Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

I have visited this Museum many times years ago but either with pops, on my own or with friends, so now that I have a small family, it was nice to see the kids reaction especially because it was their first time here at this Museum, it was a tad annoying as the main entrance was fenced (maybe for renovation, addition or whatevs) being a fan of Architecture, I really wanted them to see the front entrance of the building in its full grandeur, those enormous steps leading to the main entrance but it didn't happen, wonk-wonk. Anyway... ...The kids loved the dinosaur exhibit and surprised to hear them talking about the history of LA and how much interest they have on it, the birds exhibition was really awesome too and of course they loved the gift shop lol I LOVE the character and architecture of this museum, I also like their seasonal featured exhibits, the old artifacts, the potteries and statues but always somehow at the back of my head, it reminds me of an Indiana Jones movie where some of these old relics can either curse you or bring some bad jujus ha ha so I breeze by those exhibits when I can. I am thankful we have a Natural History Museum in our City/County, this always is a great place for additional Education and bring awareness especially to young minds not just some history of our existence but also interesting bit regarding our community.

Saw an ad for their seasonal Spider Pavilion - where you can walk among over 300 giant Orb Weavers - and just had to see it!! It's amazing - unnerving yes, but definitely an amazing experience!! *Disclaimer: although my spider photos look very very close, I have a special lens and am actually quite far away - I didn't disturb them or touch them or anything* Every year, around late August/early Sept, they release over 300 giant Orb Weavers into what's typically their Butterfly Enclosure and let them get established with their giant webs just in time for spooky season lol! And they let you walk around with all these massive spiders dangling over your head and hiding in the trees around you! A perfect way to get in the Halloween spirit haha! But don't worry - there are lots of spider staff on hand to educate everyone and help with any fears, concerns, or issues you may have. And these spiders are actually quite slow and docile - they're not interested in you at all. They're also not harmful to us - all spiders are venomous to some degree, but these guys won't bite you unless you're aggressively harassing them and even then it won't be much worse than a bee sting (unless your allergic). That being said, please don't harass them lol! I learned so much and got to see all sorts of species of spiders- mostly orb weavers such as the Golden Silk, Joro, Orchard Spider, and Yellow Garden Spiders. I also found a few Cat-faced Spiders and they're super cute!! And I found a creepy Green Lynx guarding a giant egg bundle AND an absolutely adorable, tiny jumping spider! I even managed to find a couple of tiny baby spiders running around and one that was on a giant web that I got some great pics of! What an experience!! I also found a cluster of ladybugs in all their various stages of development: larvae, pupae, and adult - I didn't even know ladybugs pupated!! So it's definitely worth a visit if you can handle it - lots of school groups came through and most of the kids were loving it haha! Entry is with a timed ticket that you have to reserve in advance and it's an additional $8 on top of general museum admission. Staff take you into the first room where they give you the rules and some info and education and there's a nice display of various types of tarantulas too - but those are behind glass so don't worry haha! Your timed ticket is good for 30 minutes but staff are generous and flexible if you want to stay longer. And if you can't get enough of the awesome arachnids, they have another creepy and interesting exhibit downstairs in the Nature Lab of Black and Brown Widows in cute little cages with different themes. Very creepy but fun to check out. The museum itself is massive - it would take me at least a week to explore it all. But I had a nice walk around their extensive gem and mineral exhibit and the Nature Lab - so interesting!! They have all sorts of native California creatures and even a large enclosure full of rats!! Live rats!! They have a cafe called Neighborhood Grill and a gift shop and several floors of different exhibits - it's huge! They have their own parking garage that's guarded and costs $15 for the day. It's all handicap accessible and has EV charging. What an incredible experience! And wonderful, knowledgeable, passionate staff! I'll definitely be back to explore more!

I had been to this Museum once circa 1995 as a kid and remember enjoying it, but haven’t been there since. I now have kids of my own and took them to the museum. They enjoyed it just as I did. My older son is a dinosaur and prehistoric animal fiend and this museum delivered. It is larger than it looks and had a lot to offer. It is clean, well-organized, and full of great displays, and wasn’t too crowded where I felt uncomfortable. We enjoyed the bone displays and the animal dioramas that compose most of the museum. We ended up hanging out around 5-6 hours… so much to see and do. The food café was pretty good too. I got my son a flatbread pizza for like $15 thinking it was an overpriced slice. Nope, it was a whole pizza that could’ve fed us both. The tenders I got was good too. The only thing I didn’t love was 1) I got a little lost in the museum and elevators were often down or hard to locate 2) The Museum parking lot was full and I have to park at the Expo lot which was a bit of a trek. I actually got a little lost trying to find this back up lot and ended up doing some laps around Expo Park in traffic… so that was a poor start. I guess get there early to get the better lot. Anyway, the museum itself was awesome and I would definitely return. Hopefully not 23 years later next time.

Tons of things to see here. I’m very glad we went. My family really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed all the dinosaurs.