Go behind the scenes and discover a different curatorial department each month. Meet our scientists, researchers, and collections managers, and go on a scavenger hunt throughout the Museum.

Free for members at the Patron Family level and higher. Reservations are required. Please call (213) 763-3316 for information on space availability. To become a member click here.  To upgrade to Patron Family level click here.

Members at the Explorer level and higher are invited to host a private Scavenger's Safari for up to twelve people!  Call (213) 763-3253 for more information.

Upcoming Scavenger's Safaris:

Fishing for Fossils

Saturday April 14, 2012
Join Dr. John Long, Vice President of Research and Collections and author of The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution, on a journey to the Devonian Period, 362 to 410 million years ago, before placoderms (ancient armored fishes) became extinct. Dr. Long will show real specimens and explain why fossil fish are important. An adult-only tour will be offered, featuring Dr. Long’s “origins of sex” in vertebrates.

Reptiles and Amphibians: The Strange, the Beautiful and the Deadly

Saturday May 12, 2012
Get a behind the scenes tour of the Herpetology collection with Collections Manager, Neftali Camacho, and learn about the reptiles and amphibians in the Museum's collection, which holds over 180,000 specimens. Neftali will showcase various species from around the world, both the exotic and those you can find in your own backyard. The collection houses many fascinating and rare species including the extinct Golden toad, the world's largest salamander species, gliding lizards, the hairy frog, and the largest lizard of all the Komodo dragon!

Glorious Gastropods and Beautiful Bivalves

Saturday June 2, 2012
Join Malacology Collections Manager Lindsey Groves for a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the largest collections of mollusks in the nation. This tour will feature rare and common species, large and small varieties, and weird and bizarre forms.

Slithering Sea Worms

Saturday July 21, 2012
Polychaetes Collection Manager Leslie Harris will show off specimens from one of the world’s largest collections of sea worms. Besides their fascinating appearances, these creatures reveal important information about the nature of marine environments and the health of the sea.

Digging for Dinosaurs

Saturday August 18, 2012
Take an adventure behind the scenes of the Dinosaur Institute with Paleontological Preparator Maureen Walsh. She'll show you fossil finds inside the lab and explain how she searches for dinosaurs in the field.