Nature

Exhibitions

Deep Sea Challenger sub underwater and exploring

Pressure: James Cameron Into the Abyss

Explore the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER
Dec 12, 2022–Feb 20, 2023

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Scanning Electron Microscope Lab

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

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April 22, 2025 | NHM

Earth Day

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Frozen in Time: Images of Antarctica

See the frigid continent of Antarctica in a new light through the mesmerizing work of award-winning photographer Diane Tuft.

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The Woolsey Fire in Southern California seen from Malibu Canyon Road.

February 25 - August 5, 2019 | NHM

Wildfire

For many years, we've been adding fuel to the fire.

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Events

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Opossum on a stick sculpture with an audience in the background

nhm

Tours & Activities

Meet a Live Animal

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

daily

3:00 pm

nhm

Tours & Activities

Meet a Live Animal

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

daily

3:00 pm

nhm

Tours & Activities

Meet a Live Animal

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

daily

3:00 pm

nhm

Tours & Activities

Meet a Live Animal

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

daily

3:00 pm

nhm

Tours & Activities

Meet a Live Animal

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

daily

3:00 pm

Stories

Illustration of a long-legged crocodile-looking reptile looks at a mammal carcass on an ancient tropical islands

How Ancient Crocodile-Like Predators Ruled the Islands of the Caribbean

NHM's scientist discovers that sebicids, ancient land-dwelling crocodile-like beasts, reigned over the West Indies as apex predators after vanishing from South America

The lower jaw of a dire wolf from La Brea Tar PIts resting on a piece of paper with the words "Last known real dirw wolf in the world!!" Aenocyon dirus lower jaw 13,082 years old' written on it

Dire Wolves: Sorry, They’re Totally Still Extinct

NHM and Tar Pits experts weigh in on why dire wolves have not, in fact, been successfully cloned, and the surprising perils of de-extinction

Science of SpongeBob: Micro Plastics, Major Problem

Pollution like microplastics is a major problem for our real-life sea creatures behind Bikini Bottom. Find out how you can help with fish expert Dr. Bill Ludt, NHM’s Curator of Ichthyology, and Rory Hu, Nick News Correspondent. Original video from 2023

Woman smiling on the right side of the image, Gary the snail on the right giving a slimy green thumbs up above logos reading 'Our World' and 'Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County'

Science of SpongeBob: Shell Yeah, It's Earth Month!

Gary the Snail has a posse! Discover just how many mollusks are sliming it up out there and what the shell is going on with NHM’s Curator of Malacology Dr. Jann Vendetti. Original video from 2023

A male house finch with a little red plumage around its beak and breast alongside otherwise gray feathers being held still by a person's hand

Bird banding, Wildfire Smoke, and the Nature Gardens

Researchers band birds and collect feathers in the Nature Gardens to study the impacts of wildfire smoke on birds.

A man shows a wolf skull to another man with a beard and a woman

NHM's Mammalogy Collection with NATGEO's Ronan Donovan & Dr. Xiaoming Wang

NHM's Vertebrate Paleontology Curator tours the photographer behind the Wolves exhibition through our collections

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Finding and Photographing RASCals

RASCals

The Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern California (RASCals) community science project is a partnership between the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the San Diego Natural History Museum.

SLIME

Snails and slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments (SLIME) is a community science project that aims to catalogue the biodiversity of terrestrial gastropods (land snails and slugs) in Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California.

Southern California Squirrel Survey

Spider Survey

We are asking people to collect spiders in their homes and gardens, fill out a simple data sheet about their collection, and send or bring them to the Natural History Museum.

News & Press

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

More than 40 photographs and videos in more than a dozen categories show the best of African wildlife and conservation will be on view July 14 through October 9, 2023

The new species is one of the earliest ancestor of modern dolphins yet discovered

A review of nearly 200 marine pillbugs, or underwater roly-polies, will improve ocean monitoring off the coast of Southern California.

Over 66,000 community scientists from 482 cities around the world document more than 2,570 rare, endangered, or threatened species in a four-day community science effort