ENLIGHTENING ATTRACTIONS

Peggy the demon-possessed doll is just one of hundreds of terrifying possessions guests will see at Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum

Marvelous museums in downtown Las Vegas

By Heather Turk

Visitors hoping to enrich their mind during their trip to Las Vegas will discover several diverse museums downtown that are both educational and entertaining.

At The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, guests will go on an informative journey that details everything from the birth of the Mob to today’s crime-related headlines. Home to hundreds of artifacts, including the brick wall from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the 41,000-square-foot museum features a variety of interactive exhibits, films and high-tech audiovisual displays that examine in depth topics such as how Las Vegas was the ultimate “open city” that attracted mobsters and how organized crime persists today. There’s also a working distillery and speakeasy in the basement where adults can enjoy Roaring ’20s cocktails while surrounded by artifacts and stories from the Prohibition era. themobmuseum.org

Visitors can learn even more about Las Vegas’ history at The Neon Museum. Las Vegas’ most illuminating attraction, the 2.27-acre campus has an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard that’s home to more than 250 signs that were once featured around the city — like the iconic Moulin Rouge hotel and casino sign. Guests can book a guided tour to hear more about these dazzling treasures, some of which are electrified at night while others are dramatically lit from the ground. Visitors can also purchase a ticket to see the recently revamped 360-degree audiovisual experience “’Brilliant!’ Jackpot” in the museum’s North Gallery, which uses technology to re-illuminate more than 40 nonoperational signs. neonmuseum.org

For more on Southern Nevada’s history, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum houses hundreds of thousands of fossils and artifacts that were discovered in the area. The 40,000-square-foot museum features exhibits on some of the greatest wonders of the world as well, from dinosaurs to ancient Egypt. On Nov. 4, the museum will even be hosting an evening lecture to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, which it has an authentic reproduction of for visitors to walk through. The museum will also be holding a Halloween-themed event on Oct. 28 (Nevada Day) where kids in costume receive free admission and can go trick-or-treating from gallery to gallery. lvnhm.org

The Hallowen season is the perfect time to visit Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum, as it will be offering additional late-night Flashlight Ghost Tours where guests can explore the darkened museum — home to such infamous objects as “The Conjuring 3’s” real-life Devil’s Rocking Chair — with only a flashlight to guide them. Regular guided tours are also available of the 12,000-square-foot space, which recently added some Al Capone artifacts as well as the transaxle from the Porsche 550 Spyder that James Dean crashed in. thehauntedmuseum.com

The Mob Museum’s “Organized Crime Today” exhibit Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum houses the cauldron used by Ed Gein, whose grisly crimes were the inspiration behind such classic horror characters as Leatherface, Norman Bates and Buffalo Bill

Explore how archaeologists in the early 20th century unearthed some of Egypt’s most renowned treasures at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum’s “Treasures of Egypt” exhibit

The Neon Museum takes guests on an enlightening journey through Las Vegas’ history

The Mob Museum is located in a historic U.S. Post Office and federal courthouse that was the site of one of the national U.S. Senate Kefauver Committee hearings

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