Nevada State Museum

Ever since the comedy animation “Ice Age” hit the silver screen in 2002, the world has developed a fascination with long extinct creatures that once roamed the earth. If you've ever wondered what a woolly mammoth looks like up close and personal, the Nevada State Museum is where it's at.

Formerly housed within a sunny corner of Lorenzi Park, near Las Vegas Golf Club, Nevada State Museum announced their plans to move to a brand new, purpose-built facility at Springs Preserve in July 2011. The move comes during a period of exciting expansion and development for the historical organization, keen to expand upon their dazzling array of natural history exhibits and open up new areas that offer a glimpse of Las Vegas' pre-history - before humans developed the desert oasis.

Taking center stage within the Earth Sciences Experience are the famous Columbian mammoth and ichthyosaur exhibits. Discovered during archaeological excavations during the 1960's, the mammoth is a perfectly preserved specimen thought to be over 15,000 years old. Nearby stands the fossilized ichthyosaur, a huge 48-foot “carved relief” of its body adorning one wall, with the ribcage, flipper bone and various vertebrae encased within glass nearby. At 225 million years old, it is both the largest and oldest ichthyosaur specimen in existence. Its sheer size dwarfs the mammoth seven times over and offers a fascinating glimpse of the scale of reptiles that once walked the earth in abundance. Reclining lazily upon a nearby branch, Nevada's indigenous sloth surveys the exhibits with a seemingly nonchalant attitude and the nearby wild horse exhibit looks set to gallop off, should the dinosaur awaken from its slumber.

Chronicling the fascinating development of Las Vegas from indigenous settlement right up until the 19th Century, the Native American gallery features a wondrous array of artifacts preserved over the years. Man-made hunting tools and craft knives thought to be over 1000 years old lie encased within a long time-line of weaponry along the far wall, enhanced by the relics of ancient handicrafts such as woven reed baskets and jewelry. The Curators Corner is particularly interesting, a gallery of yellowing maps pinpointing the routes of 18th Century explorers and Indian settlements. A few 19th Century photographs illustrate the abundance of Meso-American tribes whom were still living among the Nevada mountains around Las Vegas, right up until its commercial beginnings.

Boasting in excess of 4,000 unique artifacts, documents and photographs, along with a natural history exhibition that puts it on a par with the nearby Natural History Museum, there's no better place to discover the “other story” of Las Vegas than here at the Nevada State Museum – the place where the real “Ice Age” characters are waiting to be discovered!