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Bellagio Las Vegas Animal Mummies Exhibit Runs to Sept 13

Bellagio animal mummies exhibit entrance at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas, open through Sept 13
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6 min read

"Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt" is now showing at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas, Nevada, through September 13, 2026, giving visitors a rare, indoor, climate controlled option that is easy to fit between flights, shows, and resort time. The exhibition centers on ancient Egyptian animal mummification and is presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Museum, with nearly 100 artifacts on display, including about 36 mummified animals plus more than 60 Egyptian works that explain their ritual roles.

The practical travel takeaway is that this is a time limited museum stop with fixed daily hours, a predictable last entry cutoff, and an optional guided tour time that can anchor a morning itinerary. If you are in Las Vegas for a long weekend, or you are building a Strip schedule where daytime heat makes outdoor walking less appealing, this exhibit is designed to work as a two hour block that still leaves your afternoon and evening open.

Bellagio Animal Mummies Exhibit, What Changed for Visitors

The show's core premise is simple, animals were not just background in ancient Egypt, they were part of how people understood gods, protection, the afterlife, and daily life. Bellagio and the Brooklyn Museum describe four framing categories for what you will see, pets, food offerings intended for the afterlife, embodiments linked to specific deities, and votive gifts meant to carry prayers.

This is not presented as a novelty display of preserved remains. The curatorial approach leans heavily on context objects and on modern imaging, including CT scans and x rays, to show how mummies were made and what is actually inside them. The Bellagio materials also flag that scientific analysis has produced surprises, including findings that suggest some ancient practices may have involved inconsistent contents, which matters because it changes what visitors think they are looking at when they see a wrapped form.

If you have visited big Egypt shows that focus on pharaohs, temples, or monumental sculpture, this one is narrower and more procedural. It is about a practice, what it signified, how it scaled across centuries, and how researchers can test claims today using imaging rather than guesswork.

Who This Exhibit Fits Best in a Las Vegas Itinerary

This exhibit is a strong fit for travelers who want a daytime activity that is not gambling, pool focused, or show adjacent, especially families with older kids, museum oriented couples, and conference travelers looking for something compact and self contained. It also fits people arriving through Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) who have a long same day gap between hotel check in and evening plans, because the gallery keeps consistent daily hours and the last entry time is clearly defined.

The show will also appeal to travelers who like "how it works" stories. The presence of imaging and interpretive material tends to reward visitors who slow down and read, rather than rushing through for photos, and that changes how you should schedule it. If you are trying to stack brunch, a pool reservation, and a matinee, you will get more value by choosing two of those three and giving the exhibit enough time to breathe.

For budget minded visitors, the gallery publishes straightforward tiered pricing, and the per person math can matter if you are traveling as a pair or a group. Nevada residents with valid ID have a lower ticket price, and younger kids can be free, which can make this a more efficient family add on than many Strip attractions that price everyone as an adult.

Tickets, Tour Timing, and Planning Moves That Save Headaches

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art lists exhibit hours as 1000 a.m. to 600 p.m. daily, with last entry at 530 p.m. If you are building a day around dining reservations or timed attractions, treat 530 p.m. as your hard constraint, not 6:00 p.m., because that is the point where you can be turned away.

Standard admission is listed at $29.00 (USD) for adults, and $27.00 (USD) for hotel guests, seniors 65 and older, students, teachers, and military, with a separate Nevada resident price listed at $25.00 (USD) with valid ID, and children five and younger free. Bellagio also offers an optional docent led tour daily at 1100 a.m. for an additional $10.00 (USD) per ticket, and it sells a packaged option that bundles the 1100 a.m. tour with all day entry.

For most travelers, the cleanest plan is to decide whether you want the 11:00 a.m. tour first, then build the rest of your day around it. If you do the tour, avoid booking a tight lunch reservation right afterward, because tours that run long tend to push you into peak dining line windows. If you do not do the tour, arriving earlier in the day usually buys you more breathing room to enjoy the interpretive material without feeling rushed, especially if your evening plan includes a show call time or a hard meetup.

Why This Exhibit Matters, and How the Story Is Told

Animal mummification can look strange through a modern lens, but the exhibit's mechanism is that it treats the practice as a system, not an oddity. It ties the animals to a religious logic, to economic scale, and to the physical process of preparing remains, then uses modern imaging to test assumptions. That structure matters for travelers because it sets expectations, this is as much about interpretation and evidence as it is about objects in cases.

Bellagio and the Brooklyn Museum also position the exhibit as a focused look at a topic that has not been widely exhibited at this scale in the United States. Whether you come in as a history fan or just someone who wants a break from the Strip's standard loop, the "why" here is that it gives Las Vegas visitors access to museum caliber material in a setting that is easy to schedule, and easy to exit back into the rest of your trip without logistical friction.

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