Visitors can explore more than 75 permanent exhibits, an indoor theater, and traveling exhibit space. The museum features films, historical recreations, live animals, and much more. There are also interactive exhibits like a sand erosion table and virtual reality topography shaping.

One of the most popular exhibits is the Flash Flood exhibit. This theater space recreates a desert ravine, emulating the beauty and tranquility of the desert, until a thundering storm erupts. More than 5,000 gallons of recycled water rushes through a simulated canyon, crashing around and below your feet. It's both exhilarating and educational, leaving visitors with an appreciation for the awesome power of desert flash floods and their impact.

The museum's outdoor live animal exhibits feature Mojave natives who’ve adapted to arid desert conditions. These include relict leopard frogs, a variety of lizards like the chuckwalla, tiger whiptail and desert iguana, desert cottontails, the nocturnal gray fox, a Botta's pocket gopher, and Gila monsters.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the famous 1905 land auction that set the stage for the boom town that Las Vegas would become. They can also step onto a recreated railroad car from the early 20th century as seated, sculpted figures tell stories about the early days of the railroad. Additionally, they can learn about the history and construction of Hoover Dam in an immersive experience tying together a short documentary film and a scaled recreation of the dam itself.