這個洛城最古老的博物館換上了全新裝扮和大家見面。百年慶當晚的派對和音樂會人山人海，大人小孩一起玩到深夜（我們撐到10點就投降回家了），想知道全新開幕的戶外花園和 Otis Booth 展館的一切好玩事物？立即看看丫丫的體驗吧！
We had a BLAST at the Natural History Museum 100th Anniversary Bash last Sunday. Wanna know all about the celebration and the new outdoor Nature Garden and Otis Booth Pavilion? read on . . .
This is one of the souvenir photos we took at the party, do you like them?
How about these two?
Do you like our "acting"?
100th Birthday Bash of Natural History Museum - June 9th, 2013
This is the original entrance to the museum, but from now on NHM will have a new entrance on Exposition Blvd. You can enter through the newly opened Otis Booth Pavilion and walk through the new Nature Garden before entering the main exhibition hall.
The new front entrance is covered entirely with white drapes, the mystery made us really, really curious about what's inside!
Here's what's inside - - a giant fin whale skeleton greeted us from above! How did they get it in there?
First we walked through the hugely attractive museum store (we only gave our daughter $5 to spend at the stsore, so she saved it for the photos later)
Regular Display and Exhibition at Natural History Museum
The original displays of various animal species around the world have been here since the 1960s, but they are still attracting the eyeballs of children of all ages.
Another famous "personality" at the museum - - Thomas the T-Rex. There is a children's book written about this special dinosaur "Thomas the T Rex" by Michael Smith. We are so glad to meet the original star of the musem
Don't forget to raise your head and look up to the ceiling, there are lots of wonderful display of pre-historic ocean animals on display too!
New Outdoor Nature Garden
Debuted together with the new Otis Booth Pavilion was the museum's newest outdoor addition -- the new Nature Garden
Our photography-loving daddy had a wonderful time snaping pictures of flowers, hummingbirds, herbs, even butterflies!
Listening trees - Look for the silver “trumpets” and listen for the oak tree soaking up water from the earth, due to an amplification system that taps into the tree's xylem tubes. The installation was created by artist Alex Metcalf.
Get Dirty Zone – this is the part our kid loves the most! You can literally play in the dirt, the foundation of everything in nature! Explore compost bins for small creatures like pillbugs that help create soil, check out our soil sifter, and discover how roots grow.
Bird Watching Platform - - Did you know that Los Angeles County has more species of birds than any other county in the U.S.? Now we do! Bird walks stop at this platform, where you can spot local and exotic flyers.
Daily Nature Garden Guided Tours -
You can click on La JaJa Kids event calendar link to view all the daily garden tour guide at NHM, click here!
100th Birthday Bash Party Special Celebration
The museum stayed open after its regular 5pm closing hour, and the entire place turned into a giant party! We stayed on to check out lots of special events that evening.
New and modern looking designs were added to the old building to give it a contemporary touch.
The famous giant dinosaur skeleton display at the main lobby has turned 'psychedelic' ~~ it is the result of the dance spot lights projected to the ceiling. A DJ booth and dance floor were set up right at the hall. It was quite an experience to dance with the dinosaurs watching you...
The famous JPL rocket scientist Dr. Adam Steltzner presented a marvelous talk about the journey of Mars rover Curiousity. He ended his talk with a question for all of us to ponder - - What's the real reason that prompted humans to venture into space? What are we trying to look for and why is it important for human to be curious.
Finally it is completely dark outside. Now we know why the Otis Booth Pavilion is covered with white drapes - - it is turned into a giant screen for a special 100th anniversary video to celebrate the NHM birthday, and also to officially announce the opening of the Pavillion, named after the famous philanthropist Otis Booth and family.
Many staff and visitors and donors were featured inte video, here is world-renowned paleontologist and Dinosaur Hall lead curator, Dr. Luis Chiappe at the Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Institute (He is also the scientist who dug up Thomas the T Rex and inspired the book)
The drape dropped in a split second after the video came to an end (which was really amazing as it was showing the giant fin whale crashing the building windows) ~~~ the whale in display looked gorgeous in the fabulous light show under the night sky.
Here is the video ~~
The concert stage was packed solid at 6pm as people poured in for the after party. The highlight of the show was DEVO (hence the spotting of many red ENERGY DOME)
We didn't have an ounce of energy left by 10pm, so we bailed out early and didn't stay for the concert, but here is a short clip of their performance...
