Nevada has a colourful, eccentric history, which can be discovered through the multitude of museums and galleries bursting with uncommon facts and fascinating cultural exhibits. From gold rush history to ghostly encounters, cowboy capers to mafia mob-stars, there’s a museum, and a story, for every side of the Silver State.
Immerse into the past by exploring these Nevada museums…
Make tracks to Nevada Northern Railway Museum
Experience a hands-on history experience at Ely’s Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Less like a traditional museum, here visitors can experience a living breathing railyard, complete with preserved exhibits, a working machine shop and a variety of seasonal and themed rides on vintage locomotives. For a complete immersive experience, visitors can engineer a train for the day, controlling the throttle of one of the original steam or diesel locomotives.
Retro glory at The Neon Museum
What began as a retirement village for defunct neon signs is now home to The Neon Museum, with more than 200 rescued pieces, each an icon plucked straight from the colourful story of Las Vegas. Daily tours explore the nearly two-acre outdoor Neon Boneyard, which is headquartered in the lobby of the former La Concha Motel, lovingly restored and recreated on the museum grounds.
Explore the dark side of the law
Discover the engrossing stories of a long-lost underworld at The Mob Museum in Las Vegas, which delivers an interactive journey through one of America’s most dangerously intriguing chapters. The Museum offers a provocative look at this era through hundreds of artefacts and immersive exhibits. Don’t miss visiting the site’s basement distillery and speakeasy serving Prohibition-era craft cocktails.
Sidle up in cowboy style
Nevada has a vibrant ranching history, no more evident than in Elko, home to The Cowboy Arts & Gear Museum showcasing the past to present traditions of the region’s cowboy culture. Explore the interpretive exhibits and see craftsmanship on display with a private collection of antique saddles, bridles, harnesses and world-famous “bit and spurs” made by legendary Nevadan, G.S. Garcia. One of the many thematic stops while discovering northern Nevada’s Cowboy Corridor road trip (Highway 80).
Creepy capers on an overnight lock-in
For a spirited experience, The Washoe Club & Haunted Museum is thought to be one of the most haunted locations of America’s west. Located in the heart of Virginia City’s bustling C Street, the historic saloon has been repeatedly featured on ghost-hunting television shows including the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters. A legitimately creepy crypt and museum offers daily ghost tours and overnight lock-ins to experience the creepy claims first-hand.
World-class exhibition in the heart of Reno
Nevada Museum of Art is located between Downtown’s Riverwalk and hip, bustling Midtown, and is the only art museum in Nevada accredited by the American Alliance of Museums—putting it in the same club as The Met in New York and San Francisco’s MoMA. Set over three floors, with more than 1,500 paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings and prints showcased on permanent and rotating exhibits.
Ancient history at The Lost City
Built on the actual prehistoric site of the Ancestral Puebloans, the Lost City Museum tells the stories of Nevada’s first permanent residents between AD200 to AD1200. Tools, pottery, and other artefacts— recovered from the on-site excavation pit—offer a glimpse of Puebloan life in the region for centuries, while basketry and contemporary regional art highlight lasting links between culture, then and now.
A celebration of Nevada’s natural and cultural heritage
Nevada State Museum is located in Carson City in the former United States Mint building. First opening its doors as a public cultural space in 1941, the museum focuses on educational programs and exhibits that showcase and preserve the state’s unique heritage and identity, from prehistoric times, to American Indian culture, the glory days of silver mining, and beyond.
Golden history in Goldfield
Goldfield was once the largest town in Nevada with a population of 20,000, setting up home to search for their riches and strike gold in the early 1900s. Discover this rich past with impressive displays and relics at the Goldfield Visitors Centre, located off the Free Range Art Highway. Meet the volunteers who share stories of famed gunslingers and ladies of the night during the town’s booming past.
Self-explore a silver history
Unearth the history of one of Nevada’s most famous silver mining towns at the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. The fully interactive park sprawls over more than 100 acres and—unlike the thousands of abandoned mining features throughout the Silver State—provides a unique opportunity to safely self-explore the historic mining ruins with an array of geology exhibits, historical photos and original relics.
