Indulge your mind with these historic Vegas museums

If you’ve ever wondered what made Las Vegas the unique experience it is today, the city’s many museums can both satiate and stimulate your curiosity. These Vegas museums bring Sin City’s colorful past to life, with everything from neon and burlesque to atomic bombs.

NEON MUSEUM

For decades, neon defined Sin City, with the Strip’s distinctive glow visible for miles. But more flexible and energy-efficient LED technology has supplanted the handcraft of neon bending. The Neon Museum displays nearly 150 decommissioned neon signs, many in an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard (open only for hour-long guided tours). Evocatively beautiful, each of the museum’s artifacts also tells a story about its creators, inspiration and place in local history.

770 Las Vegas Blvd. North
702.387.6366
www.neonmuseum.org

NATIONAL ATOMIC

TESTING MUSEUM

While Las Vegas boomed in the 1950s, something else was going “boom” in the surrounding desert. Through photographs, film and artifacts that include a deactivated bomb, the National Atomic Testing Museum tells the intriguing tale of Cold War nuclear weapons testing in southern Nevada. Good for an afternoon outing, the museum offers an immersive alternative to the Strip. Monthly all-day tours to the Nevada National Security Site, where the last explosion took place in 1992, depart from the museum.

755 E. Flamingo Road
702.794.5151
www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org

BURLESQUE HALL OF FAME

Dedicated to one of the pillars of “old Vegas” entertainment, the Burlesque Hall of Fame celebrates the titillating art form’s heritage and lingering influence. With echoes of vintage burlesque still found in current shows such as Stratosphere’s “Pin Up” and the new “Sydney After Dark” at Planet Hollywood, the Hall of Fame preserves its risqué history from 19th century beginnings through its mid-20th century heyday, with photographs, costumes, stage props, show fliers and dancers’ personal effects.

520 E. Fremont St.
888.661.6465
www.burlesquehall.com