Stories

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

Jason Pereira holding up a checker-patterned woven mat with an attached painting of a white-outlined bird

Collections Revealed

Jason Pereira draws on his Pacific Island heritage and upbringing in L.A.

Illustration of aquatic sloths chilling by the beach next to some penguins and sea lions during a sun set

Dive Into the Weird Miocene World of Aquatic Sloths

A new paper by an international team of researchers, including NHM's Curator of Marine Mammals, Dr. Jorge Velez-Juarbe, uncovers more secrets of aquasloths with one of the most complete skeletons ever discovered

Dung beetle expedition Catalina Island crew

Join the Dung Beetle Hunt

Walk in the shoes of La Brea Tar Pits scientists who ventured to a less-trodden part of Catalina Island to scout for dung beetles in bison poop!

Coyote skull in the process of being cleaned by dermestid beetles

Behind the Scenes With The Flesh-Eating Beetles Preparing Museum Specimens

Meet the smallest and possibly most gruesome members of NHM's collection staff: flesh-eating Dermestid beetles. CONTENT WARNING: Specimen preparation is metal. There are a lot of images of dead animals in different states of decay and preparation below.