Stories

Welcome to Stories, a place to explore—and be inspired by—the wonder of our natural and cultural worlds.

Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas holding specimens in a jar and wearing a head lamp at night
Research and Collections
Cave Dive Into Arachnids With Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz-Ruedas, Our New Entomology Curator
Welcome one of NHM’s two new Entomology Curators and explore the secret biodiversity of arachnids deep below the Earth’s surface
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a woman holds a twig from a tree
Research and Collections
Ants Are Her Business: Meet Dr. Megan Barkdull, Our New Entomology Curator
Welcome one of NHM’s two new Entomology Curators and discover some of the secrets hiding in ant DNA
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Fossil tree limb with a fossil bird on top of it framed by demolished wall
Research and Collections
Fossil Trees Help Grow Our Understanding of Ancient Climate
A new study reveals how ancient trees from La Brea Tar Pits helped warm the planet during the last ice age by coughing up CO2
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The Big Cats of L.A. in capital letters next to rectangular-framed photographic portraits
Discover the Story of L.A.’s Big Cats
Scientists, biologists, and conservationists share their insights
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Jason Pereira holding up a checker-patterned woven mat with an attached painting of a white-outlined bird
Collections Revealed
Jason Pereira draws on his Pacific Island heritage and upbringing in L.A.
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Illustration of aquatic sloths chilling by the beach next to some penguins and sea lions during a sun set
Dive Into the Weird Miocene World of Aquatic Sloths
A new paper by an international team of researchers, including NHM's Curator of Marine Mammals, Dr. Jorge Velez-Juarbe, uncovers more secrets of aquasloths with one of the most complete skeletons ever discovered
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Blue and black fuzzy tarantula next to a head and shoulders portrait of Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas wearing a gray button-down shirt with wood racks of shelving in the background
Don't Fear the Spider
Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas breaks down why spiders are amazing
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Dung beetle expedition Catalina Island crew
Join the Dung Beetle Hunt
Walk in the shoes of La Brea Tar Pits scientists who ventured to a less-trodden part of Catalina Island to scout for dung beetles in bison poop! 
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Coyote skull in the process of being cleaned by dermestid beetles
Behind the Scenes With The Flesh-Eating Beetles Preparing Museum Specimens
Meet the smallest and possibly most gruesome members of NHM's collection staff: flesh-eating Dermestid beetles. CONTENT WARNING: Specimen preparation is metal. There are a lot of images of dead animals in different states of decay and preparation below.
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