From left, Tenzin Turner , 5, and Gia Queeley, 7, learn about water pollution at Water’s Extreme Journey, a water conservation exhibit at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Monday July 31, 2023.
Monday, Aug. 7, 2023 | 2 a.m.
An exhibit that casts visitors as a drop of water trying to navigate a maze, avoid pollutants and make its way to the ocean is running at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.
The Water’s Extreme Journey exhibit by Minotaur Mazes has made the rounds at about 30 museums since 2017.
The exhibit asks visitors to picture themselves as a lone drop of water, powerless to choose where it falls and hoping to make it to the ocean without becoming contaminated by pollution, development, improperly disposed medications and other hazards.
“We thought it was a very appropriate conversation to really nicely complement what the Springs Preserve and the Southern Nevada Water Authority already offer about conservation,” museum Co-Executive Director Kate Porter said.
At key points in the journey, visitors must spin wheels to randomly determine whether they will make it through the maze unscathed.
Porter said adults could probably navigate the maze in about 20 minutes, but families can spend hours exploring the interactive parts of the exhibit.
“I was speaking with somebody (recently) who had come through with her daughter,” Porter said. “Her daughter kept wanting to go back. She was like, ‘I have to make it to the ocean at some point.’ So they get very into it.”
Visitors can get routed through a wetland and learn about the role they play as important ecosystems and natural water filtration systems.
Carlos Jimenez and his 3-year-old daughter, Zoe, recently visited the museum, with the girl obsessing over live sharks in tanks, shark models hanging from the ceiling and pictures of sharks.
Jimenez said he was struck by the fact that only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh.
“Recently when we were filling up our pool, that made me think about how much water we use,” he said. “And we go to Lake Mead to fish and stuff like that, so we’re watching it go down. It does make you think, ‘How much time do we have left here in Vegas?’ ”
The last section of the exhibit encourages visitors to consider water-saving steps they can take at home.
“I think it’s done in a way that kids can consume the information, in talking about little things we can do as a family,” said Tara Raines, who went through the maze with her daughter, her cousin’s daughter and her mother.
“They can see the importance of using their water bottles instead of getting disposable water bottles and things like that,” Raines said.
The exhibit runs through Aug. 27 at the museum at 900 Las Vegas Blvd. N. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For ticket prices and more information, go to lvnhm.org/visit.
