Nevada State Museum

It's often hard to see beyond the glitz and glamour of Vegas that has put Nevada on the map, but the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society offers visitors a glimpse of the complete, and sometimes surprising, past of the Silver State.

The museum is full of interesting displays, from one depicting the desert wildlife that is indigenous to the area to another about life in Nevada during nuclear testing. Spanning the long, rich history of the 41st state, the exhibits range from the ice age to present day.

One gallery boasts a life-size model of a 48-foot-long ichthyosaur. A nearby display case holds the bones from its front flipper, giving visitors a better idea of the immense size of this now extinct creature. There also are a number of fossils and the skeletons of a horse as well as a sloth.

Another gallery traces the presence of man in Nevada. Take a minute to observe the detail and skill put into hand-woven baskets left behind by Native Americans or use a map in the museum to follow the interwoven paths of some of the most famous explorers as they made their way across the desert.

A large exhibit in the museum is dedicated to nuclear testing in Nevada, including a variety of posters, cartoons, photos and newspaper clippings. There even is a photo sequence following the 2.3-second collapse of a typical wood-frame house during a nuclear blast.

But no museum chronicling the history of Nevada would be complete without some information about casinos and the Las Vegas Strip, and the Nevada State Museum is no exception. A photography exhibit highlights some of the most notable neon signs in Vegas. There also is an area detailing the history of the Flamingo hotel and its famous founder, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel.

With displays that are as colorful and intriguing as the state's past, the Nevada State Museum is sure to entertain for hours.

-- Review by Noelani Jones