Los Angeles Natural History Museum

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If you are traveling to (or thinking of traveling to) Los Angeles, one of the places I would consider a must see is the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. As a child, growing up in LA I have been here many times, but its only until recently that I went and realized what a gem this place really is. It's no surprise that this museum has been ranked one of the top things to do in Los Angles by both TripAdvisor and Timeout. Here is a little of my experience and of what I thought about one of LA's most historical museums.

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The Location -

Being located on the northwest side of Exposition Park off the 110 fwy makes this museum an ideal commute from pretty much anywhere in Los Angeles. The park itself has tons of attractions including the Rose Garden, California Science Center, African American Museum, and is home to the Memorial Coliseum. Parking for all the attractions is located next to the Science Center and can be accessed from Figueroa St. on the east side of the park. Parking for cars and school buses is $12 until 5:00 p.m. and $15 after 5:00 p.m. Parking for Charter buses and oversize vehicles is $30 (CASH ONLY). All these locations are worth checking out and if for some reason you can't do them all, at least make sure to pass through the Rose Garden.

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The Museum -

Admission to the museum is inexpensive for the experience. Ticket prices may change, but currently admission is as follows:

• Adult Museum Admission - $14.00
• Senior Museum Admission (Ages 62+) - $11.00
• Student Museum Admission (With School ID) - $11.00
• Youth Museum Admission (Ages 13-17) - $11.00
• Child Museum Admission (Ages 3-12) - $6.00

The museum itself is a huge complex featuring 16 permanent exhibits and usually has special exhibits running (right now it’s the Butterfly Pavilion and Spider Pavilion). The permanent exhibits include the African Mammals, Age of Mammals, Ancient Latin American Art, Becoming L.A., Birds, Dinosaur Hall, Dinosaurs, Discovery Center, Gems and Minerals, Haaga Family Rotunda, Insect Zoo, Nature Gardens, Nature Lab, North American Mammals, Shells, and the Zuni Fetishes exhibit. You can learn more about which special exhibits and events they have by clicking the link above and veiwing their calendar. I will however tell you that if you want to visit all of exhibits and cover them in detail, make sure that you get there early and plan to spend the day there. Here are some of the pictures I took while we were there.

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North American Mammal Hall -

The hall’s habitat dioramas recreate the realistic natural environments in which these animals have been found. It showcases a range of habitats — from desert to rainforest. The recreations include the trees, plants, and birds that lived alongside the featured animals. Animals here include Caribou, Walrus, Grizzly bear, Plains Bison and 41 others.

Plains bison, Bison (Bos) bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758)

Caribou, Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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African Mammal Hall -

Here you can view many of the animals that have been found in Africa. Some animals here are the Arabian oryx, Okapi, Greater Kudu, Lion, and a beautiful display of the Savanna elephant. Also, each animal found throughout the museum has a display in front of it that says a little about what life was like for the animal.

Savanna elephant, Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach, 1797)

Lion, Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758)

Greater kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros (Pallas, 1766)

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Gem and Mineral Hall- (My Favorite)

This is easily what I consider the best exhibit in the museum. This hall displays more than 2,000 gems and minerals and is massive. It has one of the biggest California collections and you can even touch some of the gems. There is also the F.C. Hixon Gem Vault here, where you can go in and see some beautiful stones (including diamonds). Out of all gems and minerals I would have to say I was most impressed with the luminescent.

Inside gem and mineral hall

Not Illuminated	Illuminated

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More Pics From The Day -

Nature Lab

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs

Gem and Mineral Hall

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Just A Reminder -

As I said before there really is so much and I can’t stress enough how much this should be an all-day activity. For more information on NHM visit nhm.org. Until next time....