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    Sparks Heritage Museum

    4.7 (13 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

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    Kimberly N.

    Sparks' best kept secret? Maybe. But I hope that changes because the Sparks Heritage Museum could use some love from visitors. What an interesting place to learn about the history of Sparks and its connection to the railroad. In fact, it seems the city of Sparks was created as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's modernization of the Central Pacific line across Nevada. There are several railroad-related displays and photos. There is also a room that features other historical facts about Sparks, such as the one dedicated to Bertha the elephant, the Nugget's primary attraction back in the day. The biggest surprise was when we entered a room to find a section dedicated to the band, KISS! Full KISS costumes were on display because the costume designer, Pete Menefee, worked on shows at what is now the Grand Sierra Resort, and the band sought him out to design their costumes for a 1979 tour. Who knew? There is also a gift shop where, if you are lucky, you will find some volunteers working like we did. One gentleman that has lived in Sparks a long time graciously shared some stories with us. Like one about the area's own "Coney Island" (Wieland's Park), a resort that used to exist here that featured an artificial lake with boat rentals, a playground, refreshments, and a bandstand. If you enjoy history and are interested in learning more about where we live, check it out!

    We held a welcome reception here for our local event.  We had over 500 librarians.

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    27 days ago

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    Photo of Donald A.
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    12 years ago

    Such a hidden gem. Come on Saturday and get a train tour with admission. Guaranteed to learn something from out little railroad city!

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    11 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Sparks Heritage Museum

    Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the Sparks Heritage Museum is one of the most amazing places to learn about Nevada history.

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    Wilbur D May Center

    Wilbur D May Center

    4.7
    (35 reviews)
    3.8 mi

    This museum is a hidden gem. They're constantly bringing new and exciting exhibitions to our…read morecommunity, specifically those that are geared towards our elementary aged kiddos, which I sincerely appreciate. Most recently we visited Toytopia. This exhibit offers the chance to explore a hands-on history of toys from the past and into the future. My kids loved the oversized robotic claw, reminiscent of an amped up arcade machine. It was a blast trying to get the individually articulating fingers to close around the ball in order to lift it into the basket for the big reward. We also enjoyed the oversized battleship game. So fun to play and we spent 20-30 min there. Mr Potato Head was old school fun too. We made a competition out of it to see who could make the wackiest example. I think I won... or maybe my kids let me win. But the favorite had to be the mini arcade they had setup with some of the best old school cabinets. Donkey Kong, DK Jr., Dig Dug and so many more are all here as part of the exhibit and you could spend a long time here without realizing it! Oh and there's even a Zoltar fortune teller too! When you're done at toytopia you can go learn the history of Wilbur D May on the other side of the museum. I personally love exploring the artifacts and treasures he collected from his travels, especially the hunting and fishing trophies! All in all, a great little place to spend a

    Wonderful experience for my family. Roaming around the gardens and taking a tour of the museum…read more Plenty of places for a picnic on the grounds. Just understand that May was a "big game" hunter when that was not frowned upon as it is now. Many of his "trophies" are found throughout the museum.

    Photos
    The gallery at the Wilbur D May museum. A lovely show out in by the Sierra Watercolor Society. So many incredible paintings. Julie A
    The gallery at the Wilbur D May museum. A lovely show out in by the Sierra Watercolor Society. So many incredible paintings. Julie A
    The gift shop full of beautiful and amazing items from around the country. Julie A
    The gift shop full of beautiful and amazing items from around the country. Julie A
    Wilbur D May Center

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    Coconut Bowl at Wild Island

    Coconut Bowl at Wild Island

    3.8
    (272 reviews)
    2.2 mi

    This place look so much fun plus they close late. The workers here are nice and friendly. I got the…read more3 attraction bundle and it comes with 60 credits for arcade. If I don't use it all that day I purchased it I can save it and come back. I don't like how the go kart stops when someone spins out. I guess it's for safety reasons. The mini golf out door was pretty interesting. Before you go out they have a machine you scan your card to pick what golf ball color you want.

    We had a birthday party here recently. We booked event room 2. It was small and intimate. Most…read moremembers go out to play anyways. The only time it gets crowded is for the food and the cake times. Its best to maybe do them at the same time to help. Really a room may not been needed, but it was easier for the drinks and the food was plenty. We did add two more pizzas to the package. Some of the adults got some beer pitchers. Overall it was nice. Just hectic trying to coordinate everyone to comeback for food and the cake. Most stayed longer and found a table to sit at. Its a bit pricier too. We also cannot bring your own food, it 2 hours is short time. When you amd the kiddos are having fun. So outside food may just complicate things. Foe thoae who don't know. If your child is young you must ride with them in the gokart segments. So you dont need a wrist band. Everything is practically unlimited if you have a wristband though. The only limitations is the tickets you get to play the arcade games. Don't forget to alsonredeem your points after your done. I was overwhelmed as a mother coordinating and hosting, but everyone had a blast. We recommed.it. maybe having a child in grade school more than prior though. So you can let them.hamg with their friends. Then you as a parent can stay in hand ojt the bands and coordinate the food and cake stuff without issues.

    Photos
    Jungle Kart electric black light go kart adventure.
    Jungle Kart electric black light go kart adventure.
    More video games than you can imagine!
    More video games than you can imagine!
    30-player laser tag arena.

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    30-player laser tag arena.
    Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center

    Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center

    3.5
    (62 reviews)
    3.6 mi

    Had a great time at the Fleischmann Planetarium. The planetarium part itself was not necessarily…read morethe biggest or most comfortable one we've been in, but the show we saw, narrated by Diego Luna, about the elemental makeup of the universe, was eye-opening. The real highlight of the place, though, was the museum-quality sci-fi movie and TV show displays they had throughout the building. It was like geek heaven. You could tell it was assembled with a combination of passion for the subject matter and a desire to share as much as possible with visitors. There were tons of obscure and iconic Star Wars-and Star Trek-related items in display cabinets everywhere, as well as a lot of interesting information about science-related human accomplishments through time. It's too much to describe . . . I highly recommend a visit if you're at all interested in anything sci-fi-related. It was fascinating for me; I had a really good time taking in as much as I could learning about meteorites, learning about the T.A.R.D.I.S. from Dr. Who, posing next to the R2-D2, etc. etc. It was great. Parking in the West Stadium Parking Complex was super easy; you just park on the third floor (which is the garage-entrance floor off the main street) and the Planetarium is practically connected right to the garage via a very small walkway/bridge right off the third floor.

    I love this place. Been going since I was a kid. Its a fun different date night. Spend an evening…read morelearning about our skies.

    Photos
    Nicely stocked gift shop.
    Nicely stocked gift shop.
    Star Trek and Star Wats galore.
    Star Trek and Star Wats galore.
    This is what it looks like from the outside.

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    This is what it looks like from the outside.
    The Generator

    The Generator

    4.4
    (29 reviews)
    1.7 mi

    I write this review with mixed emotions. My daughter has attended summer camp here the last two…read moreyears and loved it. The space is amazing, there is a beautiful park across the street, and the teachers were energetic and had plans for each day. Kids used a different medium each day and did sculpting, 3D printing, etc. They went to the park almost every day and made creative projects where they learned a lot, my daughter loved it. This summer has been completely different. From the moment I brought my daughter in on Monday and asked where she should put her stuff and was told, "I don't know, I guess we can try over there?" I could tell there was no coherent plan. I was also told right away it was going to be tough because there are "a lot more students this year" when it seems like the camp is the same size or even smaller than I have observed in years past. Most of the day is spent in "free time" where there are legos and arts and crafts in a room, there is a yellow piece of tape the students are supposed to stay behind and they are kind of left to their own devices. They have gone to the park once. I asked today if they would be going, and I was told by the teacher they didn't want to get left out if it starts pouring, even though it's an unseasonably beautiful day with a high in the low to mid 70s. There is an 8% chance of rain, in the afternoon, and when I said I don't think it's supposed to rain the teacher told me that her phone said "blaring thunderstorms." The only medium the kids have used is plaster and hot glue, and there is no exploring of the space and activities in other parts of the beautiful space like there used to be. The kids are safe, and it's not like anything is horribly wrong, but there is no creativity or coherent plan, and my daughter, who never complains, said it's boring this year and she doesn't want to go back. I brought this up with the teacher and she informed me it's her first time there, and she's "still trying to figure out the camp and what is and isn't allowed." I'm not sure completely what that means, but for the students who signed up for this week, that doesn't do them much good. She also mentioned "Well, we'll be doing a lot more stuff today," which I guess is great, but also an admission they haven't done much, and it's already the last day of the camp for this session. It is a CLEAR case of making things easier for the teachers over prioritizing the experience of the students. Kids need to be safe, but teachers also need to be proactive and creative, and if there are too many kids for this to happen, there needs to be more staff added.

    It's alive! Monster mini golf returned to the generator this October with some of the most exciting…read moreand elaborate mini golf creations ever witnessed. Some of the most creative people in the world called the generator and we get to have all of this right here in our backyard. If you're not familiar, the generator is a maker space that house is numerous independent artists that create works of all shape sizes and mediums . It's also a community of artistic folks who come together to learn and enhance each other creativity and teach each other how to become better and more accomplished artists as well. The resource sharing in the space is magical and the work that comes out of it has put our community on the map in a major way. We are so fortunate to have This organization in our community and if you got to check it out, I urge you to hit their website, find an opportunity and get in there. Even if you don't know what you wanna do you can still just drop in and check it out and see everything that's going on so you can be inspired to dive in a little deeper. Back to the mini golf, though this is an annual event where teams come together to showcase their creativity and encourage others to just come and have a little fun interacting with it. The mini golf course has 18 holes a very themes, all tied back to the Halloween holiday my favorites this year had to be the massive Mount Rose Ski lift and Mountain, which was fully operational. I also loved the haunted house that was a full long walk-through or should I say put through and of course, the cow casino, or CowSino, complete with working slot machine that accepted Candy as coins and paid out a massive sugary jackpot when the bell tolled. The cost to attend is super affordable and it's a great outing for a date night family or just friends hanging out . The generator does a ton of other events throughout the year, so definitely hit their website scope out the calendar and get involved .

    Photos
    Ghost
    Ghost
    The Generator
    The Generator

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    Sparks Heritage Museum - museums - Updated August 2026

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