Marjorie Barrick Museum in Las Vegas
Minutes away from the Vegas Strip, you’ll find a few hours of calm and relaxation at the Marjorie Barrick Museum , located on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus, between Wright Hall and Lied Library.
Marjorie Barrick came to Nevada in 1951 along with her husband, a real estate developer named Edward Barrick, who was part owner of various casinos, including the Flamingo. She played an essential role in the arts, education and social programs throughout Southern Nevada. While Edward Barrick died in 1979, Marjorie Barrick lived to the age of 90, passing in 2007, leaving behind a rich legacy: She established an endowment at the UNLV, which funds the Barrick Lecture Series, named after her husband. She also was a founding member of the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees and sat on many community boards, which includes the Nevada Ballet Theatre and the Variety Club. Over her lifetime, she received numerous honors, including “Woman of the Year” from the Nevada Dance Theater in 1999, an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 1985, and the renaming of the UNLV’s natural history museum after her in 1989.
The museum itself, though, was founded in 1969, twenty years prior, and is committed to helping people better understand life in the American Southwest, Mesoamerica, and their environment. The cultural collection at the museum includes materials that date from thousands of years ago to the present, including cultural artifacts from the American Southwest and Latin America. A Pre-Columbian collection began in 1979, ten years after the museum opened, from a gift by Dr. Michael C. and Mannetta Braunstein. Today, there’s a collection of objects from almost every culture of Pre-Columbian Latin America, in addition to Mexican dance masks and retablos (a Latin American devotional painting). You’ll see Guatemalan, Bolivian and Navajo textiles, Paiute and Hopi basketry, as well as Navajo jewelry.
Just outside the museum, you’ll discover a 1.5 acre garden, which features plants that are drought-resistant, seemingly perfect for the climate in Nevada, but which come from Australia, Mexico, the Mediterranean, and South America. Together, the garden and museum may act as a place to get away from the lights, bells and whistles of the Strip, and a place to gather your energy for another round at the excitement of the 4 star hotels in Las Vegas and casinos.
The museum is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. It’s closed state and federal holidays. Cost of admission is free, although there is a suggested contribution of five dollars for adults and two dollars for adults, 62 and older.