Tucked right up against I-15 South toward The Las Vegas Strip, is a complex you can’t miss. The adjacent property, Area 15, gets anyone’s attention with its catchy name and large white lettering on a black concrete backdrop…looming over the freeway.
Super-sized art installations (a rusty metal crashed robot, a metal scorpion, a prizmed portal, a shade-providing colorful owl and more looms over the parking lot and entrance to the Area 15 entertainment complex and its neighbor, Meow Wolf’s Art Experience Instalation, Omega Mart.
You must have ticketed reservations to Omega Mart (an interactive, mind-bending art experience) which at this writing were $45 for adults and $40 for children 5 to 13 with discounts for Nevada residents and military service members and their families. You can print out your tickets or present your confirmed QR scan on your cellphone.
Before you go, read the items prohibited inside and their safety regulations. Notable and disappointing for me was the ban on professional photography equipment. If you have a bag it will be checked and each person will be checked by wand before entry.
I went with my daughter, Lauren, and granddaughter, AJ. We weren’t sure about taking an almost five-year-old, but heard from friends that their kids loved it. There were a few spooky tunnels to climb through and a slide that requires children to be 48-inches tall to go down two stories. That was fine with me as I had no intention of swooshing down a slide I could not tell how steep or twisty it would be.
I read that the full tour could take three hours, but that had to be for people who went into extremely-interactive mode. There is a story behind this “store” and a mystery to solve and a special credit card-like tool to tap on some exhibits to heighten the experience. I would really enjoy spending the time it takes to solve the mystery, but that would have been difficult while keeping up with the pace of a young child. You can experience Omega Mart in under two hours if you keep up your pace.
Cool disorienting floorbehind the scenes 
The colors in the secret employee world were amazing 
A swervy hallway of bottled drinks 
Color-changing Hall of Mirrors 
Interactive robot who kept asking us how we feel.
There are twists and turns, hidden doors, strobe lights, floors that can be disorienting, a rock wall in a tight space, responsive robots, black lights, a mirror room, computers to interact with and more…if you find your way into the behind the scenes areas of the Omega Mart employees.
Your first point of entry is the Omega Mart sales floor….and, yes, you can shop there. There are tricks within the displays and hilariously named products such as, a pack of “Weird Dogs” (actually packaged toy horses); Silt instead of Silk beverage, Done laundry detergent, cubed peas, Mammoth Chunks and tatooed raw chicken for starters. Buyer beware: not every product is filled with the product they emulate — like empty cereal boxes for $7.99 plus. You can even buy a can of Antimatter!
Thinking that is the missing Walter on the case pattern. Don’t think I want to drink a mashed potato or new care flavored water. 
Too funny! 
Oh, Those cereal
There is a bar for adults at one end of the store and your can buy items to consume off property due to the pandemic at this time.
I would advise visitors to take their time for the full experience, do not exit the Omega Mart area as re-entry is prohibited. If the items in the Omega Mart are too high for your budget, there are shops at the adjacent, Area 15, with less pricey souvenirs related to the facility’s play on words of Area 51..think aliens and UFOs.
And don’t forget to check out the art installations in the parking area before leaving. There’s a metal robot on the ground that has a decoder hidden in the structure to help decipher the engraved plates on his body. The last thing we found was a “wrecked” airplane that had definitely been there awhile,
Produce section and flower tunnel 
The flower has eyes!
I would visit Omega Mart again in a heartbeat, but would probably have to go alone or with someone who was patient enough to tolerate my slow pacing fueled by my love for mystery and problem solving.
Meow Wolf and Area 15 are located at 3215 S. Rancho Dr, Las Vegas. There are other differently-themed installations of Meow Wolf in Santa Fe and soon an opening in Fall of 2021 in Denver.
If you go or have visited Meow Wolf, drop a comment here…I’d love to hear your impression!
https://meowwolf.com
Check out my video on this amazing experience at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YTu5W9WZ7U
