PERMANENT EXHIBIT HALLS
The exhibits and lifelike dioramas in the museum's permanent exhibition halls provide an exciting and stimulating learning environment for students.

A brief description of each hall is listed below as are the suggested grade levels based on the California State Standards.

SCIENCE

African Mammals
Go on a safari exploring animals in reproductions of their habitats. Observe a waterhole scene with elephants, giraffes and other animals common to the savanna. Discover the diversity of mammals in different physical environments. Additional animal groups include monkey, hyena, hippopotamus, and okapi.
Grades 2-4.
SC: 2.2, 3.3, 4.2, 4.3

Birds
Focus on the distinctiveness of birds and how they relate to their environment. See how birds utilize their various senses, flying, migration, biology, endangerment, and extinction. Hall includes walk-through dioramas of a Canadian marsh and a tropical rain forest.
Grades 2-7.
SC: 2.2, 3.3, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 6.5, 7.3

Mammal Fossils of the Cenozoic
Survey the age of mammals by focusing on the history of the horse and camel in addition to other ancient mammals. Includes fossils of such animals as the ground sloth, early camels, and early horses.
Grades 3, 4, 7.
SC: 3.3, 4.3, 7.3, 7.4

Dinosaurs
See dinosaurs and other Mesozoic animals up close and discover their unique world. Featured examples include a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, triceratops, plesiosaur, and a duck-billed dinosaur. Students will have an opportunity to view authentic fossils and replicas of the fossils on display.
Grades 2-4.
SC: 2.2, 2.3, 3.3, 4.2

Gems and Minerals
Examine over 1500 gems and minerals and discover the basics of mineralogy and classification by chemical composition. Learn about gold and visit a walk-in vault housing an extensive gem collection and a gallery featuring gemstones and their origins.
Grades 4-8.
SC: 4.4, 5.1, 6.6, 7.4, 8.3

Insect Zoo (Reservation required. See Insect Zoo and Discovery Center)
Students can learn the five major groups of arthropods as they view live exotic and local arthropods, including tarantulas, praying mantises, stick insects, scorpions and the fearsome giant water bugs. Interactive displays highlight insect communication, survival strategies, and the importance of insects in the environment.
Grades 2-5.
SC: 2.2, 3.3, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2

Marine Life
Discover six different Southern California habitats beginning with a shallow water estuary and ending with a deep-sea abyss. The dioramas show the diversity of environments as well as the fantastic array of plants and animals uniquely adapted for living in the sea. Marine mammals, sea turtle nesting, and marine sampling are highlighted.
Grades 3-7.
SC: 3.3, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 6.5, 7.3

North American Mammals
Journey through two galleries of diverse North American habitats. Examine the variety of mammals and the characteristics that they all share. Determine how their external features help them thrive in different environments. Animal groups include bison, wolf, bear, beaver, elk, cougar, otter, and walrus.
Grades 2-4, 6.
SC: 2.2, 3.3, 4.2, 4.3, 6.5

HISTORY & CULTURE

California History

Early California
(1570-1769): Explore Southern California Native American life and the period of the first European explorers of California. Discuss how the Chumash depended upon and adapted to their physical environment. Featured: a replica of a native Californian brush hut and a large model of Cabrillo's ship, the San Salvador.
Grades 3-4.
SS: 3.2, 4.2

Mission and Rancho Life
(1769-1845): Discover life in Spanish and Mexican California through dioramas, costumes and artifacts. Learn about the daily lives of the people, native and non-native, who occupied the presidios, missions, ranchos and pueblos. Featured: a carreta, a replica of an adobe house, an olive press, and material from early missions.
Grades 3-4.
SS: 3.3, 4.3

California Statehood to Freeways
(1845-1945): Experience the Mexican War, the gold rush, California statehood and the opening of the West. Determine the role of agriculture, immigration, transportation and industry in the phenomenal growth of Los Angeles. Featured: a Concord stagecoach, a table where the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed, a horse drawn fire pump, and a model of Los Angeles in the early 1940's.
Grades 3-4.
SS: 3.3, 4.3

United States History

A Changing America
(1865-1914): Explore many facets of life between the Civil War and World War I and learn about household tools, transportation, the agricultural revolution, homesteading and immigration. Featured: replica of a sod house, Edison's first light bulb, home appliances, an 1890 streetcar, and a 1902 Oldsmobile.
Grades 5, 8, 11.
SS: 5.8, 8.10, 8.12, 11.2

Native American Cultures

California, Southwest, and Plains Indians
Join the past with the present through artifacts and images dating from pre-European times to the present. Featured: the Chumash, Pomo, and Paiute of California; a life-sized prehistoric pueblo; examples of Zuni agriculture and artifacts made by the Pueblos and Navajo who occupy the Southwest; and Plains Indian clothing, tools and hide paintings.
Grades 3-6.
SS: 3.2, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1

Ancient Latin American Civilizations
Discover the classic civilizations of Middle and South America including the Aztec, Maya and Inca. Major displays include ceramics, gold, textiles, a replica of an Aztec sun stone, and a mural of the Mayan pyramid at Tikal.
Grades 4-7.
SS: 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 7.7

Key to California State Standards
SC: Science Standard
SS: Social Science Standard
Sample: SC 4.2 (4 = grade, 2 refers to standard)