List of museums in Nevada
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This list of museums in Nevada encompasses museums which are defined for this context as physical institutions, (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Defunct museums are listed in a separate section.
Museums[]
Name | Location | County | Type | Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|
Atomic Testing Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Science | History of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site |
The Auto Collections | Paradise | Clark | Automobile | Showroom and display of classic cars at the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino |
Austin Historical Society Museum | Austin | Lander | Local history | [1] |
Battle Mountain Cookhouse Museum | Battle Mountain | Lander | Local history | website |
Beatty Museum | Beatty | Nye | Local history | website, area fossils, wildlife and plants, mining, ghost towns |
Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum | Boulder City | Clark | History | History of the Boulder Canyon Project, operated by the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association in the historic Boulder Dam Hotel |
Bowers Mansion | Carson City | Carson City | Historic house | |
Brothel Art Museum | Crystal | Nye | Erotica | [2][3] |
Buckaroo Hall of Fame & Heritage Museum | Winnemucca | Humboldt | Culture | website, artwork, photos, memorabilia, saddles, guns, hand-woven lariats, brands and other working gear used by cowboys, located at the Winnemucca Convention Center |
Burlesque Hall of Fame | Las Vegas | Clark | Hall of fame | History of burlesque |
Carson City Fire Museum | Carson City | Carson City | Fire fighting | website, also known as Warren Engine Co. No. 1 Museum |
Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center | Gardnerville | Douglas | Local history | Operated by the Douglas County Historical Society |
Central Nevada Museum | Tonopah | Nye | Local history | website, photos, exhibits include Tonopah Army Air Field, area railroads and mining equipment, operated by the Central Nevada Historical Society |
Children's Museum of Northern Nevada | Carson City | Carson City | Children's | website |
Fallon | Churchill | Local history | website, exhibits include Native American and pioneer artifacts, period rooms, railroads, antique communications equipment and vehicles, Woodliff Novelty Store, post | |
Clark County Museum | Henderson | Clark | Open-air | Includes museum with local history exhibits, minerals display, 1920s and 1950s period homes, 1900s replica print shop, depot with steam engine and caboose |
Comstock Fireman's Museum | Virginia City | Storey | Fire fighting | website |
Comstock History Center | Virginia City | Storey | Local history | [4][5] |
Comstock Gold Mill | Virginia City | Storey | Mining | [4] |
Courthouse Museum Genoa | Genoa | Douglas | Local history | website, operated by the Douglas County Historical Society, features period room displays including a courtroom, kitchen, nursery, Victorian parlor, blacksmith shop |
Dayton Museum | Dayton | Lyon | Local history | website, includes pioneer memorabilia, quilts, and photographs from Dayton's history, including pioneers, prospectors and miners, woodcutters, Native Americans, Chinese, Italians, ranching, railroading, the Sutro Tunnel |
Don Laughlin's Classic Car Collection | Laughlin | Clark | Automobile | Showroom and display of classic cars at the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino |
Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery | Las Vegas | Clark | Art | website, part of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
Erotic Heritage Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Erotica | History of Erotica |
Eureka Sentinel Museum | Eureka | Eureka | Local history | website, photos, features newspaper printing room, mining exhibits, period room displays |
Fleischmann Planetarium & Science Center | Reno | Washoe | Science | Part of the University of Nevada, Reno, public star shows, astronomy exhibits, meteorites |
Foreman-Roberts House Museum | Carson City | Carson City | Historic house | Open by appointment and for special events |
Fort Churchill State Historic Park | Silver Springs | Lyon | History | Visitor center features exhibits about the fort's history |
Fourth Ward School Museum | Virginia City | Storey County | Local history | City history, mining, 19th century education |
Frank Chang Memorial Museum | Lovelock | Pershing | Ethnic | Located adjacent to the Cadillac Inn, artifacts from ruins of Lovelock's Chinatown[6] |
Goldwell Open Air Museum | Rhyolite | Nye | Art | Outdoor sculpture park |
Great Basin National Park | Rhyolite | White Pine | Natural history | Visitor centers feature exhibits about the geology, natural history and cultural history of the area |
Hawthorne Ordnance Museum | Hawthorne | Mineral | Military | Exhibits on ordance & munitions. |
Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum | Paradise | Clark | Aviation | History of commercial and general aviation in southern Nevada, located at McCarran International Airport |
Humboldt Museum | Winnemucca | Humboldt | Local history | website, includes castings of mammoth bones, period rooms, Native American, pioneer and cowboy artifacts, 899 Richardson-Saunders House, 1907 St. Mary's Episcopal Church, and the 1880s Greinstein Building, operated by the North Central Nevada Historical Society |
International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts | Las Vegas | Clark | Magic | Created by magician David Copperfield, includes magic memorabilia, books, illusions, posters, photos and artifacts, items from Harry Houdini, open to scholars |
Julia C. Bulette Red Light Museum | Virginia City | Storey | Erotica | Madam Julia Bulette, prostitution erotica, Chinese art and antique medical equipment[4] |
Las Vegas Historical Society | Las Vegas | Clark | Local history | Timeline of city history, includes old railroad, celebrity, aerial, and casino photos |
Las Vegas International Scout Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Scouting | website |
Las Vegas Natural History Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Natural history | Includes dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt, international wildlife, Nevada desert wildlife, marine animals, geology |
Las Vegas Springs Preserve | Las Vegas | Clark | Multiple | 180-acre (0.73 km2) preserve with several museums and botanical garden |
Lied Discovery Children's Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Children's | Interactive exhibits in science, arts and culture |
Lincoln County Historical Museum | Pioche | Lincoln | Local history | [7]photos |
Lost City Museum | Overton | Clark | Archaeology | Excavated artifacts from Anasazi pueblo ruins |
Lyon County Museum | Yerington | Lyon | Open-air | website, features 7 buildings including museum with period room and business displays, model railroad, local art, natural history, local pioneers, three old country schools, a general store and a blacksmith shop |
Virginia City | Storey | Historic house | website, Mid 19th-century mansion with period furnishings, mining artifacts[4] | |
Madame Tussauds Las Vegas | Las Vegas | Clark | Wax museum | |
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art | Las Vegas | Clark | Art | Part of University of Nevada, Las Vegas, exhibitions of contemporary visual fine arts, Mesoamerican artifacts |
Mark Twain Museum at the Territorial Enterprise | Virginia City | Storey | History | Historic newspaper building with Mark Twain's desk, press area and printing equipment |
Marshall Mint Museum | Virginia City | Storey | Natural history | Gems and mineral display in a jewelry store[4] |
Marzen House Museum | Lovelock | Pershing | Local history | Includes mining equipment, home fixtures, Native American artifacts and an Indian Cave exhibit[8][9] |
McGill Drugstore Museum | McGill | White Pine | Local history | Historic drugstore open by appointment, operated by the White Pine Public Museum |
Mineral County Museum | Hawthorne | Mineral | Local history | Exhibits on Mineral County. |
Mob Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | History | History of organized crime in the United States and activities of law enforcement, housed in the former Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse |
Mormon Station State Historic Park | Genoa | Douglas | Local history | Recreated trading post stockade and museum with pioneer exhibits |
National Automobile Museum | Reno | Washoe | Transportation - Automobile | |
Neon Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Media | Neon signs |
Nevada Gambling Museum | Virginia City | Storey | Industry - Gambling | Antique slot machines, gaming tables and roulette wheels[10] |
Reno | Washoe | History | website, history and culture of Nevada | |
Nevada Museum of Art | Reno | Washoe | Art | |
Nevada Northern Railway Museum | Ely | White Pine | Railroad | Historic railroad yard complex, heritage railroad, includes the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum |
Nevada Southern Railroad Museum | Boulder City | Clark | Railroad | |
Nevada State Capitol | Carson City | Carson City | History | |
Nevada State Museum, Carson City | Carson City | Carson City | Multiple | History, pre-history and natural history of Nevada |
Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas | Las Vegas | Clark | Multiple | Frontier history, natural history, archaeology and anthropology of southern Nevada, development of the city |
Nevada State Railroad Museum | Carson City | Carson City | Railroad | |
Elko | Elko | Multiple | website, history, art, natural history | |
Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park | Las Vegas | Clark | History | Restored fort and visitor center with related exhibits |
Pahrump | Nye | Multiple | website, includes Abraham Lincoln memorabilia collection, farm equipment, general store, school house, silo and buildings from the Bowman Ranch, Native American artifacts, prospecting, ranching and farming exhibits, war ephemera, fossils, rock and minerals, area wildlife | |
Pierre Fauchard Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Medical | website, part of the College of Southern Nevada, history of dentistry, named after Pierre Fauchard, considered the "father of modern dentistry" |
Pinball Hall of Fame | Las Vegas | Clark | Amusement | Working pinball machines from the 1950s to 1990s |
Pyramid Lake Museum & Visitors Center | Nixon | Washoe | Native American | website, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe's history, culture, people and current events |
Searchlight Historical Museum | Searchlight | Clark | Local history | information, exhibits include mining, costume designer Edith Head, pilot John A. Macready, Senator Harry Reid, composer Scott Joplin; housed inside the Searchlight Community Center |
Shelby Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | Transportation | |
Sheppard Contemporary Gallery | Reno | Washoe | Art | website, part of University of Nevada, Reno |
Sierra Arts Gallery | Reno | Washoe | Art | website, operated by the Sierra Arts Foundation |
Sparks Museum & Cultural Center | Sparks | Washoe | Multiple | website, area history, ranching, mining, space industry, art exhibits, replica depot with vintage steam locomotive, cupola caboose and Pullman executive car, restored one room schoolhouse |
St. Mary's Art & Retreat Center | Virginia City | Storey | Art | website, located in the former St. Mary Louise Hospital for the Comstock miners |
St. Mary's in the Mountains Catholic Church | Virginia City | Storey | Religious | Historic church with museum about its history |
The Way It Was Museum | Virginia City | Storey | Mining | Features Comstock mining artifacts and photographs[4] |
Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum | Reno | Washoe | Children's | science, technology, engineering, art, math and the world |
Thunderbird Lodge | Incline Village | Washoe | Historic house | Waterfront estate on Lake Tahoe |
Thunderbirds Museum | Nellis Air Force Base | Clark | Aerospace | History of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, includes a Thunderbirds aircraft static display |
Tonopah Historic Mining Park | Tonopah | Nye | Mining | website, former silver mine |
University of Nevada, Reno Fine Art Galleries | Reno | Washoe | Art | website, four galleries and art exhibited in locations around the campus |
Virgin Valley Heritage Museum | Mesquite | Lincoln | Local history | Area pioneers and local history |
Walker African American Museum | Las Vegas | Clark | African American | [11] |
Washoe Club | Virginia City | Storey | History | Tours of the historic social club building that is considered a haunted location |
Western Folklife Center | Elko | Elko | Art | website, exhibitions, performances and educational programs about the American West |
White Pine Public Museum | Ely | White Pine | Local history | website, photos |
White River Valley Museum | Lund | White Pine | Local history | Features relics of one of the last colonization efforts of the Mormons in the American West[12] |
Wilbur D. May Center | Reno | Washoe | Multiple | Includes eclectic ethnographic collection, arboretum and botanical garden, temporary/traveling exhibits and art shows |
W. M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum | Reno | Washoe | Geology | Part of the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, minerals, ores, fossil specimens, and mining relics and displays |
Defunct museums[]
- American Heroes Veteran Museum, Laughlin in the Ramada Express Hotel
- Casino Legends Hall of Fame Museum, in the Tropicana Resort & Casino, Las Vegas[13]
- Debbie Reynolds' Movie Museum, in the Convention Center Drive Hotel-Casino, Las Vegas[13]
- Elvis-A-Rama Museum - Las Vegas - Biography
- Guggenheim Hermitage Museum - Las Vegas - Art
- Guinness World Records Museum, Las Vegas[13]
- Hispanic Museum of Nevada, Las Vegas, closed in 2017[14]
- Houdini's Museum, Las Vegas, closed in 2004[15][16]
- King Tut Exhibit, formerly at the Luxor, Las Vegas[17]
- Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, closed in 2009.
- Liberace Museum, Las Vegas, closed in 2010, collections on traveling display
- Liberty Belle Slot Collection, closed in 2006, located at the Liberty Belle Casino in Reno, now displayed at the Nevada State Museum, Carson City[18][19][20]
- Lost Vegas Historical Gambling Museum, Las Vegas[13]
- Magic and Movie Hall of Fame, located in O'Shea's Casino,[13][21]
- Midas Schoolhouse, destroyed by fire in 2005
- Silver State National Peace Officers Museum, Virginia City, now on online museum known as the American Peace Officer Virtual Museum[22]
- Sunbelt Auto Museum, Las Vegas, private collection of Jim Rogers, collection sold at auction in 2015[23][24]
- Star Trek: The Experience - The History of the Future Museum, Las Vegas Hilton, closed 2008, may reopen in the Neonopolis Mall in Las Vegas
- Stewart Indian School Museum, closed in the late 1990s,[25] campus still open for walking tours, website
- Western Historic Radio Museum, Virginia City, closed in 2012[26]
- World of Coca-Cola, Las Vegas[13]
See also[]
- Aquaria in Nevada (category)
- Botanical gardens in Nevada (category)
- Nature Centers in Nevada
Resources[]
References[]
- ^ "Austin Historical Society". Travel Nevada. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "7 Weird Desert Museums". Desert USA. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Brothel Art Museum". Roadside America. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Virginia City Museums". VIsit Virginia City. Retrieved 10 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Historic Mining Photos at Comstock History Center Museum". Nevada Travel Network. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Lovelock, Nevada: Chinatown Ruins Museum". Roadside America. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Lincoln County Historical Museum". Travel Nevada. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Lovelock's Historical Sites". Lovelock. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Marzen House Museum". Travel Nevada. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Nevada Gambling Museum". Roadside America. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Walker African-American Museum". A2Z Las Vegas. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "White River Valley Museum". Travel Nevada. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Roadside America Report
- ^ "Hispanic Museum To Close Its Doors". The Now Report. February 26, 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Las Vegas Houdini museum closed". Wild About Harry. August 28, 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Las Vegas, Nevada: Houdini Museum (Gone)". Roadside America. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "BODIES & TITANIC The artifact exhibition will make new home at Luxor", Las Vegas Realtor, March 31, 2008
- ^ Charles Fey Slot Machine Collection Archived 2009-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Slot Machines: The Fey Collection
- ^ Liberty Belle Collection: 50 Years Of History To Be Sold At Auction
- ^ Las Vegas, description
- ^ "Official site". American Peace Officer Virtual Museum. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Jim Rogers' passion for classic cars never idled". Tbje Kats Report. June 15, 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "Another Massive Classic Car Collection Going Up For Auction". Motor Authority. February 4, 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Virtual Exhibit at Nevada State Museum
- ^ "Western Historic Radio Museum - History 1994 to 2012". Western Historic Radio Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
Categories:
- Museums in Nevada
- Nevada education-related lists
- Lists of museums in the United States
- Lists of buildings and structures in Nevada