This is one of the largest natural history museums in the USA, it holds a collection of almost 35 million specimens and artifacts some of which go back 4.5 billion years. The museum originally opened in 1913 and today the main building is an impressive historic Beaux-art style structure with marble walls, a central dome and colonnaded rotunda. Three stories are devoted to the permanent collections and there are more temporary exhibitions as well.

The museum is divided up into many sections including: African Mammals, Age of Mammals, Ancient Latin American Art, Becoming LA, Birds, Discovery Center, Gems and Minerals, North American Mammals and Shells. In addition there is the very popular Dinosaur Hall, a huge space with many dinosaur skeletons. The highlight is the T. rex growth series featuring the skeletons of a baby, juvenile and sub-adult T. rex. The Insect Zoo has 9 terrariums with live bugs and creepy crawlies. In the Nature Gardens you can go outside and dig around to discover edible plants, pollinating birds and bees, fish and creatures in the pond and see the butterfly and spider pavilion. In the Zuni Fetish section you can see how this unique Native American Indian tribe creates carvings out of almost anything.