of the pride.

If sharks, dinosaurs and treacherous animals fascinate you more than most, you've come to the right place. 

See these larger-than-life creatures at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. Even if you're only into small, cuddly pets, you'll still have an intriguing experience. Cat lovers can see the "wilder" side of the breed within the museum's International Wildlife Gallery. Exhibits include lions, pumas, jaguars and leopards. Dog aficionados can also see coyotes and foxes in this same exhibit. While you're here, check out brown bears, polar bears and black bears. You can even touch the black bear's fur to see how soft and silky it is. 

The Wild Nevada Gallery includes plant and animal life native to Southern Nevada including bighorn sheep, coyotes and kit foxes. 

For those fans of water animals, the Marine Life Gallery lets you see live sharks and stingrays in a 3,000-gallon tank, while other fish occupy the tanks only steps away. Shark feeding is Saturday at 2 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Also in the Marine Life Gallery, see huge whale models hanging from the ceiling and a humungous shark jaw. You can also push buttons to hear the sounds of various sea friends, including a humpback whale, killer whale, pilot whale and dolphin. 

Appreciate old-school? The Prehistoric Gallery includes everything from ichthyosaur models (extinct marine reptiles similar to modern-day dolphins), to models of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops fighting each other. The T-Rex was thought to have teeth seven inches long and as sharp as steak knives. The museum also holds a Dinosaur Mummy CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation. This exhibit shows how science and technology is used to discover things about the world's most preserved dinosaur. The showcase reveals never-before-seen images and research on the dinosaur mummy. 

Events

The museum hosts traveling exhibits. Opening May 12, visitors can check out "EWW! What's Eating You?" This icky exhibit uncovers the history of humans and the parasites who love them. These pesky little guys have been around since ancient times of Greece, Rome and Egypt. The expression "don't let the bed bugs bite" had to come from somewhere, right? The exhibit covers everything from Guinea worms, rash-causing hookworms, kid-loving pinworms and more. You'll even read about leeches and maggots. 

 

 

If the idea of these makes you cringe, you can always enjoy Weekend Science every Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Explore natural history, science and more with hands-on activities, intriguing demonstrations, special guest demonstrations and even the museum's little critters.

 

For the grown-ups, the museum hosts its first adult-oriented event, "Sundown in Downtown" on June 22 from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. A carnival atmosphere will fill the museum, spilling over into Heritage Park next door. Enjoy live music, mingle with carnival performers and enjoy samples from downtown restaurants.

Your adventure doesn't stop here: The Out of Africa Exhibit on the lower level includes lions, wildebeests, hippos, hyenas and a warthog. Kids (as well as the kids at heart) can use their imagination and picture scenes from Disney's "The Lion King." The corner of the exhibit features an African rainforest display. By pressing different buttons, you can read about different sections of a rainforest and even make it rain. 

The museum holds more than just information about animals. The 4,000-square-foot "Treasures of Egypt" exhibit displays 500 replicas of Egyptian artifacts. These include King Tut's golden throne, shrine and chariots. Make sure to check out the gold-painted sarcophagus, which sits atop King Tut's tomb. Experience a walk through Pharaoh Tutankhamun's burial chamber and test an interactive mummy scan. In addition to the Egyptian gallery, there is also a Geology Gallery, featuring shining and shimmering rocks found throughout the ages. 

A visit to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum takes you back to your field trip days. But this time, you don't have a time limit to enjoy the exhibits. 

-- Review by Jeannie Garcia