Las Vegas pays homage to its past with its many museums. Both locals and tourists explore exhibits highlighting the creation of beauty, the splendor of animals and the joy of childhood. Along with exhibits, special presentations and events are also part of the experience. Museums are located downtown, on the Strip and throughout Southern Nevada. Check out these five in 2013 to learn something new.

DISCOVERY Children’s Museum
360 Promenada Place
Las Vegas, NV 89106
(702) 382-KIDS
http://www.discoverykidslv.org/

The Lied Discovery Museum is set to open in February of 2013 in the Donald W. Reynolds Discovery Center adjacent to The Smith Center in Symphony Park. The DISCOVERY Children’s Museum is a three-story, 58,000-square-foot building home to nine themed exhibition halls totaling 26,000 square feet of interactive hands-on core exhibits. The 5,000-square-foot Featured Exhibitions Gallery will be large enough to accommodate major exhibits from the nation’s leading museums.

Mob Museum
300 Stewart Ave.
Las Vegas, NV. 89101
(702) 229-2734
www.themobmuseum.org

The Mob Museum presents the mob’s impact on Las Vegas history highlighting the events and people on both sides of the law. The “Fabulous Downtown” exhibit will be featured in 2013 and was created from the archives of the Las Vegas News Bureau with a look at the changes made to downtown’s landscape over the past 65 years. Photographs of classic entertainers, hotels, storefronts and events will be on display. The building where the museum is located was the site of one of the Kefauver hearings to expose organized crime during the 1950s.

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum
900 Las Vegas Blvd. N.
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 384-3466
www.lvnhm.org

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum has opened a new permanent exhibit, “The Treasures of Egypt,” which features “nearly 500 reproduced artifacts including the tomb of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun” providing a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization. The “Mysteries of the Ancient Maya” exhibit will be on display through January of 2013 showcasing the rise and fall of the Mayan civilization and dispelling the myth centered on the end of the world prediction.

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National Atomic Testing Museum
In association with The Smithsonian Institution
755 E. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 794-5151
www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org

The National Atomic Testing Museum “showcases a collection of more than 12,000 unique artifacts in educational exhibits” presenting the history of the development and testing of the nuclear bomb. Opening in March, the “Area 51: Myth or Reality” exhibit reveals one of the most secret places in America developed with the help of people who worked there. This exhibit explores the programs and addresses the secrecy that surrounds the base at Groom Lake. In 2013, lectures are scheduled including Dave MacDonald, head of MUFON, discussing hunting UFOs.

The Neon Museum
770 Las Vegas Blvd. N.
Las Vegas, NV 89125
(702) 387-6366
www.neonmuseum.org

Having opened in October of 2012, The Neon Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization preserving neon signs of Southern Nevada. The Neon Museum’s collection consists of the Neon Boneyard, the Downtown Gallery and the Las Vegas Signs project. The Neon Boneyard in downtown Las Vegas features 150 signs from the 1930s to present day. Located within a two-acre outdoor space, the unrestored collection includes signs from casinos, hotels, motels and businesses.Related: Top Bizarre Statues Or Public Art In Las Vegas