Windows on Nature, Natural History Museum – Los Angeles, California

After the typical and expected dinosaur exhibits, nothing says natural history museum than wildlife dioramas. I remember seeing these at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Even the modest Texas Memorial Museum on the University of Texas campus has some. This one is from the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.

While I made pictures of the individual dioramas, which I’ll show tomorrow. I wanted to capture the enormity of the display hall. The room is a lot larger than this, of course. But, I like how the individual dioramas form windows on nature. They almost feel like portals where you can jump from place to place in some futuristic world.

The colorful glow reflecting off the polished dark floor and the silhouetted patrons add life to an otherwise “dead” display. Given the sensitivity to animals and conservation, I wonder if new wildlife dioramas are still being built?

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