First Fridays 2026
First Fridays 2026
First Fridays celebrates 20 years as Los Angeles’ premier museum after-hours experience, where exclusive nighttime access to NHM brings music, science and culture together for an engaging evening of conversation and community. Throughout the night, guests are free to explore the Museum at their own pace, exploring galleries and exhibitions in a lively, social setting.
This year, we’re getting back to our roots! Live music returns to our North American Mammal Hall featuring tastemaking artists from around the globe, and the DJ Lounge returns to the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Hall of African Mammals with locally-loved DJs and dancing all night.
Our signature discussion series continues, presented in collaboration with the Planetary Program at the Berggruen Institute and moderated by trusted science communicator and neuroscientist Dr. Yewande Pearse. Each program features engaging conversations with scientists and topic experts from NHM and across the country.
Grab a cocktail and a bite to eat from our two bars and a rotating selection of local food trucks, and discover special pop-up experiences with museum experts, local vendors and more throughout the Museum.
Museum Members receive discounted admission and exclusive early entry to First Fridays at 5:30 pm, with a priority entry line.
Come enjoy the museum after hours at one of Los Angeles’ most unique nightlife experiences!
Upcoming Events:
Discover the Museum after hours with live music, science pop-ups, cocktails, and expert-led talks.
Discussion: Life at the Human Scale
We explore how human health, identity, and biology are shaped by the unseen life we rely on every day, and how those relationships challenge our understanding of what it means to be human.
Discover the Museum after hours with live music, science pop-ups, cocktails, and expert-led talks.
Discussion: Life at the City Scale
Cities are not just built for people. They are complex ecosystems filled with living beings of every shape and size. Join us to examine who we share our neighborhoods with, how urban life affects other species, and how those relationships shape the city itself.
Discover the Museum after hours with live music, science pop-ups, cocktails, and expert-led talks.
Discussion: Life at the Planetary Scale
Life does not simply exist on Earth. It shapes the planet itself. This conversation investigates how life and Earth have influenced one another over billions of years, and how that relationship continues to shape the planet we live on today.
Discover the Museum after hours with live music, science pop-ups, cocktails, and expert-led talks.
Discussion: Life at the Cosmic Scale
What has the search for life beyond Earth revealed about life here at home? Join us to explore how looking outward into space has reshaped our understanding of biology, evolution, and what it means to be alive.
About the Berggruen Institute
The Berggruen Institute develops foundational ideas to shape the future, building new conceptual frameworks that transcend academic disciplines and cultural boundaries while connecting a global network of thinkers to generate ideas with real-world impact. Working across philosophy, governance, science, and culture, the Institute advances critical inquiry into the forces reshaping society. Within this work, the Planetary program addresses the political, philosophical, and institutional challenges of an interconnected Earth system, recognizing that issues such as climate change, technological systems, and ecological breakdown exceed national borders and require a fundamental rethinking of politics, responsibility, and interdependence at a planetary scale.
First Fridays Event Sponsor
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