working on fossil dinosaur institute paleontology

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Fossils

Events

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Thu

06

Feb

Boys looking at fossil in dino hall

Homeschool Day: Fossil Discoveries

Homeschool Days

10 am

Explore NHM's world-class fossil collection to find out more about our planet's distant past!

Sat

14

Mar

stilt walker at nature fest

L.A. Nature Fest

9:30 am

L.A. Nature Fest is a two-day festival that celebrates L.A.'s wild side!

Sun

15

Mar

stilt walker at nature fest

L.A. Nature Fest

9:30 am

L.A. Nature Fest is a two-day festival that celebrates L.A.'s wild side!

Wed

10

Jun

Family looks closely at the Living Wall

Homeschool Day: Amazing Habitats!

Homeschool Days

10 am

Explore the diversity of habitats on earth, both past and present!

Stories

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museum installation of full-sized cryolophosaurus replica

Your Big Antarctic Dinosaurs Takeaways

image of stromatolite, oldest fossil

Oldest Fossils by Far

Stromatolites and trilobites

Project 23 boxes and bins

Treasure Boxes of the Ice Age

A decade of rich digs at Project 23

nate smith in antarctica

Meet Our Polar Explorer

Dr. Nathan Smith, Associate Curator of NHM’s Dinosaur Institute, is an experienced Antarctic fossil hunter.

Daejah Newton, with her sorting sheet looking at fossils

Fossil Hunters in the Classroom

This year, almost 700 students at six schools in L.A. have participated in microfossil sorting.

A few of the six-million-year-old coprolites (fossilized feces) of extinct bone-crushing dogs; the one on the right has visible bits of bone sticking out. (Ouch.)

The Proof Is in the Pooping

Fossilized feces help confirm the diet of extinct “bone-crushing” dogs

Discover more

The holotype skeleton of the extinct aquatic herbivore Neoparadoxia cecilialina from the Monterey Formation of Orange County.

Vertebrate Paleontology

Vertebrate Paleontology is the study of ancient animals that have a vertebral column including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Do you want to be a paleontologist? Do you want to be a curator of natural history collections? Project Paleo is your opportunity to work with fossils and contribute to the curation of Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County's collections.

Fossils and Evolution