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The New Dinosaur Hall at The Natural History Museum in LA!

photo credit: Allie Caulfield

photo credit: Allie Caulfield

The Natural History Museum, one of my all time favorite museums in LA, opened their new Dinosaur Hall back in 2011.  Last spring, my family and I had the opportunity to check it out and it was AMAZING!  This all-new, 14,000-square-foot Dinosaur Hall is twice the size of the Museum’s old dinosaur galleries.  On display is over 300+ fossils and 20 complete dinosaurs and ancient sea creatures.

Natural History Museum

photo credit: Allie Caulfield

Here are some cold hard facts about the exhibit, literally! (source: www.nahm.org):

  • One of the centerpieces of the exhibit is the T. rex growth series — the only trio of different aged T. rex specimens in the world.
  • One of the great things about the Dinosaur Hall is how close the design lets you get to the fossils!  Look a Triceratops in the eye, or walk under the neck of a 68-foot Mamenchisaurus that’s longer than a city bus!
  • All 20 of the complete dinosaur and sea creature mounts have either never been on display before, or have been re-posed according to the latest research. Many were discovered in the last several years by the Museum’s in-house Dinosaur Institute.
  • The Dinosaur Hall doesn’t just have fossils. The exhibition is also packed with multi-media stations where you can “excavate” specimens and watch never-before-seen footage of a real dinosaur hunting expedition.

On Thursdays and over the weekend, NHM hosts the Dinosaur Encounters Show!  Dinosaurs come to life as realistic T. rex and Triceratops large-scale puppets capture the imaginations of young audiences.  Families learn together about dinosaur anatomy, possible behavior and movement.  This show is FREE with the cost of admission.

Natural History Museum

photo credit: David Leigh Ellis

In addition to the new Dinosaur Hall, there are many other exhibits to see at the NHM:

  • The traveling exhibit Grandes Maestros: Great Masters of Iberoamerican Folk Art, Collection of Fomento Cultural Banamex.  This colorful exhibit showcases more than 1,200 works including masks, textiles, sculptures, yarn paintings, clay animals, and religious and political altarpieces representing 22 countries throughout Latin America, as well as Spain and Portugal.
  • Get hands-on and up close and personal with live animals in the Nature Lab.
  • The Butterfly Pavilion – opening in April 2015
  • The Gem and Mineral Hall displays more than 2,000 spectacular specimens within two large galleries that comprise what is considered to be one of the finest exhibits of gems and minerals in the world.
  • And so much more

Four times a year the Natural History Museum also hosts Homeschool Days!  Homeschool Days are FREE for “any student receiving academic instruction at home for grades PreK (2 years old) through Grade 12 and his/her educators.”  Furthermore, they offer additional fun classes to enhance your child’s visit.

There are two remaining Homeschool Days for the 2014-2015 school year!

Bugs and Botany
Monday April 20, 2015

Art and Nature
Wednesday June 17, 2015

So the next time you are in LA, make a day of it, and visit the Natural History Museum!

Happy Field Tripping,

Jilleen

Disclosure: This post is for informational purposes only.  All opinions are my own.

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Kristi D

Tuesday 24th of February 2015

We went a month or so ago and loved it! We will have to go back and check out the puppet show.

Jilleen

Tuesday 24th of February 2015

There is so much to see, huh. It requires at least 2 days.