Curator's Cupboard

Any visit to the Natural History Museum is guaranteed to be filled with amazing discoveries about the awe-inspiring diversity of life and the forces that shape our world. But did you know that the displays and exhibits that spark your wonder and curiosity are only the tip of the iceberg? It's true. For every exotic gemstone, rare and beautiful animal specimen, cultural artifact and dinosaur fossil, there are millions more in the vaults — our Curator's Cupboards — far from the lights of the display cases, waiting for you to see them.

Active Research

The Natural History Museum isn't just about putting an awesome collection on display. Just beyond the exhibit halls, there's a whole world of active research going on as our curators and researchers examine the more than 35 million objects in our archive and uncover the secrets they reveal of our natural world.

Curator's Cupboards are a chance for curators and Museum visitors to meet, and share a glimpse of the amazing specimens and artifacts you won't get to see on a routine visit to the Museum. In past events our curators have shared rare marine and mammal specimens, actual meteorites and dinosaur fossils, and insect critters so exotic you'd think they were from Mars.

Upcoming:

Curator's Cupboard will begin again January 2011.  Please check back soon for more details! 

Past Events:

Wiggling Worms and Echinoderms!
Saturday, January 23, 2010; 10 am - 4 pm
The world’s oceans are filled with extraordinary animals, but some of the most amazing varieties often don’t seem to look like animals at all!  Join us and dive into the undersea world of echinoderms and polychaetes to discover worms, sea stars, and urchins.

The ABC's of Anthropology
Saturday, February 27, 2010; 10 am - 4 pm
Get a chance to glimpse some of the incredible specimens and artifacts you won't get to see on a routine visit to the Museum.  Artifacts from our Anthropology and Ornithology collections will be on display, showcasing some of the amazing cultures and birds of Central and South America.

Seeking Seashells
Saturday, March 27, 2010; 10 am - 4 pm
Snails, slugs, octopus, and clams: mollusks are everywhere, and the Natural History Museum has over 7.5 million recent and fossil mollusks in its collection.  Join us to investigate just a few of these amazing invertebrates from the past and present with staff from our Malacology and Invertebrate Paleontology Departments. 
 

1st Annual Santa Monica Mountains Science Festival
Friday, April 16, 2010; 7 pm - 10 pm & Saturday, April 17, 2010; 11 am - 5 pm
OFFSITE: Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, CA
This April citizen scientists of all ages will have the opportunity to walk in a park ranger’s shoes for a day.  The Santa Monica Mountains Science Festival will open the door to a magical outdoor world and invite visitors to explore the wilder side of Los Angeles.  Join park naturalists and NHM scientists outside where natural history happens, discovering the insects, wildflowers, and even mountain lions of this spectacular Southern California ecosystem.

Info: National Park Service 805-370-2301 or www.nps.gov/samo/sciencefestival.htm

Tar Pit Science
Saturday, May 22, 2010; 10 am - 4 pm (OFFSITE at the Page Museum)
Los Angeles is home to world-class science.  At the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits, the science is ground-breaking, but also ground-oozing and ground-seeping.  Discover how scientists at the Page Museum uncover Ice Age mysteries and find out for yourself how animals from dire wolves to sloths lived in Los Angeles thousands of years ago. 

Finding Fresh and Fossil Fishes
Saturday, June 26, 2010; 10 am - 4 pm
Join us to discover the many ways fishes have adapted to their environments over the last 400-plus million years.  Fossil expert and Vice President of the Museum’s Research and Collections Department, Dr. John Long, will showcase ancient armored placoderms while our Ichthyology Department will display modern-day fishes.  Investigate the differences between ancient species and their modern relatives from their bone structure to their teeth and jaws, becoming a paleo-ichthyologist in the process!

What on Earth?
Saturday, July 31 & Saturday, August 21, 2010; 10:30 am - 3:30 pm
This summer our Curator’s Cupboards are inspired by the What on Earth? installation opening this July in the Haaga Family Rotunda.  This exhibit will showcase some of the strangest and most fascinating specimens and objects from the Museum's collections.  Meet the curators who contributed to the exhibit and see what other curious collection items they will have on display!

For more information on Curator's Cupboards, please call (213)763-3471 or e-mail bburrows@nhm.org.