Mummy Dearest: The Natural History Museum's Latest Exhibit

We recently became members of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and as members, that includes free admission to special exhibits like the new "Mummies: New Secrets from the Tombs."

The display, created by Chicago's Field Museum, includes a look at 20 mummies (many of which have never been on public display) from both ancient Egypt and Peru.

Details:

This exhibition reveals these people’s burial secrets, new details about their lives, and the societies they lived in.

Also on display will be richly decorated coffins, sarcophaguses, mummification tools, and mummies of birds, cats, and crocodiles. At interactive touchtables, you can “unwrap” layers of mummies, to see the precious objects the bodies were buried with, as well as vivid details about the individual children, teens, and adults who lived out their lives in ancient times. Using the modern technology of CT scanning, scientists have revealed a detailed look into long-vanished cultures of Peru and Egypt.

The Blogger Kids were armed with plenty of questions about why the practice once existed, and what happened to it. We took photos of some of the displays, but honored the museum's request not to photograph any of the human remains on display.

More pics:















The Mummies exhibit continues through Jan. 18. The NHM is open 9:30 am - 5 pm every day (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day).

Scenes from the Natural History Museum's First Fridays Opener

Science, music, booze. There's a lot to like about the Natural History Museum's First Fridays events, which returned on Feb. 6. It was the first First Friday for Maria and I, and we hope to make it to another one.

We got to the museum in time for the music, sponsored by KCRW: Tom Vek performed at 8, followed by Robert DeLong at 9:15. The performances took place in one of the North American mammal halls, which meant stuffed animals looking on as the crowds grooved to the music. In another hall, KCRW's Raul Campos and Guest DJ Mr. Pauer spun grooves. Outside, food trucks were available (although the lines were too long) and inside, beer, wine and cocktails were for sale. (Including a great deal on $4 microbrews.)

Unfortunately, we got there too late to experience the tours and discussions. NHM Citizen Science manager Lila Higgins gave a tour on "Finding LA's Hidden Wildlife One Photo at a Time," and later Sam Droege led the discussion "Taking Control of Your World - Citizen Science Activism."

Still, besides the music, Maria and I toured my favorite exhibit ("Becoming LA," of course!) and walked around some of the second-floor galleries. (No dinosaurs for us this time, we'll save that for the next time we hit the NHM with the boys).

The NHM has become my favorite LA museum, and the kids love it too. But for one First Friday evening, it was the perfect spot for date night.

Some pics:


Outside the NHM, which was sold out for First Fridays. Get your tickets early!


Crowd forms to get in to see Tom Vek and Robert DeLong.


Opener Tom Vek performs


If this were "Night at the Museum," this grizzly would be annoyed by the loud music.


This guy is at the "Becoming LA" exhibit.


DJ Mr. Pauer on the ones and twos.


Robert DeLong wraps up his set...


... and says hello to fans after the show. But there's a hard out: The NHM shuts down at 10 p.m. on First Fridays. Hey, they gotta clean the place up, the museum is back open on Saturday morning, after all!

A Trip to the Natural History Museum's Spider Pavilion

It's that creepy, crawly time of year, and the Natural History Museum's Spider Pavilion is back to celebrate our multi-legged pals.

Held in the same place where just a month earlier butterflies roamed, now the museum has let loose some mighty big spiders to do their thing. Visitors get up close to the spiders and their webs, but there's still room to walk. Here's some details:

Our open-air Spider Pavilion, under a white tent on the Museum's South Lawn, is a place where visitors can marvel at hundreds of spiders spinning their intricate webs. This year’s Pavilion will showcase, in its redesigned anteroom exhibit, several tarantulas and eight-eyed jumping spiders like this one!

The Pavilion's collection of colorful eight-legged creatures includes more than 300 arachnid inhabitants, such as golden silk spiders, Nephila clavipes, whose web of yellow threads can reach six feet wide and whose silk is as strong as steel. Pavilion-goers will also be captivated by spiky orb-weavers Gasteracantha geminata and the day-glo-colored orchard spiders Leucauge venusta.

The Museum's Gallery Interpreters regularly monitor the creatures' webs to make sure there’s ample space between branches to provide optimal web-spinning options. Those blue-shirted staff members will be on hand to explain the intricate web architecture and engineering, and provide more details about spiders that are spinning around neighborhoods, near and far, this fall.

Some pics from our visit:





















We also made our way through the regular portion of the museum, where the Blogger Kids still enjoy checking out the dinosaur exhibit:



And of course, I enjoy the "Creating LA" exhibit, including this massive model of downtown Los Angeles, as it looked in the late 1930s:





Each visit to the Spider Pavilion requires a timed-ticket for an additional fee in addition to the entrance fee: $5 for adults, youth and seniors, and $3 for children (museum members receive free admission). The Spider Pavilion is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, with the last ticket sold at 4:30 pm.

FREE LA: Celebrating the West at Santa Clarita's William S. Hart Ranch and Museum

This weekend's adventure with the kids involved a half-hour drive up to Santa Clarita to check out the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum. Run by the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, the Hart Museum is located on the former ranch of silent movie star Hart. The grounds are a tribute to cowboys and the Wild West, and includes a petting zoo in addition to tours of Hart's mansion and ranch house. Details:

The William S. Hart Park and Museum is the former retirement home of the famed silent film actor and director who produced a series of hit Western movies in the early 1900's. His beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival Style Mansion – now the Museum – exhibits an impressive collection of Western artwork by noted artists Charles M. Russell, Frederic Remington, and Joe de Yong, as well as mementos from early Hollywood, personal furnishings and effects, and artifacts representing multiple Native American cultures.

The Museum also includes an historic 1910 Ranch House that exhibits Hart's tack and saddle collection, personal furnishings, and additional Hollywood mementos.

Both the Mansion and the Ranch House are located in scenic William S. Hart Park, where guests may enjoy visiting a live collection of farm animals, a herd of American bison, a vast picnic area, a series of hiking trails, and a charming Western-themed Gift Store.

The best part: the Park and Museum are free. There's always events going on as well; this Saturday we stopped by for a cowboy-themed event, and the kids did various arts and crafts plus rode a carriage. Some pics:




Roping demonstration


The William S. Hart mansion; tours are given on the weekends.


Office inside the house


Lookout castle near the mansion


Small tea room near the house


Sun deck



The William S. Hart ranch house (which he built before building the mansion at the top of the hill)


Saddle collection, located inside the William S. Hart ranch house


Ranch brand


Dogs' graveyard

William S. Hart Park and Museum
24151 Newhall Avenue
Newhall, CA 91321
Wednesdays - Fridays, 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Saturdays - Sundays, 11:00am - 4:00pm

Los Angeles Ad Town: Carmax Visits the Natural History Museum

Exposition Park's Natural History Museum is a popular spot for film shoots -- particularly period pieces set in New York, for some reason. (Check out "Mad Men's" visit here.

You're less likely to see a car ad at the museum, but this recent Carmax commercial (part of its "Start Here" campaign) visits the building, before taking the ad's stars all the way to a used car lot. (I believe the closest one is in Inglewood, close to LAX.)

L.A. Plays New York: "Mad Men," Week 12: Natural History Edition

When Glen Bishop takes Sally Draper "across the Park" to the museum, they're really hanging out at Los Angeles County's Natural History Museum, located in Exposition Park. (The Franklin Avenue crew was there not too long ago; our report is still to come.)

Below, Glen and Sally... before Sally darted out of the museum due to a certain circumstance.



What a wild episode. And sort of upsetting. Your thoughts on this season's penultimate episode of "Mad Men"?

Dinosaurs! "B-Movies and Bad Science" Return to the La Brea Tar Pits

The outdoor movie trend has exploded in recent years, and here's a unique one: For its annual "B-Movies and Bad Science" outdoor movie festival, the Natural History Museum is celebrating the opening of its new Dinosaur Hall by focusing on "dinosaurs and their sci-fi counterparts." (The event itself is actually held at the La Brea Tar Pits, next to the Page Museum.)

This Saturday, that means the campy 1960 feature "Dinosaurs!" More details:

Spend a lighthearted Saturday evening outside, as members of the Natural History Museum Family’s science and history staff explore the “science” behind Hollywood’s weirdest and most implausible B-movies. Prior to each screening, curatorial staff from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) and the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits will introduce the movie, explore a few scientific facts (if any), and show off related Hollywood artifacts and specimens from our collections.

Bring your blanket and picnic, and cozy up to watch a movie under the stars. This is the third season for the series, and the first year all films will be held outdoors at the Page Museum (on the great lawn, adjacent to the Museum in Hancock Park). Each screening begins with a discussion at 8:30 pm, followed by the film at 9:00 pm. Cost is free.

Here's the schedule:

Saturday, July 30
Dinosaurus! (1960)
Before the film, Page Museum Assistant Lab Supervisor Trevor Valle will lead the discussion.

Saturday, August 6
The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
Before the film, head of NHM’s Dinosaur Institute and curator of the Dinosaur Hall, Dr. Luis Chiappe, will lead the discussion.

Saturday, August 20
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
Before the film Dr. John Long, NHM’s VP of Research and Collections, will lead the discussion.

Saturday, August 27
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Before the film Chief Curator of the Page Museum Dr. John Harris will lead the discussion.

Go to www.tarpits.org or call (323) 934-PAGE for more info.