We are open today from 9:30 am to 5 pm.

BE ADVISED: On Saturday, September 19, the Natural History Museum will close at 3 pm due to nearby events and road closures. For more information or to reschedule your visit, email info@nhm.org or call 213.763.DINO.

working on fossil dinosaur institute paleontology

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Fossils

Exhibitions

Dino Fest

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Dinosaur Hall

Step into our award-winning Jane G. Pisano Dinosaur Hall, and enter the age of dinosaurs.

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Stories

A pair of hands hold brown bits of fossil leaves.

Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum Carbon Release Study

A Tar Pits researcher reconstructed forests of 56 million years ago—with chilling parallels for our warming planet: climate change led to a widespread browning of Earth's landscapes—against a backdrop of elevated atmospheric CO₂, global warming, and reduced rainfall triggered by volcanically driven carbon release—and trees are at the root of these drastic changes.

Reconstruction of Spea labreae, a black toad with orange spots in front of a tar pit, flanked by three other toads

Meet Spea labreae, a New Species of Ice Age Toad Discovered at La Brea Tar Pits

The first new extinct toad species and the first description of the Mexican burrowing toad at the Tar Pits help us understand the impacts of climate change on species distributions, past, present, and future.

An elephant, tapir, saber-toothed cat, llama, and pecarry face off with a pair of giant sloths, a pair of armadillos, a big rodent, and a terror bird, the former on the North American side and the latter on the South America; a globe is in the top left

10-million-year-long Mammal Layover in Mexico Primed the Pump for the Great American Biotic Interchange Between North and South America

Published in the journal Science, a new study by NHM researchers shows that Mexico acted as a biodiversity "holding pen" for 10 million years ahead of the Great American Biotic Interchange that opened the floodgates between North and South America 2.8 million years ago.

A femur bone fossil sitting in asphalt, next to a half-buried sloth rib

The Beasts of Pampa La Brea, a Peruvian Tar Pit

Discover some of the Ice Age titans of Talara, the asphaltic site in Northwest Peru

Illustration of ancient birds and a burrowing snake in the foreground

Newly Described Snake from the Age of Dinosaurs, Tametara mirim, Reveals the Ancient Brains and Surprising Diversity of Snakes

Newly Described Snake from the Age of Dinosaurs, Tametara mirim, Reveals the Ancient Brains and Surprising Diversity of Snakes

A Mammoth Impression

See how Beatriz Inglessis, a scientific illustrator and visual artist, captured the bones of Ice Age animals in Japanese woodcut prints.

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Skulls, dragonfly, gears, and other scientific illustrations in yellow, pink, and white on purple background

STEAM Programs

Join us for Girls in STEM Programming at the Natural History Museum! Our Girls in STEM Programming has opportunities for girls ages 8-18 to participate in hands-on STEM activities, meet real scientists, and explore future career paths in a fun and engaging way.

Scientists hiking a mountainous trail to a cave in the distance.

Return of the Short (Tyrant) King: A New Paper by Dinosaur Institute Researcher Shows Nanotyrannus Was Not a Juvenile T. rex

Dinosaur Institute researcher shows throat bones accurately record maturity in dinosaurs, establishing Nanotyrannus was a fully grown, entirely distinct species from T. rex