Explore Exhibits | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Land ho! 1542. Imagine what it was really like to explore the California seacoast more than 450 years ago. Look for the elaborate diorama that recreates, in cross-section, the San Salvadore, the ship captained by Spanish sailor and explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. Details of the crew and supplies are based on actual records from the original ship log. Check out the California History Hall >.

A little pueblo known as Los Angeles. How does L.A.’s current population compare to the early “founders” or “pobladores”? The city of Los Angeles has a current estimated population of almost 4 million. But the original settlement consisted of only 44 people — a total of 11 families. The pobladores were multi-racial of Indian, African and European origin  — a preview of the city’s dynamic multi-ethnic population of today.

Come fly with me. Los Angeles has a longstanding reputation as an automobile-dependent town. But the city is not just about cars and freeways. L.A. has a significant history as an aviation center that goes as far back as the early 1900s when, due to its open geography and climate, the city was heavily promoted as a prime location to test and manufacture airplanes.

City of the future. Despite its rich history, Los Angeles is continually changing and reinventing itself. Evidence of the city’s past is sometimes quite elusive. If you’re seeking solid proof that L.A. didn’t just spring up overnight, inspect the fascinating aerial map of L.A in 1894 or survey the elaborate 3-D scale model of downtown L.A. in the 1930s, which catalogues the city, block by block. Time doesn’t stand still in L.A., but these snapshots bring the city’s invisible past into sharp focus.

Lifestyles of the imaginary and famous. Los Angeles, as an entertainment center, has spawned some of the world’s best known and loved characters. Our California History Hall displays notable highlights from the early days of the motion picture industry. You can even see the workstation where Mickey Mouse was “born.”

Many of our dinosaurs are taking time out. But they’ll be back! Most of the Museum’s dinosaurs are spending quality time in the lab with our paleontologists who are working to restore, remount and reposition many of the dinos in our current collection.

The Dino Lab: Real dinosaurs. Real paleontologists (Level 2). See actual dino fossils and the real paleontologists working in our in-museum preparation lab preparing dozens of new dino specimens. Get a sneak preview of some of the things you’ll see in our two new dino galleries in 2011. Find out more >

Dino ambassadors on display (Level 2). Three of our best dinosaur specimens are still lying in wait upstairs in our second floor American Mammal Hall. Pay a visit to a T.rex skull, a Triceratops skull and the rare full-body specimen of a South American Carnotaurus. They’ve been drafted into service as representatives of our dinosaur collection during its refurbishment.

Dueling Dinosaurs (Level 1 and north plaza). Our dynamic Dueling Dinosaurs display in the Museum’s Level 1 Grand Foyer features replicas of an authentic T. rex and Triceratops from our collection. The bronze dinosaurs outside the Museum in the north plaza are fleshed out versions of our Dueling Dinos — take the fight outside please, boys!

Beware: T. rex prowling the halls! In our Dinosaur Encounters experience, two life-sized puppets of juvenile dinosaurs — a 14-foot T. rex and a 9-foot Triceratops — roam the halls of the Museum. The puppets were created, based on our collections, by Museum paleontologists who collaborated with puppet fabricators and performers to bring the dinosaurs to “life,” while still ensuring authentic detail and movement. Be sure to time your Museum visit with heir stalking schedule. Learn more >

Spider school. Much of the information people have heard about spiders is often incorrect or completely fabricated — based more on myth and misconception than reality. To better understand these fragile, reclusive creatures, take some time to appreciate the variety of spiders in the Spider Pavilion and even meet one up close in this safe environment.

Small creatures, enormous thrill. Spiders are often described as scary bugs and they seem so foreign to many of us. Although most people see spiders as venomous monsters, nothing in the Spider Pavilion is dangerous. Take this opportunity to face these gentle spiders, two eyes to eight eyes.

Being a spider is not easy. Spiders are some of the world’s most misunderstood creatures, yet they are important players in most habitats. They are extremely shy and most of them are very fragile. The world that spiders inhabit is a perilous place and they must worry constantly about being crushed or eaten.

Magnificent engineers. The Spider Pavilion contains an impressive array of spider webs that are created by some of the most talented animal engineers on the planet. Take some time to examine the beauty and strength of the webs they construct. Did you know spider silk is a fiber stronger than steel? A spider designs an efficient and beautiful web to be both a home and a food-gathering device. Consider this too: Spiders, though incapable of flight, are specialists in capturing flying food.

Ask away. Leave behind what you think you know. Our knowledgeable staff will guide you through the exhibit and answer all your questions so you can get to know real spider characteristics, habits and lifestyles. Maybe you will discover a newfound respect for this beautiful group of animals.

Prized objects. Native American peoples have made small animal carvings from stone, bone and shell since ancient times. Zuni carvings were highly prized and traded with other Native American tribes. European Americans first purchased fetish carvings in the late 19th Century.

A range of tradition. Survey the three most interesting decades of the Zuni fetish — or miniature animal-carving tradition captured in one big glass box. You’ll find 99 examples from the most important and well-documented collection of late 20th century fetish carving in any museum. Learn more >

What’s in a name? Zuni carvers did not originally call their animal carvings fetishes. Victorian anthropologists first used the fetish label. Today “fetish” is the term most commonly used for these little animal carvings.

Items of value and power. A fetish is anything to which we attribute more value or power than the object would normally have. Amulets and dollar bills are fetishes. As you examine the collection, decide for yourself whether you would rather call these tiny animals fetishes or carvings.

From tradition to commerce. Over the 20th Century Zuni carvers gradually transformed their carving tradition into a sales art form. By the late 20th century, fetishes became a commercial success. The huge increase in demand initiated a period of creative expansion that transformed this traditional art form.

Do you know your neighbors? Gain a new appreciation for the chirping bird that greets you at the crack of dawn. Our Hall of Birds features a wide variety of the most prevalent birds in Southern California, as well as specimens from all over the globe.

Visit a prairie marsh at sunrise — and leave your rubber boots at home. Our immersive marsh exhibit will make you feel like you’re actually trekking through wetlands teeming with life.

Our dense rainforest is home to dozens of birds and other rainforest creatures. Look carefully or you could walk right by some of the most interesting displays — subtly and realistically camouflaged within the thick greenery.

Avian Architects. More than just a place to store a few eggs, bird nests are often feats of architectural ingenuity. Nest types are incredibly diverse. Some are simple depressions in the ground, while others are long pendulous hanging structures. Building methods and materials run the gamut too — stones, leaves, feathers, branches — there are even nests made entirely of bird saliva.

Top drawer. Feel free to slide open the drawers in the bird hall to examine an assortment of specimens. You’ll discover a surprising variety of bird feet, wing shapes and eggs (large and small). You can even see how bird specimens are prepared for behind-the-scenes study. Learn more >

Stuck in traffic. A fully realized public transportation system for Los Angeles seems like a distant pipedream. The city has been trying to implement and expand public rail transit for years ever since it dismantled one of the world's best public transportation systems in the early 1960s. It’s easy to forget that L.A. had a fully operational streetcar system dating back to the 1880s, as evidenced by this restored trolley from the Electric Rapid Transit Company of Los Angeles featured in our American History Hall.

Logging industry. Reconstruction after the Civil War and the rise of industrialization in the United States generated greater demand for all sorts of manufactured goods — especially wood products. Logging companies in California supplied much of the fuel for industrialization by providing lumber for homes, buildings, and a multitude of other endeavors. Unfortunately, this also resulted in the depletion of a significant amount of California’s forests. Learn more in the American History Hall.

The big box economy begins. We often take mass-production for granted, but early mass-production allowed for mass-consumption, thus increasing the level of comfort and convenience in people’s lives as items that were once too expensive became accessible to a growing American middle class. Our American History Hall's house platform showcases furniture, appliances, decorative elements, and commercial items that reflect significant changes in American home life at the beginning of the 20th century.

Rock your world. The diversity and beauty of minerals on our planet is astounding and so is our Hall of Gems and Minerals. Be sure to catch the breathtakingly beautiful Gem Crystal exhibit (at the far end of the hall near the exit), which highlights some of the Museum's best gem and mineral specimens using dramatic fiber-optic lighting.

The next time you stub your toe on a stone at least you’ll be able to curse it by name…. Discover the geological richness that exists right where you live. Explore the finest display of California minerals in the world and learn about the rich array of minerals and gems in the region.

Great balls of fire! The museum’s meteorite exhibit features specimens that are 4.5 billion years old, easily some of the oldest objects you’re likely to see anywhere. Well over 20,000 meteorites are known to have fallen in Los Angeles County. Only a few have been found. Can you tell a meteorite from a “meteor wrong?” Visit our exhibit and learn the five basic ways you can tell if that big weird rock you found while hiking is the real deal from outer space or just another local specimen from Earth.

Heavy metal. Our Gem and Mineral Hall contains one of the largest exhibits of all-natural gold in the world, featuring over 300 lbs total weight in gold, displayed in many of its most surprising forms. Learn more about the hall >

Gorgeous Geology. Our Hixon Gem Vault houses one of the finest, most captivating gem displays in the country including exquisite rubies, sapphires and emeralds as well as many rare and little known gems. Jewel enthusiasts have a tough time dragging themselves out of the vault.

Not your typical safari. The African Mammal Hall, first opened in 1930, realistically represents creatures and habitats from an Africa that is fast disappearing. To create the elaborate African mammal dioramas, the Museum would send an entire crew on location, including a collector, a museum curator, taxidermists, and an artist or two to sketch the environment and gather native rocks and plant material.

The fine art of natural history. The magnificent backdrops for the dioramas were painted by noteworthy artists and are valued pieces of fine art in their own right, worthy of display in an art museum. Lest we take ourselves too seriously, one of our artists was also renowned for painting backdrops in his underwear! Learn more >

Curious characteristics. Many specimens in the hall come equipped with some extraordinary features: Foot-long blue tongues, monkeys without thumbs, a land mammal that is the closest living relative to the whale and the animal whose unusual horn arrangement probably gave rise to the legend of the magical unicorn.

See “invisible” creatures. Some shy, solitary or nocturnal creatures represented in the African Hall often elude the human eye and are rarely seen in the wild. The greater kudu first appeared in the fossil record about 1.8 million years ago. However, this animal is rarely seen due to its highly effective camouflage. Here’s your opportunity to actually see one!

African animal co-op. There are numerous other creatures exhibited in the dioramas alongside the larger African mammals, and we add new such specimens regularly, including birds, reptiles and insects. Many of these smaller creatures have relationships with the larger animals that are symbiotic and often associated with food gathering and other survival needs.

Bug Stories! Meet some of our “spokesbugs” that live in the 30 terrariums of the Insect Zoo, and discover the stories behind some of the world’s most misunderstood creatures. You’ll meet spiders with silk stronger than steel, a beetle that creates its own waxy reverse wetsuit to keep water in, and more! Bugs play some unique and fascinating roles on our planet.

Bug re-education. Explore the Insect Zoo and get to know the truth about even some of the most familiar bugs you think you already know. For example, did you know that there are there are some cockroaches that look after their young for years? Something to consider before hunting down that unsuspecting critter scurrying in the kitchen.

Avoiding the limelight. Bugs certainly aren’t trying to get attention. Most of them are quite shy. The Insect Zoo presents these elusive creatures in a way that allows you to observe them from all angles so you can see how they really act and live.

Now you see them, now you don’t. Insects have some amazing traits to help them survive, including camouflage. Some disguise themselves and move ever so slowly so as not to be detected. Watch patiently. Are those cases empty, or are those twigs and leaves actually some incredibly camouflage insects?

Snacks to avoid. Some bugs are brightly colored and have such distinctive patterns that they really stand out against their surroundings. This instant recognizability can actually work to everyone’s advantage. For instance, Monarch butterflies are poisonous and are best not eaten. Their markings warn predators to stay away, simultaneously protecting the predator from poison, and the butterfly from becoming someone else’s meal.

Take a continental vacation without leaving the room. Our North American Mammal Halls contain realistic depictions of a range of this continent’s most fascinating environments. Visit arctic ice flows, offshore islands, grasslands, prairies, desert, mountains, tropical rainforests, redwood forests, and the arctic tundra — all in one trip!

Always something new to see. Our world-class dioramas were first created in the 1930s, and are so packed with specimens and environmental details that you’ll always discover something you haven’t seen before. Plus we’re constantly updating these exhibits with new specimens.

The fine art of natural history. The magnificent backdrops for the dioramas were painted by noteworthy artists and are valued pieces of fine art in their own right.

Care and feeding. The animals in our dioramas may not need the same level of care as live creatures, however, creating and maintaining the realistic-looking and accurate dioramas for our halls is an ongoing process. Many institutions display dioramas, but the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is unique in that it has, since the 1920s, maintained a full-time diorama program with dedicated staff artists. Learn more about the diorama artists >

Stand face-to-face (and fearless) with wild and dangerous creatures. If you ran into many of these creatures in the wild you’d want to get as far away as possible. But here you can take your time and closely study dozens of ferocious or elusive animals. Go ahead and count every one of the grizzly’s sharp teeth if you want, risk-free.