BE ADVISED: The NHM Car Park will be closed on Friday, February 6 in preparation for First Fridays. Parking is available at the Blue Structure Parking Lot at Exposition Park Drive and Figueroa Street. For questions or directions, please call 213.763.3466 or email info@nhm.org.

snake live animals herpetology

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Reptiles

Exhibitions

Girl looks at coyote display

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

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Stories

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A small coquÍ frog in some beautiful foliage

The Songs of the Coquí Frog

The soothing sounds of home or a sonic menace? How you feel about the coquí's call depends on context, but when coquí frogs call in L.A. County, NHM's Herpetology Curator Dr. Greg Pauly answers.

A life-like painting of a large lizard lurking over a nest of dinosaur eggs with one already in its mouth

2025 Excavated: A Look Back at Some of the Biggest NHM Discoveries

From prehistoric giant lizards and ancient raccoons to newly discovered spiders and heroic extinct dugongs, NHMLAC researchers had a busy year describing new species. Meet some of the coolest creatures our researchers described this year, along with other inspiring discoveries.

A life-like painting of a large lizard lurking over a nest of dinosaur eggs with one already in its mouth

A Monster “Goblin” at the Feet of Dinosaurs

Meet the newly discovered giant, armored lizard named for the Hobbit’s goblin prince

Chalcides ocellatus, image flipped

A New Skink in Town

How an iNaturalist observation of a non-native lizard could help protect Southern California’s native species—and its economy

Rectangular stone with Maya glyph depicting a man holding a cacao plant. Campeche, Mexico. AD 600-900.

A Virtual Chocolate-y Tour of the Collections

Explore the collections of the Natural History Museum through the lens of chocolate!

Lunar New Year year of the dragon illustration

Year of the Dragon

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

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snake live animals herpetology

The Museum's collection of amphibians and reptiles contains approximately 190,000 catalogued specimens from around the globe.

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kid with phone at a unrc event

Community Science

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

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GeckoWatch is a community science project to map the fine-scale distribution of nonnative geckos in the United States.

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