Discovery Center | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Based on the real Montana badlands where the Dinosaur Institute recovered Thomas the T. Rex, our dig pit contains replica, scaled fossils of parts of T. Rex and Hadrosaurs (duck-billed dinosaurs).
Spider Pavilion!
Want to see live spiders and webs from local and exotic species? Opening next September, 2010. Learn more >
Now on View in Inter/Act!
"How Do I Observe My World?"
December 19, 2009 - February 21, 2010
Visit the Roundtable program's latest exhibition in Inter/Act to view how students from Cienega Elementary School documented their world through observation and photography.
The Inter/Act gallery space is located on Level 1 of the Museum.
Do Dolphins Have Hair?
Our mammal researchers answer this and other questions on our Mammalogy FAQs page.
Learn more >
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Discovery Center
Discover natural history — hands-on — every day at the Discovery Center. Almost everything in the Center is touchable. We have bones, furs, rocks, minerals, artifacts, puppets, puzzles, storybooks and more. You can even dig for dinosaur fossils — excellent training for the budding paleontologist. The Discovery Center is also home to the Museum’s live animal collection. Visitors can meet an exciting array of local and exotic reptiles, fish and amphibians, including snakes, turtles, and even skinks.
Daily Programs
Whether you’re interested in a quiet story or want to meet one of the live animals from our collection, there’s much to do at the Discovery Center.
- Live animal presentations are scheduled every day of the week at 11 am and 3 pm.
- Story times are every day of the week at 12 pm.
T. Rex Puzzle
Do you want to be a junior paleontologist? Come check out our articulated, magnetic T. rex. The skeleton is made up of hundreds of magnetic “bones” treated to look like the real thing. It is not just to look at: This T. rex is a learning tool that helps our visitors understand more about the physiology of dinosaurs as they assemble this skeleton bone by bone.
Paleotology Dig Pit
Based on the real Montana badlands where the Dinosaur Institute recovered Thomas the T. Rex, our dig pit contains replica, scaled fossils of parts of T. Rex and Hadrosaurs (duck-billed dinosaurs). Use some of the same tools that paleontologists employ to do the delicate work of brushing away the matrix that surrounds fossils, and feel what it would be like to study these ancient animals in the field.
Polar Bear
Our polar bear was collected in Norway in 1964, before the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. It has been the most recognizable part of the Discovery Center since 1991. Los Angeles Dodgers Inc. donated it as a gift it to the museum, specifically so that it could be used for “hands on” display. According to our sources the bear was housed in the VIP lounge at Dodger Stadium. A typical adult polar bear has a lifespan of 20 to 25 years and grows 8 to 10 feet in height. Males weigh 550 to 1700 pounds and females weigh 200 to 700 pounds.
Matamata Turtles
The Matamata is one of the largest freshwater aquatic turtles found in the world and can reach a shell length of up to 18 inches. We have two Matamata turtles in the Discovery Center. The BIG one, named “Chili,” weighs in at a whopping 11 lbs! Our other smaller Matamata, “Gordon,” is still just a little guy, but is getting bigger every day. Keep coming back and you can watch him grow up.
Skeleton of Giant Galapagos Turtle
This skeleton was donated to the museum after a 450-pound tortoise died of natural causes. It is a great example of how a turtle’s shell is actually part of its backbone.