From neon to nuclear reactors: 12 oddball museums in Nevada

Learn a ton and have a blast at these 12 strange museums in Nevada featuring offbeat art, interesting exhibits, and creepy collectibles.

Who says museums have to be boring? Nevada museums are anything but with off-the-wall yet educational exhibits, art, and collectibles such as working neon signs, clown figurines, mind-bending illusions,  junked cars, and even a nuclear reactor.

Whether learning about the Silver State’s atomic history, perusing an old drug store, searching for secret passages, or playing pinball, you’ll learn a ton and have a blast at these 12 strange museums in Nevada.

1. Omega Mart

Area 15, 3215 South Rancho Drive, Las Vegas

Most people don’t equate a trip to a grocery store with going to a museum unless the food is expired. Or if it’s Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart inside Area 15. The enigmatic supermarket is stocked with one-of-a-kind, often tongue-in-cheek finds and secret passages leading to an interactive playground wrapped in surreal and innovative art, conspiracy theories, and other mysteries—plus a full bar.

Interior of Omega Mart by Meow Wolf in Las Vegas. (Jeremy Thompson/CC BY 2.0)

2. Neon Museum

770 Las Vegas Boulevard N., Las Vegas

The Neon Museum in downtown Las Vegas tells the story of this fabulous city through old signs. Founded in 1996, the outdoor spaces include more than 250 signs, some illuminated and restored. Even the visitors’ center is iconic, housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby. A nonprofit museum and educational institution, it chronicles the city’s history as well as changes in sign design and technology dating back to the 1930s.

3. Erotic Heritage Museum

3275 South Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, Las Vegas

Explore erotic art of multiple genres at the Erotic Heritage Museum. The 24,000-square-foot space is devoted to the educational, scientific, and literary aspects of sexual, emotional, mental, and physical health. Exhibits on the first floor include commercial art, pornographic art, folk art, pop art, and fine art, while the second floor has paintings, sketches, watercolors, porcelain figurines, sculptures, and carved wood objects. The museum is also home to the nude live comedy show Puppetry of the Penis.

4. The National Atomic Testing Museum

755 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas

Get up close and personal with a nuclear reactor, personal atomic weapons, and other rare artifacts related to the nuclear weapons testing program at the Nevada Test Site at the National Atomic Testing Museum. Explore 8,000 square feet of museum exhibits covering 70 years of nuclear testing, including Atomic Age culture, the effect of nuclear testing on the world, and scientific and technological advances. You’ll also see a piece of the Berlin Wall and two pieces of the World Trade Center.

People walk through an exhibit at The National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas. (Jeremy Thompson/CC BY 2.0)

5. Burlesque Hall of Fame

1027 S. Main Street, #110, Las Vegas

The Burlesque Hall of Fame in the Las Vegas Arts District is a nonprofit museum committed to preserving the living legacy of burlesque. The world’s largest archive of vintage burlesque items and one of the world’s only institutions dedicated to preserving burlesque art, artifacts, and traditions, the collection includes thousands of costumes, stage props, photographs, and personal effects documenting the careers and lives of burlesque performers from the late 1800s to today. Some items include Dita Von Teese’s martini glass bath, Gypsy Rose Lee’s traveling trunk, and costumes from Sally Rand and Rose La Rose. 

6. Pinball Hall of Fame

4925 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas

Forget playing in the casinos. The world’s largest collection of pinball machines, comprising 25,000 square feet, the Pinball Hall of Fame is fun for the whole family. Nearly 400 machines, ranging from the 1950s to the 1990s, are restored to like-new playing conditions and ready to play for 25 and 50 cents. It’s truly a blast from the past.

A room filled with pinball machines at Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. (Kent Kanouse/CC BY-NC 2.0)

7. Museum of Illusions

63 CityCenter, 3716 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Suite 1.02

Immerse yourself in interactive illusions and grab strange selfies as you make your way through the mind-bending exhibitions at the Museum of Illusions Las Vegas. Each exhibit is designed to blow your mind and fool your eyes but also to teach you the science behind the trick. It’s a magical experience you have to see to believe..

8. Goldwell Open Air Museum

1 Golden Street, Beatty

A 15-acre outdoor sculpture garden, Goldwell Open Air Museum consists of seven enormous and bizarre sculptures, some more than 25 feet high. The original five were erected in 1984 by Belgian artist Albert Szukalski, while others have been added by contemporary artists. Located at the foot of the ghost town of Rhyolite off the road leading to Death Valley, California, the sculptures stand in the Mojave desert as a testament to artistic exploration in the Amargosa Desert.

9. International Car Forest of the Last Church

1111 East, Crystal Avenue, Goldfield

Junked cars colorfully covered in graffiti decorate the desert in unconventional ways at the International Car Forest of the Last Church. A quick detour off the highway at the southern tip of Goldfield, this roadside attraction rivals Cadillac Ranch in Texas with 40 uniquely painted, junked cars, trucks, and even a bus that you can explore from your own car or by foot. Some stand vertically in rows like dominoes, while others are stacked to the sky. 

Double Trouble cars at the International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield, Nevada. (James Marvin Phelps/)CC BY-NC 2.0

10. Clown Museum

521 N. Main Street, Tonopah

Located in the lobby of the world-famous Clown Motel in Tonopah, the Clown Museum is home to an extensive and growing collection of more than 5,000 clown figurines and artifacts. All on display for free, it’s fascinating and terrifying all at once.

Clown dolls at the Clown Museum on the Clown Motel of Tonopah, Nev. (Will Keightley/CC BY-SA 2.0)

11. Tonopah Mining Park

110 Burro Ave, Tonopah

Once home to a working silver mine, the non-profit Tonopah Historic Mining Park has 113 acres of preserved and restored buildings, artifacts, and exhibits. Explore the now-defunct mining area on a self-guided tour that includes old mining tools and artifacts and a glimpse inside the 500-foot-deep Mizpah Mine Shaft.

12. McGill Drugstore Museum

11 S. 4th Street, McGill

A drugstore frozen in time, the McGill Drugstore Museum is virtually unchanged from how it looked when it closed in 1979, with products dating back to the 1950s, including shampoos, nail polish, toys, candy, and more. Peek behind the original pharmacy counter to see the original prescribed medicines and a log dating back to the 1930s. The original milkshake counter still serves tasty, malted treats.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.