NEON MUSEUM SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD
INTRODUCES SELF-GUIDED, GENERAL ADMISSION TOURS
Fresh off its fiscal year where a record 200,000 people visited the museum, the Neon Museum has once again expanded its offerings. A new general admission ticket, where visitors can take self-guided tours during daytime hours, has been introduced in an effort to meet public demand. Museum historical interpreters stationed around the exhibition area are available to answer questions while guests are free to explore the more than 200 signs on display at their own pace. General admission tours are currently offered during the day, with available times posted at www.NeonMuseum.com.
“Turning people away from the museum, which was happening on a daily basis, was not an option for us. General Admission is designed to meet the overwhelming demand from visitors who want to see Nevada’s crown jewel,” explained Rob McCoy, Neon Museum president and chief executive officer. “Our visitation is up 58 percent year over year, yet we were still unable to accommodate everyone who came to our doors. While we continue to offer guided tours, and will always offer that option, offering the self-guided experience allows us to host more visitors than we could do with guided tours alone.”
Guests on guided tours spend 45 minutes to an hour learning about the history of sign design and the resorts and businesses they advertised. During the heat of the summer months, guided tours are offered beginning in the early evening continuing through midnight. In addition, this year the museum added “Brilliant!”—the audiovisual, augmented-reality light-and-sound experience that uses projection mapping technology to re-animate 40 non-working signs in the museum’s North Gallery. Brilliant! is showing four times nightly and has also increased capacity to meet demand.
Reservations are recommended for all Neon Museum tours and may be booked online here.
ABOUT THE NEON MUSEUM
Founded in 1996, the Neon Museum is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signs for educational, historic, arts and cultural enrichment. It has been named “Best Museum” by Las Vegas Weekly, one of “Sin City’s Best Retro Sites” by MSN, “No. 1 Las Vegas Museum Sure to Entertain and Educate” by USAToday’s 10best.com, “One of the Top 10 Coolest Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do” by Forbes.com, one of the “Top 10 Historic Spots in Las Vegas” by Vegas.com; one of “15 Most Fascinating Museums in the U.S.” by VacationIdea.com; and earns a consistent 4.5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor. On its 2.27-acre campus, the Neon Museum houses an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard (“boneyard” is traditionally the name for an area where items no longer in use are stored); the North Gallery, home to the nighttime augmented-reality, audiovisual spectacle, “Brilliant!”; the new Boulevard Gallery outdoor exhibit and event space; and its visitors’ center, housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby. The museum collection also includes nine restored signs installed as public art throughout downtown Las Vegas and one restored sign on view at the outdoor Fashion Show Plaza on the Las Vegas Strip. Public education, outreach, research, archival preservation and a grant-funded neon sign survey represent a selection of the museum’s ongoing projects. Both the Neon Boneyard and the La Concha Visitors’ Center are located at 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North in Las Vegas. For tour schedules and pricing information, visit neonmuseum.org.
