 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
The Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs operates seven State Museums in Nevada, with one located at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas. Each of the seven museums contain items that are found throughout the State, plus regional items that are specific to the local areas. We visited the museum in Las Vegas.
Located in front of the museum is a sesquicentennial time capsule containing items from 1864-2014. The time capsule is scheduled to be opened on Nevada Day, October 31, 2064.
The current museum building opened in October 2011 and contains 70,000 square-feet of space. It is twice as large as the previous building and it is already too small and overcrowded.
Bristlecone Pine trees are the oldest living thing on Earth, with some trees that are more than 4,900 years old. One of the trees from nearby Mount Charleston is found in the lobby. The trees only grow at high altitudes and can withstand harsh conditions with cold weather, drought, and high winds. Nevada's State tree is the Bristlecone Pine.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
There were various exhibits and display cases in the lobby, but the one that I found most interesting was a picture of what appear to be space aliens. There was no descriptive caption with the picture; but I suspected the picture was taken at Area 51. Area 51 is a highly classified top secret area just north of Las Vegas that does not exist, according to the government.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Photographer Unknown |
Museum visitors are greeted at the entrance by a large mammoth. I'm not sure where the mammoth was discovered; but Ice Age Fossils State Park is located in North Las Vegs, so it may be from that location. A set of mammoth teeth are also on display.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
Some of the more popular fossil exhibits are a Shasta Ground Sloth, Pacific Horse, and Ichthyosaur. The almost complete Shasta Ground Sloth was found in a cave on Devil's Peak.
Starting about 55 million years ago, there were many different kinds of horses in what is now Western United States, but they all became extinct about 10,000 years ago. The wild mustangs now found in Nevada are decedents of horses that came from Europe in the 16th century and escaped, or were let loose, by early explorers.
The ichthyosaur is Nevada's State Fossil. It lived during the Triassic Period 225 million years ago and ate fish, squid, ammonites, and other sea creatures. They grew to be 65 feet long. The ichthyosaur on display is 48-feet long and was found at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
Artifacts from early Indian tribes have been found dating back about 9,400 years. It is difficult to travel any place in Nevada without finding traces of early Indian occupation. The list of tribes that lived in what is now Nevada is extensive.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
The natural history part of the museum contained a small sampling of the various animals, reptiles, birds, and insects found in Nevada.
Early western explorers had no maps of what is now Nevada because it was part of Mexico until 1848. Explorers and trappers followed animal paths, Indian trails, and waterways. John C. Fremont was the first to map the Great Basin region and was the person to realize that the Great Basin has no outlet to an ocean and only drains internally. In 1844, Fremont camped at Las Vegas Springs, which is the first published record of Las Vegas.
Fur trappers were the first European residents to enter the Nevada area, followed by prospectors, and then settlers. Prospectors found a wide variety of minerals and soon Nevada became know for its gold, silver, and copper mines.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
Once the trains arrived, settlers brought all of the latest farm equipment and household items to Nevada.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
At various times, a number of famous people called Nevada their home. Samuel Clemens came to Nevada to join his brother Orion as a miner; but due to a lack of success, he went to work as a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise newspaper in Virginia City. He found success in the publishing industry and wrote books and articles under the pen name of Mark Twain.
 |
| Photographer Unknown |
Nevada was the 36th state to be admitted to the Union (October 31, 1864), and has a number of nicknames - "Silver State," "Battle Born State," "Sagebrush State," and "Sage-hen State." "Silver State" comes from the many silver mines in Nevada and "Battle Born State" references Nevada becoming a state during the Civil War. "Battle Born" appears on the Nevada state flag.
The United States needed money to fight the Civil War, so President Lincoln was instrumental in Nevada becoming a state. After being admitted to the Union, Nevada contributed $400 million to the U.S. treasury. Nevada means "snowy" in Spanish, referring to the snow on Nevada's Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
 |
| Photographer Unknown |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
During WW II, Nellis Air Force Base (current name) was used as gunnery school training center. It is now home of the Air Force Thunderbirds and a training area for aerial combat.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
Bugsy Siegel is usually credited with making Las Vegas famous. Siegel was a gangster from New York that came to Las Vegas to control the mob's horse race wire business and other gaming ventures. While in Las Vegas he helped secure mob funds to build the Flamingo Hotel that was located outside of Las Vegas on vacant land known as "The Strip" of road that went to California. The Flamingo Hotel had numerous cost overruns and a poor opening, so the mob had Siegel killed. However, the Flamingo turned out to be a very profitable venture and soon other new hotel/casinos were built in downtown Las Vegas and along "The Strip." Las Vegas soon became a destination location for Hollywood actors and other celebrities from around the world. Elaborate entertainment productions became popular that featured showgirls and dancers. Las Vegas quickly became a 24/7 city. Mob interests were driven out of Las Vegas in the 1980s and the hotel/casinos are now operated as legitimate businesses'. When the Folies Bergere closed, they donated their 8,000 piece costume archive to the museum.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
Movie actor Rex Bell married actress Clara Bow in 1931 and they purchased the Walking Box Ranch south of Las Vegas near Searchlight. Over the years, many Hollywood celebrities stayed at Bell's ranch. Later in life, Bell became interested in community activities and politics and became Lieutenant governor of Nevada in 1955. A number of Bell's items are on display in the museum.
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
 |
| Picture by Kolohe |
Las Vegas is also know as the Wedding Capital of the United States with currently about 114,000 weddings performed each year (about 312 per day). This is down from a few years ago.
 |
| Photographer Unknown |
In 1999, Oscar Goodman, who was the mob attorney that hitorically represented some of the leading organized crime figures in Las Vegas, was elected Las Vegas City Mayor. After serving 12 years, his wife was elected for 13 more years. The two mayors are credited with making Las Vegas a leading travel world destination. The woman in the picture with Mayor Oscar Goodman designed the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign.
 |
| Photographer Unknown |
No comments:
Post a Comment