We heard great things about the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) and decided to take our family there for the first time. My son is recently into dinosaurs and we were excited to take him to see his very first Dinosaur display.
Our visit started with lunch at the Grill on the first floor and we visited some of the outdoor exhibits for kids. There are fun stations to help weave a willow house with twigs and to learn about composting.
Right next to the Grill is the Nature Lab. This place has so many fun interactive stations for kids to play with that we lost track of time. As a parent I appreciate a hands-on learning exhibit like this because it inspires creative learning that young kids can grasp, plus, I would not be able to replicate equipment like this at home. You can also meet live animals here!
The Dinosaur Hall was amazing. There are 300 fossils and 20 complete dinosaurs. My son knew that dinosaurs were big, but he didn’t know they were That big. Seeing him take in the size of the dinosaurs for the first time was precious and I will always remember his expression of amazement and fear. I can tell that he couldn’t completely wrap his mind around the size yet but his curiosity was sparked and he wanted to know more. The mulit-media stations here were perfect for him here. He loved seeing the excavating process, and wanted us to head over right away to the Dino Lab right after and watch the real life paleontologists prepare actual fossil specimens.
Also on display now is the debut of Grandes Maestros: Great Masters of lberoamerican Folk Art, Collection of Fomento Cultural Bananex. I appreciated the colorful, intricate work here all immersed in the identity of Iberoamérica. You can see the passion and the rich culture in the beautiful works on display. We were told that the artists commissioned were all recognized teachers in their community and deemed masters of their craft. When you walk through this exhibit, you can see the boldness and confidence these artists have in expressing their message and they executed in perfection.
There was so much to see at the NHM that although we were here for 5 hours, we still didn’t finish exploring all the rooms. There were some exciting new happenings and modern technology here, yet at the same time I recognized some displays from my childhood that are still so impressive and grand. We had a fantastic time creating new memories with the family and will definitely be back again soon.
