Las Vegas Natural History Museum

900 Las Vegas Blvd N., (702) 384-3466. Daily 9am-4pm. $10, seniors $8, 3-11 $5.

Satisfyingly old-fashioned, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum is also entertaining and educational, with an assortment of don’t-miss galleries. The International Wildlife Gallery and Grand Hall holds exotic taxidermy animals that include a 16-foot giraffe, a family of bison, and some grizzly bears, while the Wild Nevada Gallery is dedicated to native Nevada animals and plants. The Prehistoric Life Gallery holds a variety of life-size dinosaurs, some of which move and make sounds. My favorite is the smallish Deinonychus “Terrible Claw,” which is covered in real feathers.

Deinonychus "Terrible Claw" dinosaur at Las Vegas Natural History Museum

The African galleries depict Early Man and feature a model of Australopithecus which walked upright and was known as Lucy, and an African Savanna exhibit with more taxidermy animals--some centered around a watering hole and others in a depiction of lions attacking a zebra.

African watering hole exhibit at Las Vegas Natural History Museum

The Marine Life Gallery presents re-creations of sharks and whales hanging from the ceiling as if they are swimming through the hall, as well as some living exhibits that staff from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino helps maintain.

shark exhibit at Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Treasures of Egypt, which was a windfall that came from a remodel of the Luxor Hotel & Casino, displays a recreation of King Tutankhamun’s famous tomb (there are only two sanctioned reproductions of Tut’s tomb and this is one of them). Among the treasures are the coffins of Tut’s children, who sadly were stillborn.