Stories
Welcome to Stories, a place to explore—and be inspired by—the wonder of our natural and cultural worlds.
The Bugs of La Brea Tar Swamp
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
2025 Excavated: A Look Back at Some of the Biggest NHM Discoveries
From prehistoric giant lizards and ancient raccoons to newly discovered spiders and heroic extinct dugongs, NHMLAC researchers had a busy year describing new species.
Meet some of the coolest creatures our researchers described this year, along with other inspiring discoveries.
Fossil Trees Help Grow Our Understanding of Ancient Climate
A new study reveals how ancient trees from La Brea Tar Pits helped warm the planet during the last ice age by coughing up CO2
Meet Biggest Big Cat at the Tar Pits: The American Lion
Get up close and personal with the fiercest Ice Age Angeleno
Meet Teratorn, the Largest Bird Found at La Brea Tar Pits
The teratorn was undoubtedly big, but was it a big vulture or something else?
Walking With Giant Sloths
Take a (virtual) summer road trip to White Sands National Park to explore the fossilized tracks of giant ground sloths
Get Stuck on Petroleum Flies
KQED’s Deep Look gets up close and personal with the Tar Pits most successful (and smallest) predator