Dino Fest 2024
Date
Saturday, September 21, 2024 | 10 am–5 pm
Location
Tickets
Members receive exclusive access from 9–10 am. Join today!
Join us for our annual festival celebrating all things dinosaur! Dino Fest celebrates dinosaurs, their prehistoric past, and the science that brings their world back to life. Meet world-renowned paleontologists from the Museum's Dinosaur Institute and beyond. See unique fossil collections that include Jurassic giant dinosaurs and the other creatures that roamed alongside them. You don’t want to miss this event that is millions of years in the making!
- See rare specimens from our Museum’s collections, like those collected from the Gnatalie Quarry in Utah
- Explore our world-renowned Dinosaur Hall, including our T. rex growth series
- Visit L.A. Underwater and discover how ancient Los Angeles was once beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean
- Participate in hands-on activities
- Shop for dinosaur-inspired merchandise
- And so much more!
NOTE: ASL interpretation with be provided by LifeSigns for the following programs: Stage Presentations, Digging Deeper Dino Discussions, and "What's in a (Dino) Name?".
#NHMLA #DinoFest
Dino Fest 2024 Exhibitors
On view from 9 am–5 pm
Schedule of Events
ONGOING FROM 9 AM–5 PM
Welcome Tables: A great location for all Dino Fest info!
T. rex Trailer: Get a sneak peek of the film.
Activities:
- Coloring Station
- Dino Masks
- Gnatalie Puzzle
- Gnatalie Scavenger Hunt
ENCOUNTERS STAGE
*Ticket reservation required to attend
11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm | Dino Encounters
Have a dinosaur encounter with our engaging and fun live performance featuring NHM's life-size dinosaur puppets.
STAGE PRESENTATIONS
10:30 am & 2 pm | Plaster Jacketing Fossil Demo
See how the Dino Institute staff bring back fossils from the field.
11:30 pm | Dino Inspirations
Dinosaurs inspire a great deal of creativity from artists, to bakers, and chocolatiers! Meet NHM’s partners as they share their creations inspired by our new dinosaur Gnatalie.
1 pm | Paleo Chat
Curious about paleontology? Drop in and chat with someone who works in the field and ask them some questions! *This program will be offered bilingually in Spanish
3 pm | Survivors of the Dino Age
Meet animals from our Living Collection who are there to tell the story of who survived the great KT Extinction and why. Touch and question time will follow.
TIMED ACTIVATIONS
10:30–11 am & 3:30–4 pm | Dino Dinner
We’re trying to help some of the dinosaurs in our hall get ready for dinner. Join us to look at fossils, determine what different dinosaurs ate and help us go grocery shopping for them.
11 am & 4 pm | What’s in a (Dino) Name?
Join museum educators as we play the Name Game! We'll learn to decode scientific names (it’s easier than you think) and hear the stories behind some of our museum’s special nicknamed dinosaurs – including our newest dino, Gnatalie!
11 am–3 pm | Fossil Rubbing Workshop with Metro Art commissioned artist Mariana Castillo Deball
Meet Metro Art commissioned artist Mariana Castillo Deball and learn how to make ink rubbings from fossils. Mariana includes fossils in her station artwork, excavated from the construction of the future D Line Wilshire/La Cienega Station. The fossils will be part of the NHM collection.
DIGGING DEEPER DINO DISCUSSIONS
12 pm | Gnatalie the Green Dinosaur: From Ground to Mount
This presentation details what it takes to find, collect, study, and create the skeletal mount of a large dinosaur.
2:30 pm | Jurassic Giants: The Largest Organisms on the Morrison Formation Floodplain and the Sauropods That Ate Them
The Late Jurassic was a unique time in Earth history that featured an amazing array of some of the largest terrestrial vertebrates that ever lived. And directly supporting them as part of their food source was an equally amazing array of the largest organisms of the time — giant trees. Not everything was gargantuan during the Late Jurassic, but the trees and sauropods certainly were!
Keep an Eye Out For...
- Dinosaur Marionette Walkabouts
- Dinosaur Showstopper Pieces
- Gnatalie Art Wall by Adventures in Nature campers
- Gnatalie Step and Repeat
Learn More About the Program Participants:
John Foster
John Foster is a paleontologist and curator at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, Utah. He has studied the Late Jurassic of the western United States for more than 30 years and is author of Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World (2nd edition, Indiana University Press, 2020).
ReBecca Hunt-Foster
ReBecca Hunt-Foster is the Paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument. Her research focuses on Early Cretaceous ornithomimosaurs from North America, the Upper Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation paleofauna of western Colorado and eastern Utah, and the ichnofauna of the Lower Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous rocks of Utah. ReBecca has worked as a paleontologist in western Colorado and eastern Utah since 2007.
Luis M. Chiappe, Senior VP, Research & Collections and Gretchen Augustyn Director, Dinosaur Institute
Dr. Chiappe oversees the research programs of more than 25 PhD scientists and the vast collections of NHMLAC. A vertebrate paleontologist and the Gretchen Augustyn Director of the Dinosaur Institute, he has conducted extensive research on the evolution of dinosaurs, particularly on their evolutionary connection with birds. Dr. Chiappe’s research has been published in nearly 200 scholarly articles, he’s also the author of Walking on Eggs, Glorified Dinosaurs, and Birds of Stone. He is a J. S. Guggenheim Fellow, a Humboldt Awardee, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an Adjunct Professor at USC.
Michelle Barboza-Ramirez (they/them)
Michelle is a queer latinx naturalist and geoscience educator born and raised in Los Angeles county. In their work life, they teach people about rocks and fossils and plants and stuff… and in their off time they totally do that too. Michelle’s past projects include working in the education departments of the National Park Service and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles to expand community connections with urban nature and advocate for outdoor equity in LA. Currently, Michelle splits their time between working in higher ed and filming videos with PBS Eons. In their infinite free time, Michelle can be found hiking and birding their way through the western US.
Website: www.pbs.org/show/eons/
Gabriel-Philip Santos
Gabriel-Philip Santos is a paleontologist, educator, and storyteller. Originally studying the evolution of marine mammals, he now focuses on science education as the Director of Visitor Engagement at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology and as a host of PBS Eons. He is also the co-founder of the Cosplay for Science Initiative and a 2021 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions.
Website: www.linktr.ee/PaleoParadoX
Jenna Thornhill
Jenna Thornhill is an artist, musician, and library worker born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. Her sculptural challah pieces take as inspiration from the endless wells of nature, culture, and history of Los Angeles.
Website: www.corpoearthburglar.press
Chef Albert Daniel
My culinary journey began 10 years ago when I taught myself to make cake pops to share with family and friends. I discovered my passion for creating unique treats with the power to delight. Against all odds, I fought to turn my dreams into a reality. Now, I have expanded my line of desserts. I evolved into what I’ve always wanted: a chocolatier and confectioner.
Website: www.albertspetitesweets.com
Rincon Consultants, Inc.
Rincon Consultants, Inc. was founded in 1994 and has grown to be a leading environmental consulting firm throughout California. Our guiding principles and core values hold strong to this day, including providing responsive professional services to both public and private sector clients throughout the state.
Website: www.rinconconsultants.com
Cogstone
Cogstone Resource Management specializes in paleontology, archaeology, and history. We serve both public and private sector clients throughout the United States.
Website: www.cogstone.com
Living Collections
Did you know the museum has a team of professional animal keepers on site 365 days a year? They take excellent care of all animals on exhibit and behind the scenes at the museum, utilizing the natural history expertise of our scientists as well as our veterinarian, who advises on any medical and nutritional needs. Because even a frog needs a doctor sometimes. We have around 15-25 species of vertebrates, and 70-100 species of invertebrates at any given time.
Follow Living Collections on Instagram @nhmla_liveanimals
Museum Educators
The Museum Educator team at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are the knowledgeable staff that enhance the visitor experience through personal interaction. Through research and training, Museum Educators create and facilitate educational programs for general museum visitors, for school groups, and for special events, both in-person and virtual.
Performing Arts
The team behind the Performing Arts department at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County creates live theatrical performances based on our exhibits, research, collections, and events. Learn more about this unique program HERE.
Research and Collections
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County protect and share more than 35 million specimens and artifacts, the largest natural and cultural history collection in the western United States. The Research and Collections Department is the research institution within the museums. They create new knowledge through academic scholarship in history and science. Visitors can get up close to these fascinating objects and specimens, which are sometimes displayed in exhibitions and during museum events.
Sponsored by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
