I tried to make best use of my time here (though failed miserably, I think!) and wanted to see a couple of the paid attractions on my "least busy" day, before trying to cram in various "free" attractions, whenever I can in the next few days - though when, exactly, I will get to report on them all I am not sure!
So I made my way to Springs Preserve, and then eventually, on to the Stratosphere Tower.
One place that is completely different from the usual "food with gambling", "attraction with gambling", "hotel with gambling", "airport with gambling", is the Springs Preserve.
This is a "desert living" museum/attraction/gardens, recognising the impact of water on Las Vegas and the surrounding desert. It may not be known to you, for example, that the original settlement in Las Vegas (which means "the meadows" in Spanish) had plenty of water for its needs provided by natural springs. In time these springs have dried up completely, but Las Vegas, like any city, still needs water - lots of it.
The Springs Preserve has tons of hands-on activities for the younger kids and a lot of educational content (though interestingly presented) for older kids and adults. There were also interesting exhibits, beautiful desert gardens, and animals. The emphasis of the whole place in on water preservation and sustainability in general. One of the major parts of the museum won all kinds of green awards for the way that it was designed to make maximum use of its shape, shade etc to reduce its energy and water usage. I learned a lot, including the fact that the hotels and resort in Las Vegas are actually very good at preserving, recycling and reusing their water (even the ones with the big fancy fountains). Homeowners use the most water, and typically use more than 90% of their water on their gardens!
Particularly interesting for kids is the Nature Exchange where kids can bring in natural artifacts and trade them in for other objects that may interest them. This is a Canadian idea suggested by Science North in Sudbury, and now embraced by several museums and zoos in North America.
I rushed though everything in around 2 hours. A family would probably want to set aside 2-3 hours minimum. It was a nice place and I would definitely recommend it. It is not on the Strip or near downtown. It is less than 10 miles from any of the downtown or strip hotels, and can be reached relatively easily with public transportation, though taking a taxi is much more practical (and door-to-door).
