Fodor's Expert Review National Atomic Testing Museum

Today's Las Vegas is lighted by neon and LED, but during the Cold War, uranium and plutonium illuminated the area from time to time as well in the form of a roiling mushroom cloud in the distance. This museum, in association with the Smithsonian, commemorates southern Nevada's long and fascinating history of nuclear weapons research and testing with film footage and photographs of mushroom clouds; testimonials; and artifacts (including a deactivated bomb, twisted chunks of steel, and bomb-testing machinery from the Nevada Test Site). The museum also pays homage to the sometimes frightening, sometimes comical treatment of "the bomb" in pop culture, and occasionally hosts guest speakers and special events.

The museum has virtual tours of the 1,375-square-mile Nevada National Security Site (larger than the state of Rhode Island) and is the starting point for occasional group tours of the area, which used to be the spot in the desert where the government tested atomic bombs. The site is 65 miles northwest of Downtown. There are plenty of restrictions, and live tours book as much as a year ahead, with museum donors getting first pass.