If you are looking for fun things to do this summer, Los Angeles hosts a multitude of exciting science museums. Not only should you visit the highlighted exhibit of each, but also the museum as a whole. Take the time to visit each one of these museums and learn about the incredible world around us!
1. Natural History Museum Los Angeles County
Gem and Mineral Hall
This is a permanent display at the LA County Natural History Museum and boasts of over 2,000 specimens and is one of the largest mineral exhibits in the world. Visitors can get up close and personal to gemstones, native Californian minerals, meteorites, and minerals from around the world. There is even an interaction station where you can touch unique minerals. This exhibit is a definite must-see for anyone interested in the nature and the Earth’s beautiful minerals.
2. California Science Center
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Get up close and personal with the Space Shuttle Endeavour! The California ScienceCenter is the Endeavour’s final resting place after 25 missions to space. Visitors can learn about life in space, the history of the Space Shuttle missions, and the story of transporting the Shuttle across the nation to Los Angeles. Guests can walk under the Shuttle itself and people are often amazed at the size of the spacecraft!
3.La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
Fossil Lab
Most of the time visitors do not have to opportunity to witness fossil preparation for exhibits, but at the La Brea Tar Pit’s Fossil Lab, people can watch actual paleontologists prepare them before their eyes. Guests can watch the scientists clean fossils that were extracted on site in the many pits of natural asphalt that give the museum its name. This is a unique opportunity that you do not want to miss!
4. Griffith Observatory
The Samuel Oschin Planetarium
At the Griffith Observatory, visitors are able to watch astronomical shows in The Samuel Oschin Planetarium. With a state-of-the-art projector, stars are galaxies are displayed with the utmost accuracy. People are able to sit back, relax, and be immersed in the mysterious interstellar world and witness the complexities of space.
5. Aquarium of the Pacific
Shark Lagoon
The Shark Lagoon at the Aquarium of the Pacific hosts over 150 sharks! There are feeding shows, touch tanks for smaller species and large display tanks. Visitors can observe many species of sharks interacting with other sea life in the tanks. There is nothing like the interaction of being nose-to-nose behind the glass with such magnificent creatures.
