Stories

Welcome to Stories, a place to explore—and be inspired by—the wonder of our natural and cultural worlds.

Dive into the matriarchal culture of orcas

Meet some of the insects found at La Brea Tar Pits and discover how these microfauna can tell big stories about our climate, past, present, and future

Sideview of black and white dire wolf against a purple background

Dire Wolf v Tar Pit

Explore the mystery of dire wolves in this new documentary

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Robin Walsh with her hand on the head of a tan and white dinosaur puppet

Augustynolophus morrisi

California’s State Dinosaur and NHM’s Newest Puppet

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Strange Sharks

Unbelievable Adaptations Hidden in the Museum’s Collections

Bobwhite, a brown quail-like bird with small black and white accents, on the ground

Research and Collections

Scientists and Engineers Measure How Birds Send Heat into Space for the First Time

A new study from scientists at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, UCLA, Indiana University, and Cal State University, Dominguez Hills reveals the hidden reflectance of bird feathers through the prism of light, heat, and color

Research and Collections

Meet Masripithecus: Newly Described Ancient Ape Fills a Gap in Evolutionary History of Primates

An international team of researchers add a new chapter in the story of apes—including us humans—starting around 18 million years ago in North Africa

Person on one knee looking at a taxidermy coyote

Research and Collections

From the David Attenborough of Queens to the First-ever Curator of Community Science, Meet Dr. Christine Wilkinson

Explore some of the common misconceptions about coyotes with our new Curator of Community Science

Uncovering L.A.'s Ice Age Past

Take a dip into the science of the tar pits in this video, a rare look under the surface at the fossilized bones of Ice Age predators, from dire wolves to mighty mammoths.

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