In accordance with the L.A. City Municipal Code Ordinance mandate, beginning November 4, all eligible patrons are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test performed within 72 hours. Visitors 18+ must also show a valid photo ID. View our COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for more information.  On October 23 the museum will be closing early at 2 pm.

collection of shells malacology research and collections NHM

Research and Collections

Photograph of Butterfly specimens in the NHM collection

Our Collections

NHM has, wait for it, 35 million real objects and artifacts. Explore them online!

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Jann Vendetti sorting speciments UNRC

Our Research

There are dozens of scientists and historians on staff, protecting our records of the planet, and making new discoveries all the time.

What our experts are up to

Recent highlights

Research and Collections

Research and Collections

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Our positions, policies, and processes 

Our collections operations are governed by our institutional collections policies.

To request a loan or plan a visit to the collections, please contact the department that holds the materials you’re interested in using. 

Statement on Evolution
Statement on Climate Change

Our Research Departments

Our Research Departments

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