Dinosaur House (Shan-Gri-La Prehistoric Park)

A 14-foot Tyrannosaurus rex called Tex stands in a Henderson yard, part of a free dinosaur park that a retired English teacher built so neighbourhood children would have somewhere to wander.

He taught English at Burkholder Middle School until 2004. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he missed the kids and wanted “some kind of park that kids (could) just stroll through.” In 2006 he spent three months preparing his yard, started with a few small figurines, and found that one dinosaur at the centre drew so much attention that “suddenly I had three of them, then seven.” The Review-Journal counts more than 60 figures today; the park's FAQ listed 57. They were made in the United States, Mexico and the Philippines, and some were donated. The garage walls are filled with toys, candies and dinosaur posters, and the garage is where he parks a dinosaur-themed car he calls the Dinomobile. Games with prizes are played outside. The park is run as a charitable foundation.