The New Nevada State Museum sparkles...

Last week Downtown celebrated the up and coming cultural attractions like the MOB Museum, the Neon Museum, the Discovery Children's Museum, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the new City Hall and of course Zappos, but we forgot one of the most important museums in the community, the new Nevada State Museum. After two long years and a financial push from the state legislature the new state museum is finally opening at the end of the month.

Located in the heart of the Springs Preserve, the new state museum (formerly located at Lorenzi Park) is a welcome addition to the sprawling 180 acre park. Not just can you experience the very location that gave Las Vegas its name but you can walk the desert gardens and enjoy two museums in the middle of a bustling urban landscape. With stunning views of the city its amazing to think that this preserve survived almost unscathed from Las Vegas' addiction to pavement.

Though I got a sneak peek at the new museum last year, I finally got a chance to see the final product Saturday during a special members only event and boy was I was blown out of the desert. It was great to see all my museum colleagues giddy as children in a candy store. I could tell right off the bat that that everyone was happy to see the museum open and ready to tell the world the important story that is the Nevada experience in the west. Heck just seeing the bell from the USS Nevada on display brought tears to my eyes and made me feel very proud of my native state.

Sandra Harris, Liberace Foundation Trustee
and Mark Hall Patton, Clark County
Museum Administrator enjoying the
Showgirl exhibit at the Nevada State Museum 

The exhibitions are beautifully laid out and the use of the space is stunning. The exhibitions are contemporary, with clean lines and easy to navigate and understand. The museum is definitely world class and it adds yet another exciting cultural offering in a city on the cusp of being a world class cultural arts destination.

The New Nevada State Museum opens to the public on Saturday October 29.

Nevada State Museum at the Springs Preserve
309 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89107
702-486-5205
http://museums.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=427&Itemid=438

The Springs Preserve
333 S. Valley View Blvd.
Open Daily From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
http://www.springspreserve.org

Brian Paco Alvarez enculturating Las Vegas into the millennium...