Nevada’s Tale (In Two Cities)
Nevada’s past spans eons. From primordial geology to silver booms, atom bombs, and showgirls, this state has many a story to tell—and fortunately, we have the perfect pair of places to do that: one in Carson City and one in Las Vegas. Whether your adventures take you to Lake Tahoe or a night on The Strip, you’re never far from the Silver State’s bizarre, eclectic, and always-fascinating story.
Indeed, no dip into Nevada history is complete without a chapter on casinos and show business. Some of the most fascinating displays detail Las Vegas’s breakneck development into the entertainment megacity it is today, from Hoover Dam and post-WWII suburbia to Howard Hughes and The Strip.
Las Vegas
Since 1982, the Nevada State Museum—Las Vegas, has served as a veritable treasure trove for the state’s natural and cultural heritage. The museum sits on the grounds of the 180-acre Springs Preserve—a popular destination for families, trail walkers, and nature lovers located just minutes from The Strip (see pg. 98 to learn more).
Once inside the museum, guests are greeted with the life-size model of a towering bristlecone pine—one of the West’s most hardy survivors (and, we might add, an excellent official symbol for the state). The surrounding hall details Nevada’s natural history, from the eons this land spent as seabed to Ice Age flora and fauna.
Farther inside, artifacts reveal southern Nevada’s long history as a cultural meeting place. These include a Paiute water jug, an ornate Spanish cross, a vaquero’s buckskin jacket, and a 19th-century painting of the old Mormon fort that marks early settlement in the Las Vegas Valley.
But exhibits are not limited to southern Nevada. Mining—which mostly took place in the state’s north—gets its fair share of attention with a facsimile boomtown and a replica cave showcasing the state’s precious minerals. Other themes the museum explores include Native experiences, public lands, nuclear testing, divorce, and—of course—gaming.
The museum’s “Viva Las Vegas” permanent exhibit hosts a vast quantity of photos, poker chips, and other vintage swag from the 1960s. But the star of the show is—and always will be—the showgirls, who are immortalized in the museum’s centerpiece costume collection.
Travel Nevada Pro Tip
In addition to the Nevada State Museum—Las Vegas and the nearby Origen Museum, admission to the Springs Preserve grants all-day access to the area’s diverse gardens, trails, and nature areas.
Carson City
Northern Nevada’s state museum operates from within the former Carson City Mint, which produced federal coinage from 1870 to 1893, all bearing the distinguishing “CC” mark.
But the Mint isn’t the only story the museum has to tell, and its collection has expanded considerably since it was established in 1941. Hundreds of years of accumulated state treasures wait to be explored here, from Nevada’s official state artifacts—including a tule duck decoy—to memorabilia from Nevada’s namesake battleship, the USS Nevada (BB-36). From the battleship collection, the officer table service is particularly prized. It was created from 5,000 ounces of silver mined in Tonopah and highlighted with gold from nearby Goldfield.
One of the most popular exhibits—and usually a first stop for kids—is the mining tunnel, which takes up most of the basement level. Dedicated in 1950, it was designed to give visitors an up-close look at an underground mining operation. (Fair warning to adults: watch your head.) On the second floor, the natural history section features a dizzying display of iconic Silver State creatures like desert bighorn sheep, sage grouse, and Lahontan cutthroat trout. But there’s plenty of prehistoric life as well, including a giant Colombian mammoth excavated from the Black Rock Desert.
Housed in the museum’s newest wing, the “Under One Sky” exhibit presents Native history and culture from the perspective of area tribes—and in their own words. This large-scale experience details daily life for Nevada’s first inhabitants: the foods they collected, the homes they built, and the skills they honed for survival.
But the Mint isn’t the only story the museum has to tell, and its collection has expanded considerably since it was established in 1941. Hundreds of years of accumulated state treasures wait to be explored here, from Nevada’s official state artifacts—including a tule duck decoy—to memorabilia from Nevada’s namesake battleship, the USS Nevada (BB-36). From the battleship collection, the officer table service is particularly prized. It was created from 5,000 ounces of silver mined in Tonopah and highlighted with gold from nearby Goldfield.One of the most popular exhibits—and usually a first stop for kids—is the mining tunnel, which takes up most of the basement level. Dedicated in 1950, it was designed to give visitors an up-close look at an underground mining operation. (Fair warning to adults: watch your head.) On the second floor, the natural history section features a dizzying display of iconic Silver State creatures like desert bighorn sheep, sage grouse, and Lahontan cutthroat trout. But there’s plenty of prehistoric life as well, including a giant Colombian mammoth excavated from the Black Rock Desert.
Housed in the museum’s newest wing, the “Under One Sky” exhibit presents Native history and culture from the perspective of area tribes—and in their own words. This large-scale experience details daily life for Nevada’s first inhabitants: the foods they collected, the homes they built, and the skills they honed for survival.
