The Museum

Given my new interest in Taxidermy and butterflies I paid a visit to The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

I had been to the museum before but this visit was different. I spent hours filled with curiosity causing wonder to bloom within me this time. I soaked up as much knowledge that day as I could. My soul felt like a parched desert that had just been rained upon. Learning never felt so good. I didn’t want this feeling to go away so I signed up to volunteer.

You can volunteer for either a position as a general interpreter or a behind-the-scenes position. I really wanted to help behind-the-scenes in the Taxidermy studio! To my disappointment behind-the-scenes opportunities come up less often but they welcome you to start volunteering as an interpreter until a space opens. I took their advice and signed up to start as a general interpreter out on the museum floor. It was intimidating knowing I’d be educating groups of people about exhibits I knew little about. What happens if they ask a question I don’t know the answer to? What happens if some little rug rat tries to feed his slimy lollipop to the tarantula and the spider get loose? What happens if someone steps on the spider killing it and shrieks and the seniors all faint and break hips? WHAT THEN?!

I can handle this.

I attended the orientation sessions that were required to start as a general interpreter in the discovery center. The space is amazing with huge glass walls so the sunshine can pour in. A giant polar bear upon its rear legs greets you at the entrance and a forest of mammal heads decorate the walls. Yay, Taxidermy! There are encased animal specimens for children to arrange their own museum. Yay, MORE Taxidermy! Live insects are squirming in aquariums for observation. Who doesn’t love tables wrapped in paper with crayons to draw with? Antlers, minerals, microscopes, oh my! This place is a kingdom of discovery if you’re a kid, and even if you’re not you’ll be taken back to that happy place.