Precise estimates are difficult to make, but countries that have nuclear weapons have exploded around two thousand of these devices on the Earth in about a dozen places. The last such test happened on May 25th in 2005; the test was conducted by North Korea within a few months of the opening of the Atomic Testing Museum in the deserts of Nevada in Las Vegas.

While most people might not think that gambling and atomic bombs go together, they probably haven't taken a moment to head on over to this intriguing museum practically in the center of all the glitter and excitement of the casinos on the Vegas Strip on 755 East Flamingo Road.

The museum was designed to examine the story of nuclear testing in the deserts immediately to the north of Las Vegas, an area called the Nevada Test Site (NTS). While the first tests for the atomic bomb occurred in New Mexico, and later, on the Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific among the Marshall Islands, it wasn't until January of 1951 that the first test happened in Nevada.

The museum's exhibits examine the entire history of the nuclear bomb in the United States, beginning with these tests and then continuing the story to the current day. Inside the United States, 1,054 tests were made of 1,151 bombs, and out of those tests 331 of them were made in the sky (as opposed to underground), and the great majority of these tests were made either at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the South Pacific or at the Nevada Test Site.

An additional ten more tests took place around the country in such places as Amchitka, Alaska, and in Colorado and Mississippi, although the best known tests occurred in New Mexico, which was the site for the original tests of the atom bomb.

Once inside the museum visitors are able to actually experience what it was like to watch a nuclear test in the atmosphere. The museum contains many different types of displays and exhibits, such as Geiger counters, radio badges, and other items that were once used to detect radiation. The museum isn't restricted to the scientific or technical aspects of the atomic bomb. It explores, too, Native American artifacts that were found about the tests sites, and it takes into consideration the cultural impact of the bomb by exploring the mementos of pop culture during the first years of what is now known as the atomic age.

Whether you're staying or going from the grand suites and hotels along the strip, explore this explosive option of things you can do in Vegas.