The Nat Blog

Who doesn’t love dune bugs? Our entomologists are studying insects in the dunes of Baja California to gather data that will help inform conservation decisions around these incredibly unique—but potentially threated—ecosystems. Read more.


Museum scientists are taking action to restore California Red-legged Frog habitat in Baja California in response to massive declines in their population. Read more.


A glimpse at the personal herbarium of Kate Sessions, known as the Mother of Balboa Park. Read more.


Having once had his work described as "loathsome harlotry," Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish biologist and physician who is known for the invention of Latin binomial nomenclature, popularly known as scientific names.  Read more.


John James Audubon’s birthday is April 26. He traveled extensively in America and overseas, studying and sketching wildlife. His life’s work would culminate in the famous and comprehensive tome, The Birds of America. John Audubon’s wife, however, led a very different life. Read more.


Museum scientists go on expeditions to remote areas of the Baja California Peninsula to study and better understand the biological diversity of areas that are not well documented. One such expedition took place in November 2017 in one of Baja California Sur’s most spectacular cardón forests. Read more.


All Are Welcome

Posted: February 25, 2019

Every year, we provide opportunities to more than 70,000 members of our community to experience The Nat through programs designed to offer low- to no-cost Museum access to all. Read more.


Whales are magnificent creatures, full of mystery and wonder… and one mystery that has puzzled scientists, including our very own Curator of Paleontology Dr. Tom Demèrè, for decades is how and when the evolution from teeth to baleen occurred in of the ancestors of today’s filter-feeding whales (e.g., blue, fin, humpback, right, and gray whales). Read more.


The Cockles of Your Heart

Posted: January 29, 2019

In February, the symbol of the heart is everywhere. The origin of the ubiquitous heart symbol, which can be traced back to earliest times in many different cultures, is cloaked in mystery and we will never be sure how it got started. Nor is it clear how that particular shape got linked to the human heart, an organ that is not especially “heart-symbol shaped.” Read more.


Rediscovering Lost Species

Posted: January 16, 2019

When plants or animals are so rare, we don’t even know if they need protection. So knowing they exist is the first step in conservation. Over the past couple of years, our researchers succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations at rediscovering lost species. Read more.