BE ADVISED: On Saturday 10/12, the Los Angeles Coliseum will host the USC vs. Penn State football game. Kickoff is at 12:30pm. This event will impact traffic, parking, and wayfinding in the area due to street closures. Please consider riding the Metro E (Expo) Line and exiting at USC/Expo station.

Browse by Topic

Bugs

Exhibitions

Spiky, Hairy, Shiny: Insects of L.A.

Meet your tiny neighbors!

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Nature Lab

Live animals and hands-on interactives show you L.A.’s wild side.

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Children standing around the Paleo Play Zone, a counter with imitation sand and fossils, with mounted taxidermy up high on the wall in the background

Discovery Center

Dig for dinosaurs, wonder at live insects, and organize your own diorama.

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Butterflies photographed from above on a pink background

Butterfly Pavilion

Watch butterflies take flight around you in this seasonal exhibition.

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Spider Pavilion

Walk among spiders and their magnificent webs in this unique, open-air experience.

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Events

See all events

Thu

Oct

Tortoise walking on the floor with sitting children's legs and feet in the background

Meet a Live Animal

Tours & Shows All Ages

3 pm

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

Fri

Oct

Meet a Live Animal

Tours & Shows All Ages

3 pm

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

Sat

Oct

Visitors looking up, holding binoculars to their eyes

Nature Gardens Exploration

Tours & Shows All Ages

11 am

Enjoy NHM’s one-of-a-kind Nature Gardens while learning more about urban wildlife. Visitors of all ages are welcome to stop by anytime during the hour and stay as long or short as you’d like!

Learn more

Sat

Oct

Meet a Live Animal

Tours & Shows All Ages

3 pm

Get up close and personal with the Museum's resident animals! Hear amazing stories about critters that are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Learn more

Sun

Oct

Nature Gardens Exploration

Tours & Shows All Ages

11 am

Enjoy NHM’s one-of-a-kind Nature Gardens while learning more about urban wildlife. Visitors of all ages are welcome to stop by anytime during the hour and stay as long or short as you’d like!

Learn more

Stories

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sign with an arrow pointing at two large black shiny beetles held by Lisa Gonzalez

Meet the World's Juiciest and Biggest Beetles with NHM's Lisa Gonzalez

What is Beetlejuice?

An adult petroleum fly Helaeomyia petrolei taken with a keyence microscope

Get Stuck on Petroleum Flies

KQED’s Deep Look gets up close and personal with the Tar Pits most successful (and smallest) predator

From Butterflies With Love

A behind-the-scenes look reveals how the butterflies in our Pavilion help protect their native habitats

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

Snail Love

Discover the secrets of snail love and show your love for the slimiest Angelenos—it's time for SnailBlitz 2024!

Year of the Dragon

Celebrate the 2024 Lunar New Year, Year of the Dragon, with highlights from the collection

Elephant Hill Community Nature Celebration and Habitat Survey

Join community members and scientists, Saturday, October 14, to celebrate and study nature on Elephant Hill, an open space in North East L.A. valuable to humans and wildlife.

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Spiky, Hairy, Shiny: Insects of L.A.

Woman holding beat sheet under a leafy bush

Collect And Observe Bugs At Home

Learn about simple ways to collect and observe bugs with materials you have at home.

Entomology

With over 800,000 described species—more than half of all known living organisms—insects are the most diverse group of animals on Earth.

Community Science

Community science (sometimes called citizen science) mobilizes volunteers to work alongside scientists to help answer questions about the world.

BioSCAN

This first-of-its-kind scientific investigation is discovering and exploring biodiversity in and around one of the world’s largest cities: Los Angeles.