The Magazine of the
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
October and November 2016
FACE TO
FACE WITH
DINOSAURS
Butterflies and Spiders
Get a New Home
Open through Sunday, October 16
The outdoor living habitat features increased
flight space and better viewing opportunities
for 25 species of free-flying butterflies.
Free for Members. Timed-tickets required.
RSVP by calling 213.763.3499 or visit
NHM.ORG/butterflies.
Through Sunday, December 11
Member Preview Days are
Friday, October 28, and
Saturday, October 29.
Free for Members with timed-tickets.
Visit NHM.ORG/spiders for more information.
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Over the summer, I joined the Museum’s Dinosaur
Institute on an expedition to dig for dinosaur bones
buried in the Utah desert. As a geologist, I was thrilled
to pick up a chisel and see the fossils of giant animals
that lived 150 million years ago slowly emerge from
rocks before my eyes. In this issue of the Naturalist,
you’ll read about what NHM’s crew discovered there
and how paleontologists, volunteers, and students
worked together toward a common purpose — to
share that sense of wonder and discovery with you.
Visitors to NHM will get up close to those ancient
specimens in the Dino Lab. Every time I walk by, I see
young visitors watching in awe as Museum paleontologists and volunteers whisk sandstone from the
bones of long-necked dinosaurs and prepare the fossils
for study. The information they record is helping
researchers around the world answer questions about
how dinosaurs evolved.
Many of the fossils that were procured on earlier
Dinosaur Institute expeditions are now on display in
the Museum’s Jane G. Pisano Dinosaur Hall. The extraordinary exhibition, which marks its fifth anniversary
this year, was designed to engage visitors with the
Museum’s research through its preeminent displays.
Visitors of all ages are marveling at the gigantic and
authentic fossils, including the world’s only Tyrannosaurus
rex growth series, starring a remarkably complete young
adult T. rex named Thomas. NHM is the West Coast hub
for dinosaurs. There is no other institution nearby that
combines our research and collections, ongoing fieldwork,
and a state-of-the-art exhibition. If you haven’t visited
in a while, I invite you to stop in, come face-to-face with
giants, and share your experience with us.
Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga
President and Director
2
4
10
13
14
15
16
Briefs
NHM's Fossil Hunters
Go Back to the Badlands
Halloween Is Coming
Spider Pavilion Opens
Dig This: Our New Tar Pits Expert
The Gift of Expertise
Events
Institutional Partner
Signature Sponsor
The Naturalist magazine is a publication of the Natural History
Museum of Los Angeles County and is issued six times a year.
As a Member benefit, each issue provides a look at Museum
exhibits, collections, adventures, research, and events. Through
them, we inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our
natural and cultural worlds.
Image: Cover: José Soler, NHM
Paleontological Preparator, in the
Utah quarry brushing sediment
from the femur of a sauropod,
a long-necked dinosaur.
Credit: Stephanie Abramowicz.
1
Naturalist October / November 2016
Dinosaurs, Up Close
Among the surprises in NHM’s History Collection
is a cache of film artifacts, and two from Ben-Hur
are on display in Becoming Los Angeles. The story
of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew persecuted by the Roman
Empire during the time of Christ, began as a novel,
then hit the Broadway stage, and has been made
into five films since 1907, including one this year.
On display in a glass case in the exhibition is a leather
tunic that Ramon Novarro (portraying Ben-Hur)
wore during the chariot race scene in the 1925
movie, one of the most dangerous and thrilling
action sequences captured on film. There is also
a wool tunic worn by Charlton Heston in the 1959
film during his triumphant entry into Rome. Visitors
to exhibition will be able to catch these classic
costumes through the end of 2016.
An A M ERI C A N
Classic
2
Naturalist October / November 2016
A vintage car in NHM’s collection
recently cruised into the Pebble Beach
Concours D’Elegance — the most prestigious automotive event in the country — to strut its struts.
The American Underslung, which was donated to
the Museum in 1937, was an automotive engineering
breakthrough in its day. It got its name because
the manufacturer, the Stutz Motor Car Company,
turned the car’s innards upside down; the body
was underneath the wheelbase. That flipped design
made for a much more comfortable ride. In 1930s
California, the sporty car’s popularity took off
because it could be driven with the top down.
The American Underslung is one of about
60 cars and a dozen motorcycles in the Museum’s
History Collection, and each has its own road-trip
tales to tell. Visitors will see two of them on display
in the Becoming Los Angeles exhibition. One is an
automotive time machine of sorts — the 1902 Tourist.
As the sole survivor from the company’s first year of
operation, the 114-year-old car is the earliest vehicle
manufactured in L.A. Also parked in the exhibition
is a studio process auto body which was designed
so actors could be filmed while appearing to drive in
a particular locale, such as in a city or on a country
outing. Cruise into NHM and hop in.
For more about L.A. cars and culture, visit
the Becoming Los Angeles exhibition!
Natural History
Family of Museums
BIRDS
OF STONE
Anyone interested in the history of
life — from paleontologists to inquisitive birders — will find the new book,
Birds of Stone: Chinese Avian Fossils in
the Age of Dinosaurs, a feast for the
eyes and mind. In the book, Dr. Luis
Chiappe, NHM’s Vice President of
Research and Collections, the Dinosaur
Institute’s Director, and a world expert
on early birds, and Meng Qingjin, a
leading figure in China's natural history
museum community, introduce this
sweeping collection of exceptionally
preserved fossils for the first time.
Filled with 184 large-format
photographs, Birds of Stone brings into
view the scientific significance of a bird
menagerie that thrived in northeastern
China between 120 and 131 million
years ago, just a short time (geologically speaking) after a dinosaur lineage
gave rise to the first birds. The book,
published by Johns Hopkins University
Press, will be available in November.
In the meantime, bird-loving NHM
visitors will discover other ancient
flyers on display in the Dinosaur Hall.
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
William S. Hart Museum
Tar Pits Data Mining
A Shielded Hart
One of the biggest challenges for
museums in the 21st century is the
digitization of their collections.
At the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum,
paleontologists have been cataloging
fossils into archival ledgers for the
past hundred years. Now the collections staff and volunteers have been
busy entering these paper records
into the Museum’s database. Thus far
they have captured almost 400,000
records with quite a few more to go!
Having digital records not only
helps to manage such an enormous
collection, but it also makes those
records freely available for global
research. Museum collections contain
vital information connecting our past,
present, and future, and are held
in the public trust. Imagine a world
where the possibilities for Museum
education, engagement and research
are just a click away.
Many visitors walk right past this
shield on the wall of the William
S. Hart Museum, thinking it’s just
another decoration. In actuality, it is
a piece of history that is linked to a
recent remake of a blockbuster movie.
The shield was from the very first
Broadway production of Ben-Hur in
1899, staring silent film star William
S. Hart in the role of Messala. The
story is about a Jew persecuted by
the Roman Empire during the time
of Christ. The play was a smashing
success and a massive undertaking.
They even constructed a large treadmill-like contraption in order to bring
real horses and chariots into the
theater. It was a production unlike
any audiences had ever seen before.
Hart later reprised the role in the
1907 Sidney Olcott unauthorized
Ben-Hur film — one of many retellings
of the famous Biblical blockbuster.
By Dave Paul
Image by Deniz Durmus.
For more information and to order
the book, visit press.jhu.edu.
Get your copy in the Museum Store!
Available in November.
Visit TARPITS.ORG
for more information.
To see this and other Hollywood
memorabilia, visit HARTMUSEUM.ORG
for more information.
3
Naturalist October / November 2016
Your
Chariot Is
Waiting
B E N E AT H T H E VA S T O P E N S K I E S of the Utah and
New Mexico deserts are quarries packed with dinosaur bones.
Two intrepid Museum teams, familiar with these badlands,
returned recently to uncover more surprises.
M O N TA N A
4
Naturalist October / November 2016
U TA H
NEW MEXICO
Written by Jessica Portner
Photography by Stephanie Abramowicz
T H E U TA H Q UA R RY
A crew of Museum scientists,
researchers, students, and volunteers
went back to the Utah badlands this
summer, where they punched through
rocks in sweltering heat to extract
bones of dinosaurs buried in what
was a riverbed 150 million years ago.
If these Dinosaur Institute
expeditions were a movie, they’d have
the same dramatic narrative arc — the
physical toil of excavation, the thrill
of discovery, and the return of the
fossils back to the Museum where a
new story literally unfolds every day.
“Every expedition creates
excitement because you go to
uncharted land,” says Dinosaur
Institute Director Dr. Luis Chiappe,
who oversees them. “And you
never know exactly what you’ll find.”
The quarry, located in southeastern Utah, is cinematic terrain — a landscape of tan-and-wine-colored
hills dotted with truck-sized boulders
of sandstone. As soon as Chiappe’s
30-person crew set their boots down
this summer, they grabbed their
gear and set to work demolishing the
concrete-like rock. They used hammers
and chisels to dislodge smaller patches
of stone, tiny dental picks for the fine
Watch video interviews with the
Utah crew at YouTube/nhmla.
work around the fossils, glue to
stabilize and protect the bones, and
brooms to sweep up the rocky debris.
To make their Jurassic prizes ready for
transport, they trenched around and
underneath the bones and protected
the fossils with tissue and plaster
“jackets.” Every bone was mapped on a
gridded sheet so that the relationship
of the fossils to one another was
documented for posterity. Scientists
also collected the details of the sediments that entombed the bones and
took samples of the rocks for dating.
Weeks after this Haaga Dinosaur
Expedition began, the team hauled
the cargo back to NHM — an 800mile journey. Back at the Museum,
paleontological conservators cracked
open the jackets, carefully whisked
sandstone from the bones, and recorded
information — all to help researchers
around the world understand the
diversity and evolution of dinosaurs
that lived in the Mesozoic Era.
BIG REVEAL
José Soler, an NHM paleontological
preparator in charge of this year’s
quarry crew, says despite the heavy
rains, hauling gear in the mud, and
100-plus-degree heat, his mind was
Fossils Plus
Stop into NHM for National Fossil
Day, Saturday, October 12! Visit
NHM.ORG/calendar for information.
M O N TA N A—
TAKING A
B ITE O F T. REX
Nathan Carroll, a USC
graduate student in
residence at the Dinosaur
Institute, found this drop
of 66-million-year-old
amber this summer when
digging in the Hell Creek
Formation in Montana.
The blood-orange-colored
amber, which comes
from tree resin, contains
an insect that was alive
hundreds of thousands of
years before dinosaurs
went extinct. “This is the
only fossil insect found
so far that would ever
have had a chance to
pester T. rex,” Carroll says.
A number of Museum Trustees and donors joined
the expedition, including Paul and Heather Haaga,
Karen and Jim Hoffman, Betsy Thumann and family,
and Gretchen Augustyn and family.
5
Naturalist October / November 2016
BACK
TO THE
BADLANDS
Nate Carroll
NHM’s Fossil Hunters Go
National Fossil Day
Saturday, October 12
Celebrate the day by visiting
the Dinosaur Hall, which
features more than 300 fossils
and 20 full-body specimens,
including Thomas the T. rex.
Dino-Themed
Overnights
Dino Detectives
October 21–22, 6:30 pm–9 am
At this action-packed
overnight, your group will
be junior paleontologists,
learning all about dinosaurs!
Museum scientists’ current
thrill, though, is the discovery of
a big portion of the spine — from
the neck through the middle of the
back down to the pelvis — of a longnecked sauropod dinosaur (picture
a Brontosaurus). The animal’s head
and the tail go into the wall of a tall
hill at both ends, so it potentially
keeps going. Dr. Chiappe hopes the
ancient behemoth is complete,
from snout to the end of its tail.
Dr. Alyssa Bell, a paleontologist
and postdoctoral researcher at the
Dinosaur Institute and a fossil-hunting
veteran, can’t wait to dig into the
quarry again next summer.
“It’s like paleo pick-up sticks
there,” says Bell. “Everything is stacked
on each other in all different angles
and it’ll take a while to unpack it.
It’s incredible.”
GHOST R ANCH, NEW MEXICO
Theropod
Ornithopod
Camarasaur
Ankylosaur
Diplodocoid
Above from left to right:
Associate Curator of the
Dinosaur Institute Dr. Nate
Smith in the field; the crew
in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico;
and an illustration by Victor
Leshyk of a scene there 212
million years ago that shows
early dinosaurs such as the
carnivorous dinosaur (in
background) were small and
rare, whereas other reptiles
were quite common. Photos
by Nate Smith.
6
Naturalist October / November 2016
Above graphic shows the relative
number of bones of the various kinds
of dinosaurs that have been excavated from the Utah quarry.
Illustration by the Dinosaur Institute's Stephanie Abramowicz.
Above: The team prepares to transport the season's collected fossils
from the camp in Utah to NHM. Image by Stephanie Abramowicz.
While his Museum colleagues were
unearthing Jurassic treasures in the
Utah badlands, Dinosaur Institute
Associate Curator Dr. Nate Smith
and his crew were in the New Mexico
desert excavating the bones of
some of the earliest dinosaurs to
roam the Earth 212 million years ago.
In the spectacular landscape north
of Santa Fe called Ghost Ranch,
made famous by Georgia O’Keefe’s
colorful paintings, Smith and his team
employ tiny dental picks to remove
clay and mudstone from the rocks
that contain evidence of life during
the dawn of the dinosaurs.
Over the years, Museum crews
have collected more than 25,000
specimens from two dozen different
species of animals, including a small
dinosaur and some dinosaur cousins
that have never been found before.
Smith’s biggest discovery to date is
the small theropod Tawa hallae, a find
that helped to flesh out what early
meat-eating dinosaurs looked like.
His team recently discovered
the bones of some odd-looking
animals, including Drepanosaurus,
a big-clawed, chameleon-like reptile.
The newest species added to the
Triassic menagerie is a predatory,
crocodile-like rauisuchid, Vivaron
haydeni. These and the surprises to
come will help Dr. Smith investigate
questions about the early evolution
of dinosaurs, their ecosystem,
their anatomy, and how they grew.
“The big question people
ask you right away when you talk
about dinosaurs is what the world
looked like when they lived,” says
Smith. “We will try to flesh that
out a little more.”
J O I N T H E E XC AVAT I O N
Watch videos of Museum excavators digging for
fossils in the badlands at YOUTUBE/nhmla.
7
Naturalist October / November 2016
DINOSAU R S
IN TH E
HOUS E
millions of years away.
“When I’m working on a fossil,
I’m thinking, ‘what’s the story behind
it? What happened to this animal?
How did it get here?’ That triggers a
story of what happened millions of
years ago and that’s mind-blowing,”
he says. “Then I don’t feel the heat.”
The Dinosaur Institute began
to dig eight years ago in the Gnatalie
quarry, named for the gnats that
pestered the excavators as they
worked. Since then, Museum paleontologists estimate the Jurassic bounty
at more than 400 gargantuan bones,
including those from the skeletons
of five different dinosaur species,
including at least six sauropod
individuals and specimens of ankylosaurs (armored dinosaur), ornithopods
(two-legged herbivores), and theropods (think T. rex relatives).
PRIZE
SPECIMENS
FROM CLASSROOM
T O Q UA R RY
The Dinosaur Institute’s collection
numbers more than 3,000 specimens.
OUR
DINOSAUR
LIB R ARIAN
BIGGEST
SMALLEST
A 600-pound femur
from a long-necked
dinosaur that Museum
crews excavated a few years
ago in the Utah quarry.
The teeth of the
tiniest North American
dinosaur, Fruitadens
haagarorum.
YOUNGEST
OLDEST
A long-necked titanosaur
from the San Juan Basin,
which experienced blowout
from an impact meteor
66 million years ago.
Fossils from an
ichthyosaur (excavated
in Nevada) that lived
240 million years ago.
YOUNG THOMAS
8
Naturalist October / November 2016
One of the youngest dinosaurs at the Museum is
also the hardest to miss — Thomas, the T. rex, who
towers in the Dinosaur Hall. Museum paleontologists
excavated Thomas in Montana from 2003 to 2005.
It is estimated to be a 70-percent-complete specimen,
one of 10 of the most complete T. rex specimens on
Earth. It was 17 years old when it roamed the planet
66 million years ago and weighed nearly 7,000
pounds when it died. Another fun fact for visitors
who stare up at this colossal teenager: From the tip
of the snout to the end of its tail, the skeleton
measures 34 feet — as long as a city bus.
FIND OUR FIRST FOSSIL!
Look in the Fossil Wall at the entrance to the Dinosaur Hall
for the jaw of a hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur).
Six college students in the Dinosaur Institute’s internship
program, Proyecto Dinosaurios, reminisced recently
about their monumental summer. All science majors at
L.A.-based community colleges, the students were first
shepherded to six National Parks and then three National
Monuments. Then the undergraduates tucked into the
Utah quarry for an intense week of digging for dinosaur
bones with NHM’s team.
“It’s always fun to take people who haven’t experienced it before out in the field for the first time,” says
Dr. Alyssa Bell, a paleontologist and postdoctoral researcher at the Dinosaur Institute who led the desert trek.
“They all were super excited to be there and pitch in.”
“It was really cool,” says Leslie Insixiengmay, a
24-year-old geophysics student at Santa Monica College
who recently transferred to USC. “You see a layer of rock,
but you never know what you’re going to uncover once
you start digging.”
Laughing with the other interns one day recently
at the Museum, Valeria Jaramillo, who is studying geology
at Cerritos College, says fieldwork is not at all like it is
portrayed in the movies. “I watched Jurassic Park after
we got back, and there was a scene with a helicopter
coming down and sand blowing everywhere, and the
whole fossil was right there, nice and neat,” she says,
smiling. “And I thought, that’s not how it works.”
Proyecto Dinosaurios is supported by The Ahmanson Foundation.
Maureen Walsh, the Collections
Manager of the Dinosaur Institute,
is very protective of her dinosaurs.
For seven years, the paleontologist
has protected and presided over
the Museum’s world-class collection
of paleontological prizes, both tiny
and monumental.
The DI’s collection boasts more
than 3,000 specimens and encompasses a hard-to-fathom period
of time — the 185 million years that
dinosaurs lived on Earth. Inside the
collection room’s cabinets lay fossils,
big and small, from the Triassic
(beginning 252 million years ago) to
the Cretaceous (ending 66 million
years ago). The ancient bones, each
tagged with a location and time period,
include those from the mightiest of
giants — T. rex, Stegosaurus, and others
such as long-necked dinosaurs, which
grew to be 80 feet long. In other
drawers there are four-limbed animals,
including winged reptiles such as
pterosaurs, as well as turtles,
crocodiles, birds, mammals, lizards,
and snakes that were dinosaur
contemporaries.
It’s hard, she says, to pick a
favorite. “As I work through the
collection, I discover new creatures
and it’s like a love affair — you fall
in love with each one,” says Walsh
in her office surrounded by trays
of fossils to be catalogued, plastic
models of pint-sized dinos, and
illustrations of ancient scaly and
feathered creatures. She says one
of the biggest specimens in the
collection is a recently excavated
Jurassic prize: a 600-pound femur
from a long-necked dinosaur that
Museum crew unearthed from the
Gnatalie quarry in Utah. Among
the smallest fossils, she thinks,
are the teeth of the tiniest North
American dinosaur: Fruitadens
haagarorum, a two-pound animal
that feasted on insects and plants.
Above: Maureen Walsh, Collections Manager of the Dinosaur Institute, in her office at the Museum.
She's holding a model of Fruitadens haagarorum, the tiniest dinosaur. See them on display in the
Dinosaur Hall. Image by Deniz Durmus.
F R O M F I E LD T O D R AW E R
Meticulous management of the
collection at NHM is only part of
Walsh’s job, though. She has also
dug for dinosaur bones in the field.
Beyond excavating and managing the
collection, she prepares specimens
for study. Her particular expertise is
Mesozoic birds. For almost a decade,
she has traveled to China to clean
the delicate bones of 125-million-yearold birds that she calls perfect flying
machines. Her work helps Dinosaur
Institute Director Dr. Luis Chiappe
shed light on dinosaur evolution.
“Maureen’s skillful conservation
work on this ancient avian menagerie
has revealed a wealth of detailed
information that otherwise would
have remained undetected,” says
Chiappe. “Chip by chip, she has given
shape to many of the building blocks
that support our understanding of
how early birds became the birds
of today.”
9
Naturalist October / November 2016
A few standouts:
HALLOWEEN IS COMING
By Rachel Gertz
A MUSEUM THRIVES ON MYTHS AND LEGENDS about mysterious happenings within
its halls that are full of historic objects and specimens. NHM staffers have passed down tales for
generations about all kinds of strange occurrences throughout the Museum — some chilling,
some harmless — but one thing is for sure: If you want ghost stories, we’ve got ’em.
Let’s start with the “Curious Case of the Little Girl.” A group of schoolchildren were visiting
on a field trip in the old Lando Hall of California History. They were doing an activity with their
chaperones in the Times Mirror Room, when some of the kids started to notice a little girl who
was hiding under a table. They tried to coax her out, but she just continued to sit there, crouching.
The kids pointed the girl out to the chaperones, but the adults couldn’t see her, even though the
children insisted she was right there. Now, this could have been a trick played by some schoolkids; but how is it that this happened more than once, in the same area, with different schools?
We may never know.
10
CHESTER
NEVER
LEFT
Naturalist October / November 2016
The most famous of all the ghost tales at
NHM is that of famed NHM and Caltech
paleontologist Chester Stock. It is believed
by many Museum staffers that the ghost
of Chester long haunted the Paleontology
Department on the fourth floor. One
fossil preparator heard keys jangle when
he was alone and saw a shadowy figure
walking about in a green jacket, with
reflections in glass-fronted boxes. He is
confident Chester was just playing “made
you look” and meant no harm. Perhaps
Chester is just trying to get the staff to
work on some of his old fossil specimens.
Or maybe he’s just having some fun in
the afterlife.
Perhaps the most famous Chester
Stock incident (and several people
witnessed it) was the “Case of the Falling
Book.” A staffer had pulled out a box of
fossils that Chester used to work on. The
next morning, a book had fallen off a shelf
located next to the box — and landed on
the ground. No one knows how the book
fell off the shelf — there were no staff
around that night. But the bigger question
was how it landed safely to the side of the
fossils and not on top of them, as it should
have.
So the next time you visit NHM, say
“hi” to Chester and the little girl. Maybe
they’ll say “hi” back, in their own way.
Find out at the Haunted Museum
More spooky happenings for all ages
Put your triskaidekaphobia*
aside and try your luck at the
13th annual Haunted Museum!
Sunday, October 23, 5–8 pm
Throw some salt over your shoulder, meet
curators to overcome your superstitions,
and collect good luck charms. Haunted
Museum is for Members at the Naturalist,
Explorer, Adventurer and Fellows levels.
For information or to upgrade your
membership and attend, call 213.763.3253
or visit NHM.ORG/hauntedmuseum.
*fear of the number 13
MORE HALLOWEEN FUN
Sleepover: Boo and Goo
Saturday, October 22
Go trick-or-treating at the La Brea Tar Pits
Sleepover: Halloween Mysteries
Friday, October 28
Help solve a mystery at this Halloween
sleepover. Costumes encouraged.
Register online at NHM.ORG/overnights.
Adult All-Nighter: You Are NOT the Father
Saturday, October 29
Learn about the mating habits of bats from
an NHM scientist and dress up to enter our
costume contest. Visit NHM.ORG/sleepovers.
11
Naturalist October / November 2016
T H E M USEU M’S GHOSTS A R E R E A DY
MAKE A SPA DATE
Sunday, November 6, at 6 pm
Go behind the scenes, meet Museum
scientists, and go on a scavenger
hunt throughout the Museum.
October 15
Ornithology
Enjoy a festive cocktail
reception as renowned author
Ursula K. Heise presents her
new book, Imagining Extinction:
The Cultural Meanings
of Endangered Species.
November 5 P
roject 23 at the La Brea
Tar Pits and Museum
Fellows in Focus events are for Members
at the $2,000 Fellows level and above.
To join the Fellows, please call 213.763.3253
or e-mail [email protected].
RSVP required. Call 213.763.3499 or e-mail [email protected].
Free for Members at the Patron Family level ($220) and higher.
ARE YOU LUCKY
OR UNLUCKY?
Put your triskaidekaphobia* aside and try your
luck at the 13th annual Haunted Museum!
Sunday, October 23, 5–8 pm
Throw some salt over your shoulder, meet curators to overcome your superstitions, and collect good luck charms.
Haunted Museum is for Members at the Naturalist, Explorer,
Adventurer and Fellows levels. For information or to upgrade and
attend, call 213.763.3253 or visit NHM.ORG/hauntedmuseum.
Naturalist October / November 2016
MORE HALLOWEEN FUN
12
Pampered Arachnids
in All-New Digs
More than 300 arachnids will soon be engineering
spectacular webs inside the Museum’s new Spider
Pavilion. Our live-animal experts and entomologists
are doing even more to make a hospitable home
for the web spinners in the new airier and lightfilled Pavilion. They have chosen every tree and
bush to maximize homebuilding opportunities
for the 15 species of local and exotic spiders, from
large golden silk spiders to golden orb weavers,
with their dramatic yellow-and-black markings.
As visitors walk inside the new space, they will
see Museum staff periodically misting the air with
water so the spiders — some from swampy habitats
such as the Louisiana bayou — are more comfortable
in the dry California climate.
NHM staff are also delivering hundreds of
spider delicacies twice a week, including crickets,
wax worms, and their favorite: flies. The webs are
regularly monitored (some can be six feet across)
to make sure there’s ample space between branches
to provide optimal web-spinning options. If there’s
cause for concern, say a spider is building its spiral
of silk threads on top of another arachnid’s pad
(spiders sometimes eat each other!), it will be
carefully relocated.
Free for Members.
Timed-tickets required.
Visit NHM.ORG/spiders.
13
Sleepover: Boo and Goo
Saturday, October 22
Sleepover: Halloween Mysteries
Friday, October 28
Visit nhm.org/overnights.
Adult All-Nighter: You are NOT the Father
Saturday, October 29
Learn about the mating habits of bats from
an NHM scientist and dress up to enter our
costume contest. Visit nhm.org/sleepovers.
M
EMBER PREVIEW DAYS
Friday, October 28,
and Saturday, October 29
Open Through December 11.
Right: a green lynx,
that may be roaming
around on the flowers
in the pavilion.
*Fear of the Number 13
Spider Pavilion is sponsored by Western Exterminator.
Naturalist October / November 2016
Fellows
In Focus
“NHM is the only open-air spider pavilion of its
kind and that’s pretty special,” say Cat Urban,
the Museum’s Manager of Invertebrate Live
Animals. “We bring people up close and personal
with so many different kinds of amazing spiders
in a friendly live exhibition, which inspires curiosity.
Visitors often walk away with a sense of awe.”
All this pampering means visitors to the Spider
Pavilion are guaranteed to find a wide variety of
webs, as well as their industrious makers slinking
along the silk threads. At the Pavilion’s entrance,
in special cases, are some visual treats — rarely
displayed specimens from the Museum’s Live
Animal Program, such as the pink toe tarantula
from South Africa.
Visitors inside the Pavilion may even spot an
egg sac or two dangling from the branches of a leafy
bush, the temporary quarters of the next generation
of spiders getting ready to be pampered. ,
Dig This:
Naturalist October / November 2016
Dr. Emily Lindsey, the new Assistant
Curator and Excavation Site Director
of the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum,
has a passion for sloths. Her home is
filled with sloth-themed items given
to her and her young son by friends,
relatives, and colleagues over the
years — sloth stuffed animals, books,
figurines, magnates, quilts, socks, etc.
She has also spent a good part of her
professional career in Ecuadorian tar
pits studying the slow-moving, nowextinct giant sloths that munched
on plants there 15,000 years ago.
“Giant sloths were so weird and
awkward,” she says. “I love that there
14
used to be some as big as elephants.”
Lindsey is in the perfect job to
indulge that fascination. Fossils of the
famously lethargic sloths — as well
as saber-toothed cats, dire wolves,
and mammoths — are among the
Above image of Dr. Emily Lindsey by Deniz Durmus.
discoveries, giant and microscopic,
that are mounted for display inside
the museum, examined in the Fossil
Lab, and excavated just yards from
her office.
DEEP SECRETS
When Lindsey thinks about her work
ahead at the La Brea Tar Pits and
Museum, she believes it revolves
around the idea that the mysteries
of the present can be unraveled by
the scientific discoveries about the
past. A conservation paleoecologist
who has a PhD from the University of
California, Berkeley, she will use the
fossils to understand how the ancient
ecosystem of the Los Angeles Basin
functioned, why so many creatures
here became extinct, and whether
environmental changes, people, or
both were players in that. The asphalt
seeps of Mid-Wilshire, excavated for
more than 100 years, are exceptionally
fertile ground for bringing to the
surface clues to the life and environment of the Ice Age 10,000 to 40,000
years ago.
“We have literally millions of
prepared specimens of bones of small
and large animals, plants, insects,
snails, and even pollen, which means
this is a truly unique opportunity
to look at how an entire ecosystem
responded to past climate change,”
she says. “You can’t do that anywhere
else in the world.”
TAKE THE JOURNEY!
See fossils excavated
on daily excavator tours.
Watch the action in the Fossil Lab.
Experience our Titans of the Ice Age 3D film.
Visit TARPITS.ORG/calendar
for more information.
The Gift
of Expertise
Thousands of Angelenos give to the NHM Family
of Museums in many different ways — as members,
volunteers, and donors. The Museum recently
launched a new group organized around another
way to contribute: professional expertise. NHM’s
Professional Advisors Council (PAC) is a small group
of charitably minded local attorneys, accountants,
financial planners, and others who are dedicated to
being resources for members, volunteers, and donors
seeking advice on estate planning and planned giving.
Ivan Estrada, a realtor, CPA, and USC grad, said
he’s been visiting NHM since he was four years old.
He joined the council with future young visitors in
mind. “I have always loved science. Dinosaurs were
my favorite thing in the entire world,” says Estrada.
“I think it’s so important to be part of something
that’s a major part of kids’ development.”
Ryan J. Shumacher, a trust and estates attorney
To learn more about the Professional
Advisors Council, visit NHM.ORG/pac.
and co-chair of PAC, said NHM was a natural fit
for him, too: “I was an anthropology major in college
and had spent time at the Museum growing up,
so reengaging with it as a professional has been
extremely fulfilling.”
For Katie Adams Farrell, also a co-chair of
PAC, this work has been a homecoming. Farrell was
a fundraiser at NHM before leaving to work in a
financial planning practice with her husband, where
she specializes in philanthropy advising and financial
management for nonprofits. “NHM is magical. I look
at the world so differently now, and I’m grateful to
have some amazing tools to raise my children to love
and respect our planet,” she says. Farrell is convinced
that the expertise and services that PAC members
are providing will ultimately matter to every visitor
to NHM. “What we believe is that whether it’s for
family or charity, it feels good to leave a legacy.”
Above: Members of the NHM Professional Advisors Council, from left to right:
John Bunzel, Katie Adams Farrell, Josh Rothstein, Ryan J. Shumacher, Lorene
Chandler, and David Coronel. Image by Deniz Durmus.
15
Naturalist October / November 2016
Our New
Tar Pits Expert
Fall Alliance Circle Salon
Backyard Birding 90210
Sunday, October 9, at 5 pm
You are welcomed into the home of
one of our supporters to see their
exquisite garden, which entices a variety
of wildlife, including many species of
birds. Learn about the avifauna that
call Southern California their home
from Ornithology Collections Manager
Kimball Garrett. For the $3,500 Alliance
Circle level and above.
Pros and Cons-ervation
Saturday, October 15, at 3 pm
Visit a beautiful home in Pasadena for
a lively afternoon cocktail reception.
Hear Museum Conservator Tania
Collas tell tales of conserving priceless
artifacts, while she reveals best practices
to preserve and protect your own
collections. For the $3,500 Alliance
Circle level and above.
Scavenger’s Safari
Ornithology
Saturday, October 15
La Brea Tar Pits
Saturday, November 5
To reserve your spot on our next
Scavenger’s Safari, call us at
213.763.3499 or e-mail [email protected].
Events with this icon
are reserved for Members.
Visit NHM.ORG/renew or
call 213.763.3426 to upgrade
your membership.
16
Members receive free admission to
all programs unless otherwise noted.
Events
Try Your Luck at the
13th Annual Haunted Museum!
Sunday, October 23, 5–8 pm
Put your triskaidekaphobia* (fear of
the number 13) aside, throw some
salt over your shoulder, meet curators
to overcome your superstitions, and
collect good luck charms. Haunted
Museum is for Members at the
Naturalist, Explorer, Adventurer and
Fellows levels. For information or to
upgrade and attend, call 213.763.3253
or go to NHM.ORG/hauntedmuseum.
Spider Pavilion
Member Preview Days
Friday, October 28, and
Saturday, October 29
Marvel at hundreds of spiders spinning
their intricate webs in the brand new
Spider Pavilion. Visit NHM.ORG/spiders.
Sponsored by Western Exterminator.
Fellows in Focus
Imagining Extinction
with Ursula K. Heise
Sunday, November 6, at 6 pm
Enjoy a festive cocktail reception as
renowned author (and Fellows member)
Ursula K. Heise presents her new
book, Imagining Extinction: The Cultural
Meanings of Endangered Species.
A book signing will follow the lecture.
For the $2000 Fellows level and above.
Naturalist October / November 2016
Gift Memberships
Give the gift of wonder and discovery
with a gift membership to the Natural
History Family of Museums. They include
a members tote bag, membership gift
card, and the latest issue of NHM’s
Naturalist magazine. Save 10% on any gift
membership with promo code memgm
online at NHM.ORG/giftmemberships
or by calling 213.763.3499.
OCTOBER
Reading Between the Lions
This lecture series features writers and
scientists discussing their newly released
books about nature. Free with RSVP.
Thursday, October 6, 6:30–9 pm
An evening with author Jill Jonnes in
conversation with NHM’s head gardener
and arborist, Richard Hayden, as
they discuss her book, Urban Forests:
A Natural History of Trees and People
in the American Cityscape.
Thursday, October 20, 6:30–9 pm
In a conversation with writer Alissa
Walker, author Nathanael Johnson
discusses his new book, Unseen City,
and how observation of our nonhuman
neighbors makes life richer and might
just be the first step in saving the world.
Sleepovers
6:30 pm–9 am
Ice Age Adventures
Saturday, October 8 for Boys and Girls
Learn about the La Brea Tar Pits and
the titans that lived during the last
Ice Age by experiencing the new
Titans of the Ice Age 3D film.
Dino Detectives
Friday, October 21 for Boys and Girls
At this action-packed overnight, you
will be Junior Paleontologists, learning
all about dinosaurs!
Boo and Goo
Saturday, October 22 for Boys and Girls
Put on a costume and prowl through
the world-famous La Brea Tar Pits.
Halloween Mysteries
Friday, October 28 for Boys and Girls
Help solve a mystery at this Halloween
sleepover. Costumes are encouraged.
Register online at NHM.ORG/overnights.
For children with an accompanying adult.
Free football parking for Fellows
Join the Fellows and receive free, reserved home
game parking for USC and Rams football games!
Fellows also enjoy private tours, VIP events, and more.
Call 213.763.3253, visit NHM.ORG/fellows, or e-mail [email protected]
to join. Visit NHM.ORG/ramsnhm for a 10% discount.
Ongoing
Activities
Institutional partner
ONGOING AT NHM
Dinosaur Encounters
Get closer to dinosaurs than you
ever thought possible in these
amazingly real performances.
Adult All-Nighter:
You Are NOT the Father
Saturday, October 29
Learn about the mating habits of bats
from an NHM scientist and dress up to
enter our costume contest.
Visit NHM.ORG/sleepovers.
Critter Club
October 15, 10 am and 11 am
Ice Age Stomp
Let’s go on a dig in the classroom and
see what critters we find buried in ice.
Designed for 3- to 5-year-olds and
a participating adult.
Junior Scientist
October 15, 10:30 am and 1:30 pm
La Brea Livin’
Discover how the first human residents
used the tar of La Brea. Designed for
6- to 9-year-olds and their families.
Gallery Exploration Tour
In NHM’s award-winning tour,
a Gallery Interpreter takes you
on a journey featuring a new
fascinating topic each day.
NOVEMBER
Sleepovers
6:30 pm–9 am
Dino Detectives
November 4, for Boys and Girls
At this action-packed overnight, your
group will be junior paleontologists,
learning all about dinosaurs.
Museum-ologists
November 18 for Boys and Girls
Curious about paleontology or
conservation? Learn about Museum
jobs at this sleepover. Register online
at NHM.ORG/overnights. For children
with accompanying adult.
Reading Between the Lions
Lecture series featuring writers and
scientists discussing their newly
released books about nature.
Workshops
Grow Your Own Vegetables!
Sunday October 16, 23, and 30
12–4:30 pm
Create your own edible garden of
fresh, organic produce!
Thursday, November 3, 6:30–9 pm
Join UC Santa Barbara geologist
Arthur Sylvester and Illustrator Elizabeth
O’Black Gans, as they explore one of
the most geologically diverse places
on the planet.
Sauerkraut
Sunday, October 30, 10 am–12 pm
Sample the art, science, and
history of sauerkraut and leave
with a delicious jar of your own.
Visit NHM.ORG/workshops.
Thursday, November 17, 6:30–9 pm
Join us for an evening with Wired
columnist Matt Simon and science
correspondent Alie Ward as they
discuss Simon’s book, The Wasp That
Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution’s
Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life’s
Biggest Problems. Free with RSVP.
Visit NHM.ORG/lectures.
For more information
about all events, visit
NHM.ORG/calendar.
Above image by Mario de Lopez
Meet a Live Animal
Drop by to meet different
animals daily, from bugs to boas.
For a schedule, visit
NHM.ORG/calendar.
ONGOING AT THE LA BREA
TAR PITS AND MUSEUM
Ice Age Encounters
Come face to face with our
Saber-toothed Cat — don’t worry,
she’s a puppet — and learn about
life in the Ice Age.
Titans of the Ice Age
Journey to a world lost in time,
buried in ice, and ruled by
giants in this exciting 3D film.
Free for Members. For information,
visit TARPITS.ORG/titans.
Presented by
LEGEND
Natural History Museum
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
William S. Hart Museum
Overnight Adventures
Offsite Adventure
NHM Member Events
NHM Fellows Events
Paid Events
17
Naturalist October / November 2016
Members
Only
Membership Office
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Telephone 213.763.3426
www.nhm.org/membership
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Los Angeles, CA
Permit no. 13945
In This Issue:
The Dinosaur Issue
Spider Pavilion Opens
Give the gift
of wonder and
discovery with an
NHM Membership!
Save 10% with the promo
code memgm online at
NHM.ORG/giftmemberships
at the Museum Store or by
calling 213.763.3499.
16-0145
Gift memberships to the Natural
History Family of Museums include
a Members tote bag, membership
card, and the latest issue of
NHM’s Naturalist magazine.