Stories

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

Humming Bird Nest

Nature in L.A.

The Greater Los Angeles
Egg Hunt

What better way to feel the healing powers of nature than celebrating the beginnings of new life while making a valuable contribution to science?

4 speckled eggs on a table surrounded by spinach, nuts, and cabbage

Dyeing Dino Eggs

Dye your own eggs, dinosaur style!

miguel ordeñana in P-22 exhibit

Nature in L.A.

P-22 Show Interviews Miguel Ordeñana

Miguel Ordeñana joins the P-22 Presents Show to chat about animals all over L.A.

A snail stretches its body from a green leaf onto a bright pink flower.

Nature in L.A.

SnailBlitz 2020: The Search for SLIME rain or shine

The results are in from SnailBlitz 2020. See our photo contest winners!

painted lady butterfly on flower

Naturalist Nature in L.A.

What Just Flew by My Window?

It's butterfly migration season again!

Author Mallory O'Meara, artist and filmmaker Micheline Pitt and moderator Claire Dunlap on stage during the Fright Nights event

Naturalist

Ladies on the Black Lagoon

Few movie monsters are as instantly recognizable as Gill Man, the featured creature in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. But what do you know about the woman behind that iconic design?

tar pit in trinidad edited

From Giant Ground Sloths to Tiny Poops

Global tar pits reveal past ecosystems

Pregnant Plesiosaur specimen in Dinosaur Hall

Mind-Blown Science: Dr. Luis Chiappe and NHM's Extraordinary Plesiosaur

Dr. Luis Chiappe, Director of our Dinosaur Institute, explains why this giant marine reptile blows his mind.

Preparator James Preston working on fossils from home.

Research and Collections

A Different Kind of Prepping

For Vertebrate Paleontology Preparator James Preston, science doesn’t stop.

Still image of CAT scan of a mummified cat

Research and Collections

Feline Forensics

Watch this CAT scan solve a museum mystery.