Jessica Portner

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Kathy and John Dean in backyard
Naturalist
Valley Bugs and City Lizards
From the San Gabriel Mountains to the beaches, L.A. is home to plants and animals, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
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blue benitoite gem
Hot Rocks and Natural Beauties
Dr. Anthony Kampf, the museum’s Curator Emeritus of Mineral Sciences, says his work with minerals like Benitoite can sometimes seem like an episode of the TV show CSI.
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Virgen de Oscuridad
L.A. Reimagined
Becoming Los Angeles tells the story of how Los Angeles transformed from a tiny pueblo to a sprawling metropolis. 
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