Some places grow with you. Visit them as a kid and they are playgrounds. Come back as an adult, and they’re a lesson, a refuge and a reminder to slow down and look around.
Flash flood exhibit
On a recent visit, Springs Preserve turned out to be both. “Please watch your head as you get into the trolley,” the driver says. Naturally, I ignore the warning and bump my forehead on the roof. My mom laughs, the kid across from me joins in and before the trolley leaves the station, I’m laughing, too. That’s the funny thing about this urban oasis—it makes it surprisingly easy to remember how to be a kid.
Come for the wonder
Dino Safari
If I hand the map to my inner five-year-old, the day begins at the Dino Safari inside the Origen Museum. Upon opening the heavy front doors, I’m greeted by the breeze of air conditioning and the towering presence of an animatronic Amargasaurus. My wandering feet naturally lead me to the exhibit with more of these tall freaks. I’m mesmerized by the size, magnitude and detail used to paint this prehistoric picture.
Next door, I witness the power of a flash flood. The real water simulation rushes 5,000 gallons of water through canyon walls and below our feet all while being surrounded by the sounds and flashes of thunderstorms. Outside, a splash pad invites kids looking for relief from the heat. It’s big enough to find new friends and burn off energy.
Staying indoors to beat the afternoon heat, I head to the WaterWorks Museum. At first expecting a boring explainer about local water systems, I found myself engaging thanks to the hands-on science. After sliding into a white lab coat and protective goggles, I toggle with a microscope to examine water contaminants and gasp when I zoom into the rods and nodes of god knows what. Out on the main floor, I pause to take in the photo mural depicting the lowering water level of Lake Mead levels, and even a kid can recognize just how desperate that reality is becoming.
Stay for the serenity
The funny thing about coming back to Springs Preserve as an adult is realizing the place was never really built for just kids.
At Boomtown 1905
The life-size Boomtown 1905 replica hums with old-time saloon tunes drifting through hidden speakers while the cicadas provide the real soundtrack. Kids sprint between the mercantile and the railroad cottages as their parents trail behind, reading the signs and soaking in the history. I pace myself and try to imagine my life in these frontier times.
I wander back to air conditioning through desert trails. The Mojave isn’t flashy. Its beauty asks you to slow down long enough to notice the geometry of a cactus, the stubborn elegance of plants that somehow make a life out of rock and relentless sunshine. Every few minutes, a lizard darts across the path like it has somewhere more important to be.
Boomtown 1905
By the time I reach the café, the temperature has climbed into triple digits. An iced vanilla latte offers solace. Through wide windows, hummingbirds bounce between flowering shrubs while quail disappear into the brush below.
Inside the cool of the Nevada State Museum, a towering Columbian mammoth and the great Ichthyosaur fossil remind me that Las Vegas has always been a place of reinvention. Long before railroads or casinos, there were oceans, giants and landscapes that look nothing like the city outside.
SPRINGS PRESERVE 333 S. Valley View Blvd., 702-822-7700, springspreserve.org. Thursday-Monday, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!
