Beloved ‘Water World’ children’s museum exhibit gets refresh

In Las Vegas, every decade brings more innovation in water conservation than the last — a lesson that children have long learned inside the city’s discovery museum.

Whether children go to splash around or to truly soak up wisdom about water in the West, the Discovery Children’s Museum’s “Water World” exhibit has been a staple for decades. This year, museum employees agreed it was time for an update to the messaging.

The exhibit teaches young people — who don bright yellow raincoats to keep clothes dry and parents happy — about how their water starts off as snow in the Rocky Mountains and eventually flows down through the Colorado River into Lake Mead. It’s a chance to learn about hydropower generation from Hoover Dam, too, topped off with a flashy Las Vegas sign.

“We are Las Vegas, so we like to make a splash,” Melissa Kaiser, CEO of the museum, said as children giggled and swished water around behind her.

The museum opened its Symphony Park location in March 2013, making the move from a building in Las Vegas’ Cultural Corridor. But one nonnegotiable for the new space was Water World, Kaiser said.

It perfectly encapsulates the mission of a discovery museum, she said: a harmony between fun and learning.

“We had a water exhibit in our old location that was so popular,” Kaiser said. “It was decided, as we dreamed up this museum, that water would be a part of this building, as well.”

Water conservation at a new level

The irony of Water World has been that it’s not as water-efficient as it could be.

Nearly every drop of water used indoors in Las Vegas is treated and sent back to Lake Mead. Still, Kaiser said reducing loss to evaporation as much as possible and making the museum a more responsible water steward will be integral to the message of the new exhibit.

Its current water consumption falls between 650 and 1,300 gallons of water a week, depending on the time of year, said Gary Haleamau, the museum’s vice president of operations. But the updated filtration system will hold about 300 gallons of water that Haleamau hopes will only need to be refilled once a month.

“It’s basically a pool filter on steroids,” Haleamau said.

What’s new in Water World?

There have been some changes in local messaging around water conservation since the museum’s opening in 2013, so staff worked with the Southern Nevada Water Authority to make needed changes.

Aside from new flooring, the exhibit will be arranged based on data that staff has observed about which parts are most popular. But perhaps the biggest shift is a stronger emphasis on water-smart desert landscaping choices.

The Nevada Legislature outlawed so-called “nonfunctional grass” in 2021, starting a process where the Las Vegas Valley would remove grass without a recreational purpose by the end of 2026, such as grass in road medians. The water authority incentivizes homeowners to remove grassy lawns in favor of desert landscaping, whether that’s rocks or artificial turf.

It’s all a part of a larger push to reduce Nevada’s water use to 86 gallons per person per day, which officials have determined is ideal for the long-term sustainability of Southern Nevada.

This concept will manifest itself in a portion that will present three types of lawns and how much water each of them uses, said Laura Christian, the museum’s vice president of learning experiences.

To Christian, it was important to have up-to-date statistics about how Las Vegas’ immense growth over the past decade hasn’t slowed down the pace of Southern Nevada’s water conservation goals.

“Every time we put that message out there, the community is surprised,” Christian said. “Everyone’s hearing about the bathtub ring and this drastic need for water in our state, but we’re shining a light on the fact that we’re leading in water conservation efforts.”

Receding water levels have left a white ring of mineral deposits, or “bathtub ring,” around the shoreline of Lake Mead.

A March 2025 launch

The new and improved Water World will make its debut in March, just in time for the Clark County School District’s spring break, said Kaiser, the CEO.

While Water World will remain a tactile, immersive experience for children of all ages, Kaiser said she hopes parents may learn something, too. Drought can be a tough concept to reconcile with at a young age, and Kaiser recognizes that.

“We’re inviting kids not to be scared or shame their parents for what they’re doing, but to be part of the solution,” she said.

The museum, which won prestigious grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to fund Water World, is in the middle of a $25 million fundraising campaign to support the maintenance of exhibits and the redesign of others.

Anyone interested in seeing the exhibit one last time before the unveiling of the new one can do so before it closes on Dec. 2.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.