Mob Museum & Mustang Celebrate 60th Anniversary with New Collaboration

The Mob Museum attracts more than 400,000 visitors annually to its downtown Las Vegas location, where it provides immersive exhibits on organised crime and law enforcement. The new retail space serves as an introduction to Las Vegas’ storied past and the Mob Museum. “This store provides an introductory touchpoint, offering a glimpse into the stories and artifacts that await downtown,” said Jonathan Ullman, CEO and president of the Mob Museum. “We hope this space sparks curiosity, invites exploration and offers something memorable for every traveler passing through. For many, it will be the first taste of a larger journey.” Merchandise on offer includes branded clothing, mugs, books and magnets, while artefact displays in the store include objects from the LAPD's Gangster Squad, Mob-era Las Vegas, and the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. Additionally, guests will get to take an oath and become a "made" man, and take their own mugshot in a police lineup. The Mob Museum will also display a 1972 Signal Red Jaguar XKE, once owned by Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, at the airport's concourse entrance for a limited time. Brian Ayala, principal at Day One Group, said the new store "brings a piece of Las Vegas history and culture directly to travelers, delivering a distinctive retail experience that celebrates the city’s iconic past while welcoming visitors from around the world". James C. Chrisley, director of aviation for Clark County, added: "Our airport plays a unique role in connecting millions of travelers to the spirit of Las Vegas and the entire destination. "By bringing the Mob Museum to Harry Reid International Airport, we’re sharing a rich part of our community’s history and identity with visitors from the very start of their journey." Images courtesy of the Mob Museum The Surf Ballroom is renowned worldwide as the venue where Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and Ritchie Valens performed their final show in 1959, before the young musicians tragically died in a plane crash. While that moment remains a pivotal chapter in music history, Not Fade Away expands the story by exploring the Surf’s origins, its development alongside popular American music, and the role of the Clear Lake community in preserving its legacy. Not Fade Away is the sole immersive experience in the United States focused on an active rock ’n’ roll landmark. Created by Trivium Interactive in partnership with the City of Clear Lake, the Surf Ballroom, Electrosonic, Available Light, and Natalie Zanecchia Design, it honours the artists, fans, and community that have kept the Surf Ballroom culturally significant for nearly a hundred years. A journey organised by chapters The 40-minute timed experience unfolds through a series of chapters that blend cinematic storytelling with interactive exploration. It starts with an immersive film. Large-scale projections cover a curved feature wall, surrounding side walls, and the floor, all accompanied by surround sound. At key moments, the entire room synchronises to enhance immersion. When the Surf is rebuilt after a tragic fire in 1945, the new venue’s tropical beach club design is brought to life with projections that reflect the murals inside the ballroom, while projected water flows across the floor. As rock ’n’ roll gains popularity, dance-floor lighting illuminates the space, and visitors are enveloped in archive footage of teenagers dancing in the 1950s. An interactive exploration After the film ends, the experience shifts from linear storytelling to an open-ended, interactive space for visitors. The curved main wall transforms into a large digital interface with animated portals. Through gesture-based controls, visitors can delve into deeper stories related to the Surf Ballroom and American music heritage, including love stories that started on the dance floor, its significance in rock ‘n’ roll history, the emergence of outlaw country, Chicano rock and Ritchie Valens’ impact, the Bo Diddley beat, rockabilly, and more. Not Fade Away began with 130 stories, with new content added regularly. This scalable design encourages repeat visits and remains accessible to both music experts and casual fans. Interactivity extends to the floor, which responds dynamically to movement with musical notes and evolving patterns. The system caters to a wide range of physical abilities, creating moments of joy for children running through the space as well as older visitors or those using mobility aids. Connecting past, present, and future During the interactive segment, the side walls transform into a Surf Ballroom Hall of Fame. A large video collage displays numerous artists who have performed at the Surf from the 1930s to today, covering big band, rock ’n’ roll, and country music. Selected moments animate footage of historical performances, highlighting the Surf Ballroom’s role as a lively live-music venue rather than a static museum. At its core, Not Fade Away shows how projection, responsive environments, and evolving content systems can support heritage preservation and engage contemporary audiences. Music acts as a universal link, ensuring every visitor encounters a song, image, or story that resonates personally. By connecting past, present, and future, the experience ensures that the legacy of the Surf Ballroom continues to grow. Trivium Interactive has delivered a broad range of award-winning projects across the museum, cultural, immersive, zoo, and aquarium sectors. Highlights include work with the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame, the Museum of Science Omni Theater pre show, and Norway House's Saga Center. The Netherlands Pavilion was a collaborative project delivered for the client, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The BeWunder team worked closely with partners, including the Dutch–Japanese consortium A New Dawn BV, acting as RAU Architects for architectural design; Tellart for visitor experience design; DGMR for engineering consultancy; and Asanuma Corporation for constructing the pavilion in Japan. "A sincere thank you to our client, partners, and teams for the trust, collaboration, and shared commitment behind this project," says BeWunder. "It was a privilege to work alongside such committed and experienced partners." Collaborative projects BeWunder has also shared congratulations for clients and partners on their BrandEx Awards 2026 for other Expo 2025 pavilions. For Wa! Germany, the German Pavilion at Expo 2025, facts and fiction won a Gold Award for Best Execution Architecture and a Gold Award for Best Thematic Exhibition. The firm also won a Silver Award for Best Stand for Nurturing Tomorrow – The European Union Pavilion, and a Bronze Award for Best Thematic Exhibition for Composing the Future – The Austrian Pavilion. Other successful projects from Expo 2025 Osaka at the BrandEx Awards include the Kuwait Pavilion Expo 2025 – Visionary Lighthouse, for which insglück Gesellschaft für Markeninszenierung won a Silver Award in the Best Thematic Exhibition category. The Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka – An Epic Journey of New Discoveries also won a Silver Award for the Best Thematic Exhibition, awarded to the Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia. BeWunder collaborated with several prominent pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka, including those from the USA, Austria, Germany, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Uzbekistan. The company was also recently part of the project team working on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Experience Centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This project combines spectacular aesthetics with advanced technology. The Public Choice Award invites blooloop readers to choose their favourite project from all of the award entries. Voting has opened ahead of the blooloop Festival of Innovation, which is taking place online from 21 to 22 January. To take part, please view the Innovation Award submissions here. Once you have chosen your top entry, click here to place your vote for the Public Choice Award. Voting closes at midnight GMT on 21 January, and the winner will be announced at the Festival of Innovation. Attendees at the Festival of Innovation will be among the first to discover the winners across all of the categories in the 2025 Innovation Awards, presented with Area15. The winners will be announced after each category discussion. To join us at the free online event, please click here. The Festival of Innovation In addition to discovering the Innovation Award winners, Festival of Innovation attendees can network and hear from leading experts on the latest industry trends. Sessions feature speakers from Merlin Entertainments, Aquarabia, London Museum, Paultons Park, Hasbro, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and more. Each session will be available on demand for 30 days after the event. To find out more and register to attend, please click here. Thanks to the sponsors of the 2025 blooloop Innovation Awards: AREA15, Blue Telescope, Christie, Forrec, Holovis, Huitt-Zollars, Lumsden, Museum Studio, SSA, and QSAS.