Los Angeles, CA (July 24, 2024) – The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) today announced that NHM Commons—its new wing and community hub on the southwest side of the Natural History Museum (NHM) campus in Exposition Park—will open on November 17, 2024. Celebratory grand opening events will include a free block party on opening day, activating NHM Commons’ new indoor and outdoor spaces with live music, special performances, food and drinks from South LA Café, and more. Additionally, NHMLAC provided further details about new exhibitions, programming, and design elements created in collaboration with the NHM Commons Advisory Coalition and NHM Commons Native American Advisory Council, which will inaugurate the new wing’s galleries and programmed spaces. Highlights include an exhibition devoted to community science, the debut of a new 3D T.rex film produced by D3D, and landscape design features for outdoor spaces.
“It’s exciting to look ahead to opening NHM Commons this November when we will welcome everyone to connect with our research and collections and enjoy special indoor and outdoor experiences in this new destination for Exposition Park,” said Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, NHMLAC’s President and Director. “We are grateful to our advisory groups and community partners for collaborating with us to envision innovative ways we can continue to be a resource for our community. We can’t wait to share some of what Angelenos and our visitors from around the world will see as we open new doors to experiencing natural history, community science, and culture.”
The transformative $75 million NHM Commons expansion and renovation project, designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners, with landscape architecture by Studio-MLA and new experiences designed by Studio Joseph, comprises approximately 75,000 square feet of renovated space and new construction. NHM’s new wing will include accessible outdoor spaces, and is designed with a transparent glass façade, enabling the public to see into the Museum and linking NHM Commons to Exposition Park. Inside, the Commons Theater—an up-to-400-seat multi-purpose theater—and additional spaces will allow NHMLAC to expand its community-centered, co-created programming and connect the public with science, nature, culture, heritage, and community while creating opportunities for people to come together to experience NHM, with or without a ticket. NHM Commons will also feature a new café from South LA Café and specialized retail offerings from LA artisans. Previously announced highlights for permanent display in NHM Commons’ Judith Perlstein Welcome Center include LA artist Barbara Carrasco’s 80-foot landmark 1981 mural LA History: A Mexican Perspective and the new 75-foot dinosaur skeleton Gnatalie —the most complete sauropod skeleton on the West Coast, and the first green dinosaur fossil to be mounted for display worldwide. (Gnatalie’s unusual name comes from the many gnats that plagued excavators while they worked to collect the fossil in Utah.)
“NHM Commons is a site for access, discovery, and community," said Fred Fisher, Founding Partner of Frederick Fisher and Partners. "The singular gesture from the very beginning was to connect the new museum Commons and entry to its surrounding context of Exposition Park and let the park flow into the museum. Our philosophy from the start was that the building itself is not the content, but rather a framework to allow NHM and the community to make it their own through programming, exhibitions, events, and ongoing research. We are delighted that people are attracted to its transparency. Our practice was built in Los Angeles and we are very proud to have had a hand in shaping the future of this iconic community institution.”
NHM Commons will also feature a display spotlighting the contributions of community scientists through multimedia elements and graphic panels nestled into a textured wall within the Judith Perlstein Welcome Center. A new 3000-square-foot Theater Gallery includes a 16’ x 9’ high-definition digital display wall donated by the Annenberg Foundation and will be devoted to Collective Knowledge, an exhibition of new images by renowned photographers Craig Cutler and Scott Bremner highlighting the scope and range of NHM’s collections.
“In ongoing collaboration with NHM team members, our community develops new knowledge about our history, our cultures, and our natural world all the time, and NHM Commons gives us new opportunities to share these collaborations,” added Bettison-Varga. “Together, we are constantly discovering the diverse stories that the city of LA and even our own backyards have to teach us about becoming better stewards of our shared home. One of our goals with NHM Commons is to welcome Angelenos and all visitors to be part of the meaningful work that happens here.”
In addition to providing a new home for NHM’s beloved Dinosaur Encounter performances, the NHM Commons Theater will be home to a new 3D T.rex film inspired by NHM’s iconic T.rex, Thomas, and T.rex growth series, with daytime and evening performances. Following more than a year of close collaboration with the NHM Commons Advisory Coalition, community-centered offerings will include new film series, new theatrical experiences, live animal meet-and-greets, collection-related discussions, festivals, and other educational content.
The NHM Commons Native American Advisory Council has been working with NHMLAC staff and Studio-MLA to create a dynamic community plaza with meaningful features that acknowledge the first Angelenos, Tongva (Gabrielino), and to honor other Southern California Native communities for their past and ongoing stewardship of natural spaces. Tongva artist Lazaro Arvizu Jr. will create bedrock mortar installations as part of the educational components of the garden and plaza. The plaza also features sustainable planting, a depiction of the waterways of the L.A. Basin, and open spaces for community use. With an outdoor amphitheater and open courtyard, it will be a gathering point for events, school groups, and anyone visiting the park.
“The Natural History Museum has created an inclusive community space that will serve Angelenos with free and accessible exhibitions, programs and expanded educational opportunities, ” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “I am proud to support NHM’s work to bridge nature, science, and the arts and to bring these enriching experiences into the community.”
NHM Commons is supported by NHMLAC’s Opening New Doors Campaign, which has exceeded $107 million and includes funding for NHM Commons construction as well as endowment and programmatic fundraising efforts. The NHM Commons project is supported by leadership gifts and grants from the following public and private contributors: County of Los Angeles - $30 million; State of California - $9 million; Annenberg Foundation - $5 million; Ron Perlstein, in memory of Judith Perlstein - $5 million; Ahmanson Foundation - $2 million; The Rose Hills Foundation - $2 million, The W.M. Keck Foundation - $1 million, and The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation - $1 million.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum (NHM) is one of Los Angeles’s oldest cultural institutions and anchor of the evolving cultural, educational, and entertainment nexus in Exposition Park. NHM’s collection ranges from 4.5 million-year-old meteorites to newly discovered species explored throughout immersive visitor experiences such as Age of Mammals and the award-winning Dinosaur Hall. The outdoor 3.5-acre Nature Gardens and indoor Nature Lab look at people’s relationship with the environment in L.A., while another beloved permanent exhibit, Becoming Los Angeles, examines how L.A. has changed over time. NHM also features industry-leading habitat dioramas, an exquisite gem and mineral hall, a hands-on Discovery Center, and behind-the-scenes experiences such as the Dino Lab, where fossils are prepared in public view. In Fall 2024, NHM will open NHM Commons, a new community-focused wing designed to open new doors to natural history and celebrate the intersections of science, nature, and culture.
NHM is part of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC), which also includes La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park. Welcoming more than 1.2 million visitors annually — including more than 140,000 schoolchildren — the museums and the 35 million objects in their collections offer extensive and comprehensive libraries of natural and cultural history for guests, as well as groundbreaking scientific and historical research. NHMLAC also leads the natural and cultural exploration of Los Angeles County, offering a slate of community science and cultural programs both onsite and around the area. The museums help foster revolutionary community partnerships, innovative STEAM pathways, transformative community science programs, and cutting-edge research on climate and global change.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Amy Hood, NHMLAC
ahood@nhm.org; 213-763-3532
Maura Klosterman-Vu, Polskin Arts
maura.klosterman@finnpartners.com; 310-552-4117