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Fossils

Exhibitions

Scanning Electron Microscope Lab

See how big discoveries can come from the tiniest things in the Gem and Mineral Hall.

Exhibition | NHM
Dinosaur Hall

Step Into Our Award-winning Exhibition, and Enter the Age of Dinosaurs

Exhibition | Tar Pits
Fossil Lab

What happens after the fossils at La Brea Tar Pits are excavated? This is where you find out.

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Video: Happy Hour - Dawn of the Dinosaurs with Dr. Nate Smith

In Dr. Nate Smith's presentation, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, he will guide us through the recent NHMLAC expeditions at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.

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Video: Happy Hour with Cullen Townsend

Find out how ancient creatures and environments are brought to life with Paleo Artist, Cullen Townsend. He'll show us how scientific research is used in his creations, and explain his current project.

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Members Q&A with Dr. Alyssa Bell

Join Dr. Alyssa Bell on this special Members Q&A for Dino Fest at Home!

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Members Q&A with LBTP Lab Manager Stephany Potze and Assistant Curator Dr. Regan Dunn

Asphalt is dirty business, but scientists at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum have spent over 100 years learning how to excavate, clean and conserve the multitude of fossil specimens plucked from the tar at Hancock Park.

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Members Q&A with Dr. Nathan Smith

You're in for a T-rrific time in this Members Q&A with Dr. Nathan Smith, NHMLAC's Associate Curator of Dino Institute.

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News & Press

A Lighthouse in the Gobi Desert

A new study quantifies the impact of the world’s great fossil sites on our understanding of evolutionary relationships between fossil groups and discovers the key to understanding lizard evolutionary history in the Gobi Desert.

New Study Finds Life on Land Is More Vulnerable to Mass Extinctions Than Life in the Oceans and Takes Longer to Recover

Paleoecologists, paleontologists, and geologists — including many from NHM’s Dinosaur Institute — found that significant loss of animal life in terrestrial ecosystems more easily leads to collapse than in marine ecosystems, and those ensuing collapses last much longer on land.

New Study by Scientists at La Brea Tar Pits Finds Extinction of Ice Age Mammals in Southern California Linked to Climate Change, Humans, and Fire

Diverse Fossils From Iconic Site Tell Story of how Saber-Toothed Cats, Dire Wolves, and Other Megafauna That Once Roamed the Los Angeles Basin Disappeared