NHM FIRST FRIDAYS 2022: July

First Fridays returns LIVE and IN-PERSON to NHM! 

Our annual series is back! Explore the Museum after hours with live music, DJs, topical discussions, signature cocktails, and more.

Your safety is our top priority.

Effective April 1, 2022, per the most recent ordinance by the L.A. County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), masks are no longer required for “mega” events–those with 1,000 or more visitors. In accordance with LACDPH, we still strongly recommend all visitors to continue wearing masks while indoors and ask that individual choices are respected.

PLEASE READ THE FULL COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES 

CASHLESS BARS accepting all credit cards , Apple Pay and Cash App.

2022 Season: From Seeds to Psychedelics

This season, we look to the power of plants to save us–returning to the roots of well-being with new ideas drawn from ancient ways. 

July 1 Theme:  Mushroom Magic

Featuring Music Performance by:

• Vegyn (90 Minute DJ Set)

*Attention: Updated set times below

OUR Host AND Moderator: Dr. Yewande Pearse

Photo Credit: Kate Berry

Dr. Yewande Pearse is a neuroscientist and science communicator with over 10 years of research into understanding rare genetic brain disorders at both King’s College London and The Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA.  Host of "Sound Science" on Dublab Radio and Inside Biotech, a podcast from Biotech Connection Los Angeles. She has also worked with Headspace, Seed, Deem Journal, NAVEL, Fathomers, Massive Science, TEDMED, and more.

Discussion: Mushroom Magic

Level 2, north American Mammal Hall  |  6:30 pm–7:30 pm

This month we look at a wellness trend packed with nutrients and adaptogens, but what other magic can the fungi offer?  Can fungi be the solution to rebuilding the soil ecosystem?  How can the chemical compound psilocybin, a fungi extract, be used to treat depression and anxiety disorders? What are other clinical applications for psilocybin?  What other benefits can fungi bring in everyday life? With guest Dr. Charles Grob, Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine.  Moderated by Dr. Yewande Pearse. 

*PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY!  SEATING IS LIMITED FOR THE DISCUSSION

Charles S. Grob, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.  Over the past thirty years he has conducted academic research with psilocybin, MDMA and ayahuasca.  He has published numerous articles in the professional literature and three books: Hallucinogens: A Reader (Tarcher/Putnam, 2002), Higher Wisdom: Eminent Elders Explore the Continuing Impact of Psychedelics (SUNY Press, 2005) and Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens (Guilford Press, 2021). 

ON THE MAIN STAGE IN THE NATURE GARDENS

Vegyn  |  8:30 pM  (90 minute DJ set)

Vegyn is an artist who challenges categorization. His genre-hopping compositions and his long list of collaborators make it impossible to put him neatly in a box. Arguably nowhere was that more clear than on his 2019 mixtape, Text While Driving If You Want to Meet God: a 71-track opus encompassing sketches and offcuts from his music-making process, clocking in at over an hour and a half of listening time. As he looks ahead to 2022, Joe Thornalley jokes, “My therapist says I overshare. Maybe this is me continuing my bad habit.” His new mixtape, Don’t Follow Me Because I’m Lost Too!! Does just this, clocking in at over an hour longer with a defiant 75 tracks.

DJ Wyldeflower (kcrw / dublab)   |  5:30 pm

With over 15 years of experience in the international urban, jazz and world music scene, Rocio "Wyldeflower" Contreras is an event and concert producer and music creative based in the Los Angeles area. She is praised as a music selector inspired by discovery, always digging deeper to connect and explore. As a well-known event & concert producer, record collector and music connoisseur, her collection will effortlessly peak any top playlist, challenge shazaam, take you down memory lane right into the future, uplifting even the most somber of spirits. 

DIGITAL ART POP-UP

JUNIOR HIGH LOS ANGELES   | Level 1 foyer - Dueling Dinos  |  ALL NIGHT

Junior High is a non-profit 501(c)3 community arts space prioritizing the safety and expression of female, queer, nonbinary, and artists of color. Our physical space, publication, podcast, and other ventures function on principles of radical empathy, equity, and mutual aid.

FILM SCREENING

saging the world (2022) | Level 2, north American Mammal Hall  |  8:10 pm–8:30 pm (20 min)

Sage smudging has become a viral trend. What’s the truth behind the smoke? People burning sage bundles in the hope of purifying space and clearing bad energy–"saging"–has become common in movies, TV shows, social media, and cleansing rituals. Instead of healing, the appropriated use of saging in popular culture is having a harmful effect. Indigenous communities have tended a relationship with white sage for thousands of generations. White sage (Salvia apiana) only occurs in southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico. Today, poachers are stealing metric tons of this plant from the wild to supply international demand. Saging the World spotlights the ecological and cultural issues intertwined with white sage, centering the voices of Native advocates who have long protected and cherished this plant. The short documentary was produced by Rose Ramirez, Deborah Small, and the California Native Plant Society to foster awareness and inspire action for white sage. For more information on the film and ways to support white sage, visit cnps.org/sagingtheworld.

MUSEUM EDUCATOR POP-UPS

M.E. Pop-Ups  | Level 1 foyer - Dueling Dinos  |  5:30 PM  &  7:30 PM

Join one of our knowledgable Museum Education Specialists in a series of 30-minute pop-up presentations throughout the Museum to get some first-hand insights about our illuminating exhibits and vast collections.  Meet the M.E.'s at the Level 1 Foyer next to the Dueling Dinos. 

Tony Turner is a Museum Educator at NHMLAC where he inspires wonder, curiosity, and responsibility in our natural and cultural worlds. He has spent several years volunteering with the Museum's Dinosaur Institute where he helped uncover a new species of long-neck sauropod. You can find him hanging out in Dinosaur Hall answering any and all paleontology-related questions, or you can see him as a regular on the Museum's TikTok (@nhmlac)!

Ruben Sanchez is a Museum Educator at NHMLAC, facilitating discovery and inspiring wonder throughout our many halls. When not discussing microfossils or butterflies, Ruben likes sipping on a carbonated beverage while discussing last week's soccer fixtures and posting overly produced photographs of his latest half marathon. 

This Month's Featured Food Trucks

• GOSTOSAS THRILL FROM BRAZIL
• BELLY’S WINGS and SLIDERS
• CREAMY BOYS NEW ZEALAND STYLE ICE CREAM
• MADE IN BROOKLYN

FIRST FRIDAYS 2022 KEY ART BY SE YOUNG AU