Back with part 3 of my family vacation post series. Part 1, and part 2 was the first half of our day. After eating some lunch we were on our way to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. The NHM was actually the main attraction we traveled 300 miles for. Funny thing is we actually thought the Tar Pits was at this location, which is another attraction we were excited for. Turns out this is was not where the Tar Pits are, but obviously that fact did not end ruining our trip. Far from it! The area where this museum is located has an abundance of attractions. Including what I showed in the first 2 posts of this series, and the LA Coliseum where the 1984 Olympics were hosted is also next store.
After we were done eating, we headed up the steps to the NHM. The building was constructed in 1913, and is beutifull!
As you walk in this is the site you are greeted with. A beautiful dome with stained glass, and the Three Graces statue. The 3 woman represent Art, Science, and History.
It is just amazing to know that this piece of art is over 100 years old! Also please do not sit on it, ;)
The dome is also a site to see!
They really had class back then
Admiring the design of the building makes the trip here well worth it. Do they even make stuff like this anymore?
Reptiles
Now what we came for. DINOSAURS!
Got to start off with the most famous Dino of all, T.Rex!
What makes this museum even better, is the natural light. It really brings the exhibits to life. The Rotunda at the entrance lets us know, that this building was designed with excellence in mind!
That is not an Ostrich!
The excitement on his face says it all, this place is awesome!
Of course with all the other cool plushies, my son chooses to get Toad from a vendor outside:)
The Dinosaur bones make up most of the Museum. Just about every species uncovered from the ground are on display.
Seeing this in pictures does 0 justice on how huge the Brachiosauridae is!
No really sure what kind of Dinosaur this is. Maybe you can let me know in the comments? LOL
Ofcourse I am kidding! One thing that I know from watching The Land Before Time, from the father of Cera the Triceratops dad. Was this was the most racists Dino of them all.
I have mad respect to the people who work on these exhibits. The attention to detail that goes into all of this is just amazing! From putting together the bones, to the way they choose to display them must be time exhuming.
Now we made our way out of the Dinosaur exhibits, out to the hallway..
But before we made our way to the other exhibits, there was one more display that caught our eye!
If Ben Stiller had to work here, I doubt he would still be around today after these came to life;)
Mammals
Now we head into the age of Mammals, this should be cool too!
A cool thing I never knew before visiting here, was Mammoths roamed up, and down the whole state of California. Especially where LA is today!
Not as exciting as the Dinos, but still very interesting
Sea Life
If I remember correctly, this is a Whale skull.
When I asked my son which was his favorite part of the museum, he said it was the Megalodon tooth :)
The boys really loved this interactive exhibits!
The great frontier
At this point I was thinking that maybe we wasted time at the Science Center. Both places really deserves a full day to explore. Between the two I would so much rather explore the NHM. This is largely due to the fact that it is literally the closes place to my home that has Dinosaur bones. There is something in the Bay Area, but is closed to the public. San Jose has some things like the Science Center, and is a hour drive. It will be at least another year before I could ever do something like this again. But we were making the most of it...
Walking into this room was like stepping into another world compared to the rest of the museum.
In each display they had a scene of Taxidermy animals in their natural habitat. Most were made in the early 1900's. Some are animals that died of old age.
The City Of Angels
Now a days LA has been associated with the homeless problem in America. It is true that there is a population 41,980 of 'unhoused' people living here. But it still has it's charm. The history runs deep, and there is so much cool stuff. The NHM showcases some of this cool history it its halls. After all it alone is apart of it..
They also had a little display about Hollywood. Looking back on my phone I am a little upset I stopped taking photos. I was really exhausted at this point. One thing that I found very cool was a woman's outfit on display.
The outfit was one an actress wore on screen. Then right beside it was a few clips of her with the outfit. Looking at the above photo that I pulled from the NHM website, it appears they rotate this display with different dresses, from different actors. The one that was there that I saw was purple, and from a different movie.
So it is now 4 o'clock, and the museum is about to close. Not only that I really want to get on the HWY before rush hour. So we are calling it a day. We still had a whole other floor to see! But it is what is. The Dinosaurs where the reason why we even came. Everything else is just a bonus. As we where walking out, something caught our eyes.....
The Gem And Mineral Hall!
To be continued...