Five Small Animals, Who Feel They are Big

We are proud to present to you a Live Animal Program with over 35 species of vertebrates (animals with a backbone)!
"But why are they here?"
Our goal is to share with you our passion for these beautiful, often misunderstood creatures and draw out the deep and meaningful connections that can be made between your life and theirs.
This program can introduce you to the earliest vertebrates on land, the foundations of the food chain, and some of the dinosaurs' closest “cousins."

Our live animals are currently living behind the scenes, getting ready for their new homes. We're building a new exhibit that will house many of the animals that used to live in our old Discovery Center. The animals in our care have some of the best homes around, and our animal keepers rock!

Our team of Animal Keepers are also trained educators! See them working on a display, or with a live animal in their hands, stop and ask them a question. We are also proud to work with our Research and Collections Curators to give you a deeper understanding of your natural world.

Our highly trained and thoughtful team of professional educators will happily share with you all they know about these fascinating animals in one of our daily Live Animal Presentations.

Why won't my snake eat? Where can I adopt a reptile? What kind of turtle do I have?
We often get questions from the public about the proper care of their pets. We do our best to stay abreast of new developments and research in the fields of animal care and husbandry. Even If the questions are not within our realm of expertise, we can always give professional referrals.
List of resources and links >

When you give to the Museum, you support our scientists' research on the planet's biodiversity. You are also creating tomorrow's scientists. Our teacher resources make each field trip a learning experience, our education outreach brings the science of discovery to schools all over L.A.