Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Did you know that Las Vegas was once located beneath an ancient sea? It may be hard to believe, but it's true, and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum proves it in a fun and education exhibit.

The Natural History Museum is much larger than it first appears, housing more than half a dozen unique exhibits. From the African savannah to desert life and Nevada's prehistoric past, the museum has it all covered.

From the moment you step into the Marine Life Gallery it is as if you have stepped into the depths of the ocean itself. Dark and murky, the room is filled with sharks, whales, stingrays, dolphins and other sea creatures suspended from the ceiling and walls. Numerous aquariums are filled with a variety of fish and eels and there is even a 3,000-gallon live shark tank housing bamboo sharks, Port Jackson sharks and California round stingrays.

An adjoining room features various exhibits on sharks including a shark cage and an exhibit devoted to the great white shark and its ancestor, carcharodon megalodon, including life-sized replicas of each shark's jaws. Also on display is a collection of items - a shoe, an unopened bottle of wine, soda cans and even a license plate - found in the bellies of various tiger sharks, known for eating just about anything.

Lining one wall of the room are 12 small aquariums housing frog fish, lobster, blind cave fish, a red-eared slider turtle, koi and more. Two more aquariums located nearby contain a shark egg hatchery and a shark nursery.

At the Snake Pit, a large glass enclosure houses a pair of burmese pythons, aptly named Bonnie and Clyde. A size chart over the case shows the lengths of other well-known snakes such as the reticulated python (29-45 feet) and the anaconda (25-30 feet). According to the chart, resident reptiles Bonnie and Clyde could eventually reach lengths of up to 25 feet each.

As you make the move from modern reptiles to prehistoric dinosaurs, you come across and extraordinary display of the phobosuchus, also known as the "terrible crocodile." Reaching lengths of up to 50 feet and with teeth measuring up to four inches long, the phobosuchus is also one of the oldest alligator ancestors.

The centerpiece of the dinosaur exhibit is a very lifelike depiction of a tyrannosaurus rex going head-to-head with a triceratops. Meanwhile, off to the side, a deinonychus emits a sinister clicking noise at you, never dropping its gaze.

A collection of fossilized dinosaur tracks found in St. George, Utah as well as fossilized dinosaur eggs from the Henan Province in China are on display. All the while, a deadly allosaurus towers overhead as a talarurus guards its nest of hatchlings nearby.

In 1977, the ichthyosaur was designated as the Nevada State Fossil. This was later amended in 1989 to specify the shonisaurus popularis, probably the largest of all of the ichthyosaurs. Reaching lengths up to 50 feet, ichthyosaur fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica. A notable and fascinating exhibit has been dedicated to the "lizard fish" within the museum.

Another museum section details prehistoric sharks including the heliocoprion, scapanorhynchus and stethacanthus in addition to numerous prehistoric whales.

Adjacent to the Dinosaur Gallery, the Young Scientist Center provides a hand-on learning experience for museum guests, young and old alike. From unearthing fossils of starfish, amphibian skulls, shark teeth and clam shells in a sandbox to observing a paleontology lab, there is always something waiting to be discovered.

Down the hall, the Wild Nevada Gallery includes plant and animal life indigenous to Southern Nevada. The exhibit is highly interactive, allowing you touch coyote fur and smell the scent of a badger. Scattered throughout the Wild Nevada Gallery are a series of headsets with recorded information on cacti, desert survival and medicinal plants. The room is also home to lifelike renderings of bighorn sheep, coyotes and a black-tailed jack rabbit as well as other desert animal life.

Another room plays homage to mining in Nevada and features numerous fluorescent minerals including sodalite, fluorite, celestite and calcite. On display are rocks and minerals found in Nevada such as sulfur, gypsum, pyrite and turquoise.

The Out of Africa exhibit is located downstairs. It features the white rhinoceros, water buck, hippopotamus, cheetah, spotted hyena, wart hog, zebra and lion. Nearby, an African rain forest display uses sound and light to give visitors a unique view into this extremely unusual environment from the forest floor to nocturnal habits and of course, rainfall.

Outside of the museum, a small outdoor patio area overlooks the Old Mormon Fort providing a great spot to take a lunch break or just relax. The museum is quite expansive and thorough, so a little rest may be just what you need. And don't forget to pick up a souvenir or two at the small gift shop on your way out.

-- Review by Noelani Jones