The Mob Museum Debuts Major Renovation: Interactive Exhibit on Organized Crime Today, Use of Force Training Experience and Hands-On Crime Lab
The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, debuted its major first-floor renovation, which includes a brand-new exhibition space called Organized Crime Today, focusing on the modernization and evolution of organized crime in the present day.
Two new experiential spaces include the Use of Force Training Experience and Crime Lab, which join the Museum’s already robust experiential platform, focusing on methods employed by law enforcement to apprehend and prosecute criminals and their organizations.
These new exhibits and experiences represent the first phase of the Museum’s largest capital improvement project since opening on February 14, 2012. The new additions include:
Organized Crime Today Exhibition
Thanks to countless pop culture references and notorious 20th-century organized crime figures such as Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel and John Gotti, the concept of organized crime calls to mind images of bygone eras when speakeasies, Mob-run casinos and infamous Mafia families thrived. In fact, organized crime proliferates around the globe today. No longer centered in neighborhoods, cities or regions, contemporary crime networks extend across national borders and their illegal activities make the news daily, including everything from drug, firearm, wildlife and human trafficking to the opioid crisis, money laundering, counterfeit goods and cybercrime. Featuring artifacts, graphics and a large, interactive, 17-foot-wide Global Networks touchscreen wall, this exhibition space brings the story of organized crime into the present day, as well as modernizes the way the Museum tells that story. In addition to covering present-day rackets, Organized Crime Today explores active crime groups—such as outlaw motorcycle gangs, Yakuza, Mexican cartels, Eastern European mafias and MS-13—and the international array of law enforcement agencies that seek to eradicate them. Exhibits and corresponding digital content on the Museum’s website (www.themobmuseum.org) will be regularly updated to reflect the latest global organized crime developments.
Use of Force Training Experience
One of two new experiential spaces that explore law enforcement methods of identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminals, the Use of Force Training Experience places guests in the shoes of law enforcement officers. Guests will engage in an intensive training session using both digital and live role-playing scenarios that demonstrate the speed and complexity of use of force decisions. Related exhibits examine an array of factors that influence law enforcement responses to real or perceived threats, with a focus on the use of deadly force.
Crime Lab Experience
The Crime Lab offers guests a hands-on, interactive exploration of five different forensic science topics. Guests explore the Crime Lab, which is guided by a Museum educator and features original multimedia with insights from forensic science experts. While spending time at each station, guests will acquire a foundational understanding of scientific techniques used to conduct death investigation, DNA profiling, fingerprint analysis, crime scene investigation and firearms examination.
The price for admission to the Use of Force Training Experience is $12 in addition to regular admission. Admission to the Crime Lab is $7 plus regular admission. An All-Access Pass, which combines general Museum admission and both the Use of Force Training Experience and Crime Lab, is available; its price is $41.95, with special reduced pricing for Nevada residents, law enforcement, military, teachers, seniors and students. The Organized Crime Today exhibit is included in the price of regular admission.
The final phase of the Museum’s renovation and expansion will be completed this April with the opening of the enhanced Prohibition history exhibition, The Underground, which will include a working speakeasy and distillery.
Visit themobmuseum.org/renovation for more details and follow #MobMuseumCountdown on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on construction progress and gain behind-the-scenes peeks. To make reservations or find more information, go to www.themobmuseum.org or call (702) 229-2734.