Things to Do in Spring Valley

The 8,000-square-foot National Atomic Testing Museum, located just off the Strip, unveils the fascinating history of the famed Nevada test site. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a growing collection of permanent and special exhibitions. Boots quake as visitors experience a simulated atomic blast, and another exhibit details the Manhattan Project, the U.S.'s massive undertaking to create the first atomic bomb. Firsthand accounts of nuclear tests put museum-goers in the shoes of blast eyewitnesses; there's also a poignant exhibit that includes a 6-foot I-beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. The museum volunteer tour guides act as exhibit interpreters, encouraging hands-on exploration and teaching how to divide atoms using nothing more than a good set of kitchen cutlery.

Producer and V Theater owner David Saxe was born into Vegas show business, raised by a mother who danced at Les Folies Bergere and a father who led the band for the Rat Pack. The Saxe family’s entertainment legacy continues with the V Theater. The venue runs its 12 concurrent shows in a 40,000-square-foot space divided into four showrooms on multiple floors, each retaining an intimate feeling with seating that brings the audience closer to performers. The V Theater’s current shows range from a seven-act, family-friendly Ultimate Variety Show to Marc Savard’s Comedy Hypnosis, where Savard persuades audience members to hilariously dance, act like animals, and ghostwrite his autobiography.