Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

The east entrance and façade
Established	1913 (1913)
Location	Exposition Park Los Angeles, California
Type	Natural history museum
Visitors	about 1 million annually
Public transit access	Expo Park/USC, Expo/Vermont

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is a huge museum. It is the biggest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Imagine, its collections hold almost 35 million items! These items cover an incredible 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. The museum has many things on display. It also has huge collections used for research. These are kept both at the museum and in other places.

This museum is connected to two other cool museums. These are the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits and the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum. All three museums work together. Their goal is to "inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds."

Museum History and Growth
- Modern Updates and New Exhibits
Explore the Collections
Special Exhibits and Pavilions
Museum Architecture
Gallery
See also

Museum History and Growth

Antonio F. Coronel was a politician. His donations helped start the museum's first collection.

The Natural History Museum opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, in 1913. It was first called The Museum of History, Science, and Art. A group of people who loved museums started it in 1910. The main building is very special. It has marble walls and a round, domed room. This building is even on the National Register of Historic Places. More parts of the museum were added in 1925, 1930, 1960, and 1976.

In 1961, the museum split into two parts. One part became The Los Angeles County Museum of History and Science. The other became the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). LACMA moved to a new spot in 1965. Then, the Museum of History and Science changed its name. It became The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Later, it changed its name one more time. Now, it is The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Modern Updates and New Exhibits

In 2003, the museum started a big project. They wanted to make their exhibits and visitor experience better. In 2010, the museum opened its main rotunda again. This old part of the building was made stronger. A new exhibit called "Age of Mammals" also opened. The exciting Dinosaur Hall opened in July 2011.

A new exhibit about Los Angeles history opened in 2013. It is called "Becoming Los Angeles." Also in 2013, the outdoor Nature Gardens opened. The Nature Lab also opened. These areas help visitors learn about wildlife in Los Angeles.

The museum plans to open a new part in 2024. It will be called the NHM Commons. This new area will be about 60,000 square feet. It will have new buildings and outdoor spaces. The Commons will be a community spot. It will have indoor and outdoor areas. These include a welcome area, a shop, a theater, a café, and a plaza.

Explore the Collections

The museum has many different types of collections. They also do research in these areas:

Annelida (worms)
Anthropology (human cultures) and Archaeology (old human history)
Ethnology (study of cultures)
Crustaceans (like crabs and lobsters)
Echinoderms (like starfish)
Entomology (insects)
Herpetology (reptiles and amphibians)
History
Ichthyology (fish)
Invertebrate paleontology (fossils of animals without backbones)
Malacology (mollusks like snails)
Mammalogy (mammals)
Mineralogy (minerals and rocks)
Ornithology (birds)
Vertebrate paleontology (fossils of animals with backbones)

The museum has three floors of permanent exhibits. Some of the most popular displays are about animal homes. There are also exhibits about dinosaurs and old cultures. The Ralph M. Parsons Discovery Center and Insect Zoo are popular. The new Nature Lab explores city wildlife in Southern California.

The museum's collections are strong in many areas. But the mineralogy and Ice Age fossils are the most famous. This is because so many fossils come from The La Brea Tar Pits.

The museum has almost 30 million marine zoology specimens. This includes one of the world's largest collections of marine mammal remains. It has over 5,000 specimens. Only The Smithsonian has a bigger collection. The museum's historical documents are kept at The Seaver Center.

Special Exhibits and Pavilions

The museum often hosts special exhibits. These add to its collections and help its mission. Recent special exhibits included Mummies and Pterosaurs in 2016. The museum has also shown exhibits about pop culture. For example, there was an exhibit for House of the Dragon in 2022.

There have also been special exhibits about Los Angeles. One was called Becoming Los Angeles. It showed the city's history before and after 1929. Another exhibit is L.A. Underwater. It shows almost 40 fossils from a time when Los Angeles was under the sea.

The museum also has outdoor pavilions. A butterfly pavilion is open every spring and summer. A spider pavilion is on the same spot in the fall. Since 2017, the museum has had a special exhibit about P-22. This famous mountain lion lived in nearby Griffith Park.

Museum Architecture

Over the years, the museum has added new parts to its original building. The rotunda is one of the museum's most beautiful spaces. It opened when the museum first started in 1913. This room has marble columns and a stained glass dome. It is also home to the first public art paid for by Los Angeles County. This is a statue by Julia Bracken Wendt called Three Muses. It represents History, Science, and Art. This hall is very unique in Los Angeles. It has often been used as a place to film movies and TV shows.