Springs Preserve

I have a yearly membership so everytime my grandkids are in town visiting we visit the Spring Preserve. Each and every visit is different. They get excited to see if there are any new exhibits.All the staff are very kind and have a smile to share when they cross your path.

Springs Preserve is located on Valley View and Alta. They were offering Free admission for local residents on Nevada Day, which is a legal holiday celebrated on the last Friday of October. Nevada is the only unique state who continuously celebrates its historical entry into the Union.Pricing for General admission ($18.95 adults) still applies to out of state visitor. Children ages 2 and under are Free. They do offer senior and military discount. Free parking is available at the Preserve and at Meadows Mall.Upon entrance, Carl was the person in charge of directing traffic flow pointing towards two pathways, locals stay on the left side and visitors go on the right. Check-in with Natalie was flawless.The family fun day began around 10am. Activities include hands-on learning, arts and crafts, museum and garden explorations.We experienced Nevada Ghost Town Storytime in the Majestic Theatre at Boomtown 1905, it's captivating listening to various stories of rough-and-tumble ghost towns. They had Live Trivia in the WaterWorks courtyard with Pub-style quiz on facts about Nevada. The Teaching Garden is a fun place to create a seed ball using native Nevada wildflower seeds.Inside the Origen Museum, they had a craft activity to make the Nevada State Insect, which is the Vivid Dancer Damselfly. We even explored all the offerings in the museum including the exhibit for "Nevada Reflections: The Silver State in Black and White." They have a nice gift shop! There's several activities happening, such as a Nevada Flag Game in the Cottonwood Room, where we pin the state's symbols in correct places on the flag and learn what the symbols mean. There's even a Nevada License Plate Gallery and we crafted our own license plate. They had a puzzle activity to learn about the different nicknames attributed to Nevada.The Garden Classroom Amphitheater offered experience panning for gold (iron pyrite). It's like recreating the early days of Nevada where the territory started by placer mining for heavy metals near the Comstock Lode.There's a Butterfly Habitat. At the Frame House, we learn about the endangered Mt. Charleston blue butterfly. Inside Nevada State Museum are additional crafts and discoveries, a surprise pop-up in the gallery, and a new exhibit called "Mapping Nevada: Tracing Nevada's Statehood Through Maps." The event timeline is super useful! From 9am to 4pm in the Education Room is hands-on learning and activities, including the museum's collection of artifacts and fossils. At 11am in the Orientation Room, Maggie Gaspar offers insights from her book, "Past & Present: Las Vegas" and we learn about how Las Vegas has changed over the years. From 1pm to 3pm in the Education Room, local folk-artist Vanessa Maciel teaches us how to get crafty. We were able to create our own replica of the official Nevada state artifact, which is the Tule Duck Decoy, so fun!In the Primrose Gallery, they had a Nevada Wildlife Art Exhibit with artist Shauna Walch on site. We explored the art exhibit for "What are the Species in Your Neighborhood?"The special event had food trucks throughout the Botanical Garden and Desert Living Center area. Food options include Glo Cone Novelty, Waffle Cafe, Fruit Fusion, and Don Carnitas. Live entertainment from DJ So Hype was at the Springs Amphitheater, along with community vendors and informational booths. Overall, the experience is truly educational and rewarding! It's definitely a fun-filled day of exploring and learning. It was nice meeting Mojave Max, who is a real live Desert Tortoise residing at Springs Preserve, he is the official mascot for Clark County Desert Conservation Program.

The Preserve has gone through some amazing remodeling and expansion since the last time I visited (it's been years) and I'm impressed. The Botanical Garden has been expanded with more scenic views and features such as gazebos and 'learning gardens' with scheduled events (sometimes free, others for a fee).I visited in late Fall and there are some flowers at the time of my visit. I did not go into the museums or see the train during this visit, as I was here for a free gardening class and to walk the garden.The parking is easily accessed, free, and when I was visiting there was plenty of parking available. While there I got lost for a few minutes attempting to find my way back to the entrance/exit. I followed some other visitors and within a few minutes found my way to the gift shop/restaurant building then was able to find my way back to the entrance/exit. Other than getting 'lost' for a few minutes, I still enjoyed myself. I shall return, and might even purchase a membership as I'm very curious to visit the museums and see the train.

What a cool place to bring the family! There are lots of cool exhibits and places for kids to be hands on and run around. There is a beautiful nature trail and lots of educational activities. My family will definitely be getting a year pass when our little one is old enough. I highly recommend it for a family day. Big discounts for Nevada locals!

A lovely place for a walk. Lots to see here at Springs Preserve. From their website, the Springs Preserve is a "180-acre cultural institution designed to commemorate Las Vegas' dynamic history and to provide a vision for a sustainable future."We visited the Nevada State Museum and various parts of Springs Preserve, including the Water Works facility explaining how water gets collected and into our homes, BoomTown area that is a replica of Old Town, gardens, and the Butterfly Habitat!

We visited for the first time during the day time (the last time we visited it was night time and it was for a holiday). Looking at my previous review, we were here in 2010. Parking was different, there were solar panels galore, which is a great thing. It was packed. We almost didn't find a spot. We had a pass for 6 to enter, so we went to the box office.We went to the Butterfly Habitat. Listen to their rules. And watch your step. It was pretty neat to see. Beautiful. When we left there was a really long line. We checked out the rose garden & the vegetable garden (for the butterflies). Pretty flowers. We checked out Boomtown. That was by train. Very cool. Some of the homes were open, but some were not. We took the train back.The pretty building was the NV Energy Sustainability. There were crystals. But it closed so we didn't get to check it out. We also checked out the live animals & the flash flood demo. Neat. Very big. This was the coolest part along with the Butterfly Habitat.I spent the last 8 minutes in the Nevada State Museum. Pretty cool. Dinosaurs, mining, gaming, the area animals were featured.There were playgrounds & bathrooms. We didn't get to check out Water Works.We ran out of time! It's huge. We definitely got our steps in!

This was a nice place to visit on a casual Sunday, however it truly felt like a place you come once and never feel the need to visit again. The butterfly house was smaller than I was expecting. It was primarily run by very helpful and knowledgeable volunteers. It was easily my favorite place within the Springs Preserve We toured the museum and animal exhibits after. Most animals were either not in their exhibits or sleeping/hiding. The museum it's self was okay, there was some interactive activities for kids! We enjoyed the gift shop and the different short movies playing throughout the building.

Great staff! Great place to walk around and do something for locals. Spent around more than two hours around the preserve with lots to see. Unfortunately the butterfly terrarium is not open til April but was nice weather with lots to see!

Those who live in Las Vegas know there is no time quite like Vegas time. In that sense, may seem like there are never enough hours in a day. Yet there is always plenty of time for the important things. Perhaps that best defines Special Time Preservation. Christmas in July. Summertime Halloween. Veterans Day when missions are accomplished. Sundays when time for rest. A melting pot of different times adjoining under one lifetime. Perhaps you might call that Plant time. A Valen Time gift of desert plants and desserted chicken fingers.

The Springs Preserve is one of my favorite local attractions. The property contains a botanical garden, seasonal butterfly habitat, the WaterWorks exhibit, historic Boomtown 1905 (a recreation of an early Las Vegas streetscape), train rides & walking trails, Springs Cafe (which has amazing views of the Las Vegas Valley), and two museums: Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas + Origen Museum. I'm a proud member of the Springs Preserve, and it's where I learned most of my fun facts about Southern Nevada. Did you know that the Las Vegas Valley has 10 distinct plant communities and more biodiversity than entire states in the US? :)