LOS ANGELES, CA (October 31, 2024)—The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) today announced details of new tentpole programs launching with the opening of its new wing and community hub, NHM Commons: Ocean Encounters, an innovative puppet performance featuring hand-crafted, large-scale puppets, and T.REX 3D, a 22-minute film using the latest technology and sharing the latest research about the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex, including NHM’s own Thomas the T.rex.
T.REX 3D will debut on November 18, and Ocean Encounters will begin on November 23. The celebration will also feature community organizations, food, and music, as well as hands-on activities, engaging discussions, artist workshops, and meet-and-greets with NHM Scientists.
"NHM Commons is a physical manifestation of our important work as museums of, for and with Los Angeles, a philosophy which has evolved from years of research, planning, and community listening, and actively drives partner engagement, programming, and the evolution of the Natural History Museum," said Lori Bettison-Varga, President and Director of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County. "The programs visitors will experience in NHM Commons nurture and celebrate community co-creation and belonging. I hope everyone will find something special to enjoy each time they visit."
Following more than a year of close collaboration with the NHM Commons Advisory Coalition, community-centered offerings in the new NHM Commons theater will expand over the coming months to include new film series, theatrical experiences, live animal meet-and-greets, collection-related discussions, festivals, and other educational content. The NHM Community Plaza will also provide space for a range of outdoor programming—from live performances to science demonstrations.
Now Welcoming You to NHM
NHM Commons will open on November 17 with a festive Opening Day Celebration and Block Party with a variety of free indoor and outdoor events at NHM Commons and programs throughout the museum that are free with general admission. Events include a Block Party on the new Plaza with a Community Resource Fair, food trucks, and music; live performances and engaging discussions in the new NHM Commons Theater. The day will also include meet n’ greets with NHM scientists, up-close collection previews, and hands-on activities and artist workshops.
NHM Commons will be a modern and inviting “front porch” to the NHM campus. This new wing and community hub will feature 75,000 square feet of renovated space, new construction, and landscaping. A key design element of the new indoor-outdoor experience is the building’s transparent glass façade, which will enable the public to see into the Museum and its collection while offering views of the park from inside. Its centerpiece is an expansive Welcome Center that is free to the public, featuring Gnatalie, a 75-foot sauropod dinosaur skeleton with distinctive green fossils; Barbara Carrasco’s landmark 1981 mural L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective; and a temporary exhibit dedicated to NHM’s Community Science initiatives.
Additional highlights will include a new landscaped Community Plaza and Museum entrance, a new L.A.-focused retail space, a grab-n-go cafe from South LA Café, a new multi-purpose theater, and a new exhibition gallery adjacent to the theater, which will initially feature Collective Knowledge, an exhibition highlighting the breadth of NHM's vast collection with photos by National Geographic photographer Craig Cutler and Scott Bremner.
Sea-Creature Puppets Transport Visitors to the Prehistoric Past
Following the decade-long success of NHM’s Dinosaur Encounters program, the Museum will present a new live-performance puppet show featuring both prehistoric and contemporary sea creature puppets (all of which are based on specimens found at NHM). The imagination-expanding show positions viewers as time-traveling deep-sea explorers who explore the under-the-sea lives of creatures like the Mosasaur and Ammonites—giant marine critters from the Age of Dinosaurs—through a kelp forest to meet a Desmostylian, and to share a meal with a Megamouth feeding on glowing, Bioluminescent Plankton.
Created and performed by some of the nation’s best puppet makers and puppeteers, Ocean Encounters features large-scale puppets, spanning up to fifteen feet in length and some requiring multiple puppeteers.
Ocean Encounters is family-friendly and will run on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10 am, 11 am, and 12 pm. Each showing is about 15 minutes long. The show is $10 with general admission and free for Members.
T.Rex Takes the Big Screen
NHM will also debut T.REX 3D, a new film that shares the latest research about the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex, from hatchling to hulking adult, and prominently features NHM and its collections. Narrated by Sam Neill of Jurassic Park fame and made in collaboration with top tyrannosaur scientists, a coalition of natural history institutions, and pioneering paleo and visual effects artists, this original Giant Screen Films production aims to be the most engaging and accurate T.rex documentary ever made. With leaps in CGI technology and revolutions in tyrannosaur paleontology over the past twenty-five years, this family-friendly film offers a thrilling, immersive experience that brings visitors face-to-face with the iconic predator—including NHM’s own Thomas the T.rex and his fierce Cretaceous counterparts.
In addition to Thomas the T.rex, NHM’s signature film will feature the Museum’s award-winning T.rex Growth Series, the Dueling Dinos, the Dino Institute, and interviews with Dr. Luis Chiappe Senior VP, Research & Collections and Curator, Dinosaur Institute. With hat tips to famous specimens, landmark discoveries, and wild cinematic depictions over the last century, the film will explore the interplay between speculation and evidence and reveal how the process of science refreshes and reimagines our understanding of this legendary dinosaur.
T.REX 3D will screen daily in the new NHM Commons Theater and will be available initially in English, Spanish, and Simple Mandarin, as well as closed captions. The family-friendly film is $10 with general admission and free for Members.
Photos and interviews are available on request.
About the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) include the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park, and the William S. Hart Museum in Newhall. They operate under the collective vision to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds. The museums hold one of the world’s most extensive and valuable collections of natural and cultural history—more than 35 million objects. Using these collections for groundbreaking scientific and historical research, the museums also incorporate them into on- and offsite nature and culture exploration in L.A. neighborhoods, and a slate of community science programs—creating indoor-outdoor visitor experiences that explore the past, present, and future. Visit NHMLAC.ORG for adventure, education, and entertainment opportunities.