Hearing Las Vegas, the first thing that comes to mind are the dazzling casinos, the many grand adult shows and world-famous Strip. However, there is no need to hesitate if you wish to plan a family trip to the city, as the American entertainment capital offers plenty of attractions and experiences that can be had as a family.
Experiencing Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory is a fantasy every child has had at some point in time. In Vegas, you can fulfill this dream till some point, through a visit to the Hershey’s Chocolate World. At the store, visitors learn how chocolate is made and a theatrical show introduces them to the art and most importantly the science behind the creation of this delight. It is marketed as a family experience and visitors can learn how to make their own candy by choosing their own flavours as well as designing their wrappers.
If your family is geared towards adventure, you can visit the Red Rock Canyon, situated 16 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. It is a National Conservation Area that offers a host of activities pertaining to natural vistas. The Canyon is most famous for its 13-mile scenic drive, picnic spots, ample photography, as well as climbing and hiking trails. You can spend an entire day here, taking in the majestic views of the rock and engage in a hoard of activities like mountain biking, horseback riding, road biking as well as the indoor and outdoor exhibits that they have created for the area.
One of the major attractions near the Strip, the Bellagio Fountains have pre-decided display times for the weekday and weekends. Monday to Friday, the fountains shoot up every 30 minutes from 3pm to 7pm and every 15 minutes from 7pm to midnight. On weekends the timings go from 12pm to 7pm.
One of the most Instagrammable places in the world, you can understand the scale of the most popular free show on the Strip from the fact that the fountains are set in a 9-acre lake and around 1,200 sprayers are used to shoot water upto 460 feet. The dance of the fountain is to a number of iconic songs like Presley’s Viva Las Vegas and Sinatra’s Fly Me to The Moon
Your fun trip can be duly incorporated with a fun educational experience for the kids, with a visit to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. It is an oasis of slow-paced adventure, as you self-guide your way through a collection of life sized replicas of dinosaurs, experience the famous centre piece of the Treasures of Egypt gallery and indulge in wildlife exhibits showcasing various animals like deer, birds, reptiles, mammals, bison and antelopes.
Invoking curiosity and thinking is a big part of the museum’s agenda and at the Young Scientists Centre, children can dress up as paleontologists and microbiologists and dig through fossils to spark their interests.
The Wax Museum, located at the Las Vegas Strip at the Venetian Las Vegas Casino Resort, was the first wax museum to open in the United States in 1999. The life-like figures at the museum include sports celebrities, musical legends, Marvel superheroes, and other public figures from various fields, all in fun settings that allow you to take clever selfies. It is dubbed as the world’s greatest wax museum and is open everyday from 10 am to 8pm. Since it is located on the Strip, you can club the visit with the Bellagio fountains and then catch a nice family dinner as the sun sets over Nevada.