Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is a museum displaying artifacts and diverse specimens of plant and animal life from around the world. A staple of Los Angeles’ museum circuit, the NHM displays the cultural artifacts from Latin America, African and North American mammals, the “mega-mouth” shark and 2,000 specimens of rock on display in the gem and mineral hall.

Right now, the museum has on temporary display a photography exhibit exploring the history of the Natural History Museum’s building, its construction and architecture by Joseph Hall, an architectural photographer.

Past exhibits include “Sonic Scenery” which is a collection of music that was inspired by the exhibits at the Natural History Museum and performed by several different world-renowned orchestras and the “Pavilion of Wings,” a display of live butterflies that visitors can handle and learn about interactively.

Location and Hours

The Natural History Museum is located right across the street from the University of Southern California at 900 Exposition Boulevard between Vermont and Figueroa. The museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the weekends.

Admission

Admission to the museum is free on the first Tuesday of each month and the museum’s members, USC faculty and USC students receive free admission to the museum’s First Fridays concert series.

For non-members, adult admission to the museum costs $9 and a bunch of other discounts for the old and young bring the admission down to $6.50.

The Natural History Museum recommends that you don’t even visit the museum on USC game days because of the hundreds of thousands of people that come to the area. Street closures and traffic jams make visiting too much of a hassle, the museum says.

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