Story Topics | Natural History Museum

A woman with short gray hair and glasses next to a model orca

Keiko’s Tooth: A Killer Whale, a Movie Star, and the Hidden Power of Museum Collections

Assistant Mammalogy Collections Manager Amanda Killian on finding the Free Willy star's tooth and the ever-growing value of natural history museum collections

A high school building with the words 'San Pedro Pirates' surrounding an image of a pirate mascot on the building. Signs of construction surround the building

Fossils Under San Pedro High School Reveal a Pleistocene Beach in a Miocene Sea

Discover some of the last fossils and the lasting impact of the bone beds beneath San Pedro High School

Orcas: Culture Beneath the Surface

Dive into the matriarchal culture of orcas

An artistic reconstruction of a herd of ancient sea cows foraging on the seafloor.

Research and Collections

For Ancient and Modern Seagrass Ecosystems, Having a (Sea)Cow Is Super Important

A new species of extinct dugong from the Persian Gulf highlights sea cows as underwater lawn mowers protecting biodiversity

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

Elongated Violet Snail (Janthina umbilicata)

Rare Purple Snail Lands Here

The shells of a violet-colored sea snail, Janthina janthina, washed up on SoCal beaches recently.

Naturalist

In Hot Water

As the ocean temperature continues to rise, how are the Pacific’s flora and fauna faring, adapting— or not—and how can people help?

Science of SpongeBob: Micro Plastics, Major Problem

Pollution like microplastics is a major problem for our real-life sea creatures behind Bikini Bottom. Find out how you can help with fish expert Dr. Bill Ludt, NHM’s Curator of Ichthyology, and Rory Hu, Nick News Correspondent. Original video from 2023

Woman smiling on the right side of the image, Gary the snail on the right giving a slimy green thumbs up above logos reading 'Our World' and 'Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County'

Science of SpongeBob: Shell Yeah, It's Earth Month!

Gary the Snail has a posse! Discover just how many mollusks are sliming it up out there and what the shell is going on with NHM’s Curator of Malacology Dr. Jann Vendetti. Original video from 2023

A skeletal looking Vinciguerria mabahiss under a microscope and black background

Research and Collections

The Lights Below

A new study shines a light on the mechanics of bioluminescence in the rare fish Vinciguerria mabahiss and we explore some of the other fish lighting up the deep