National History Museum

What National History Museum does

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit institution founded in 1913 and operating as part of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC), the largest natural and cultural history museum system in the public sector in the US. The museum serves the Southern California region and global digital audiences through a portfolio of permanent exhibitions (Dino Hall, Schreiber Hall of Birds, Robert Procop Gem and Mineral Hall, Visible Vault, Becoming Los Angeles), rotating special exhibitions (Orcas: Our Shared Future, Unearthed: Raw Beauty, L.A. Underwater), seasonal pavilions (Butterfly, Spider), live performances (Dinosaur Encounters), and premium experiences (NHM Insider Tour, T. Rex 3D Film). The underlying asset base is a research collection of more than 35 million specimens and artifacts, with notable depth in ornithology (121,000+ specimens across 5,400+ species), paleontology, and mineralogy, supported by a digitization program including a collaborative NSF-funded effort cataloguing 7.5 million marine invertebrate specimens across 18 institutions.

The museum operates a hybrid direct-to-consumer go-to-market model anchored on physical visitation at 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, complemented by e-commerce through shop.nhm.org and a growing suite of virtual programming. Revenue is generated across five streams: admission tickets, annual memberships (subscription-based), museum store sales, donations and grants (including NSF research funding), and facility rental/event hosting. Customer segments span general public/families (primary), K-12 schools and educators (including LA Unified School District), academic researchers and scientists, and museum members. Technology infrastructure includes digitized collections databases, interactive fossil mapping via ArcGIS/ESRI StoryMaps, CT scanning capabilities for non-destructive specimen analysis, and virtual classroom tools. Educational reach extends to K-5 day camps (625+ children served virtually with 320+ free community partner reservations), field trips, homeschool days, mobile museums, and a STEAM Pathways program.

Name

National History Museum

Legal name

Natural History Museum

Website

https://nhm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is a non-profit founded in 1913 that operates exhibitions, research collections, and educational programs serving families, K-12 schools, researchers, and members in Southern California and global digital audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Parks, Gardens & Botanical Attractions (THAJACAH), History Museums (THAJADAB)

Keywords

• Natural history museum
• Science education programs
• Museum exhibitions
• Fossil collections research
• Public museum programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: Revenue from general admission and special exhibition tickets sold to visitors
2. Membership Program: Annual membership fees providing free admission, exclusive access, and member benefits
3. Museum Store: E-commerce and retail sales of museum merchandise through shop.nhm.org
4. Donations and Grants: Private donations and government grants including NSF funding for research and digitization projects
5. Event Hosting: Facility rentals and event hosting services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County operates a public museum at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, offering permanent and rotating exhibitions built around 35+ million natural history specimens and artifacts, plus seasonal pavilions, premium guided tours, 3D films, live theatre performances, children's day camps, and K-12 educational programs. It runs an adjacent e-commerce store (shop.nhm.org), an annual membership program, and active scientific research and digitization initiatives funded by grants and donations.

Product overview

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) offers a unified visitor experience centered on its permanent exhibitions and rotating special exhibitions. The core portfolio includes the world-renowned Dino Hall, the Robert Procop Gem and Mineral Hall with over 2,000 specimens, the Ralph W. Schreiber Hall of Birds with 400+ species, the 3.5-acre Nature Gardens, and the Visible Vault featuring ancient American artifacts. NHM enhances its permanent collections with dynamic rotating exhibitions such as 'Orcas: Our Shared Future,' 'Unearthed: Raw Beauty,' and seasonal pavilions like the Butterfly Pavilion and Spider Pavilion. Educational offerings include the T. Rex 3D Film, Dinosaur Encounters live performances, NHM Insider Tours, and Adventures in Nature Day Camps for children. The museum also presents immersive experiences like L.A. Underwater exploring prehistoric Los Angeles, and the Becoming Los Angeles history exhibition, creating a comprehensive natural history and cultural education destination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NHM Commons: New wing of the museum featuring exhibits and community spaces

Products and services

• Orcas: Our Shared Future Interactive special exhibition exploring the connections between orcas, people, and the oceans, available to ticketed museum visitors and groups.
• T. Rex 3D Film Premium-ticketed 3D science adventure film celebrating T. rex, shown in the museum theater.
• Soccer Connections Pop-up Collection Experience Pop-up experience exploring connections between soccer and natural history through collection moments, hands-on activities, and a self-guided Museum adventure.
• Adventures in Nature Day Camps Seasonal day camps for children in grades K-5 exploring dinosaurs and nature, including a virtual Connected Campers offering with paleontology exploration kits.
• Dino Hall (Permanent Exhibition) World-renowned permanent dinosaur exhibition featuring T. rex specimens, ancient fossils, and one of the most celebrated dinosaur collections on public display.
• Unearthed: Raw Beauty Special exhibition featuring rare minerals and crystals, some never before displayed, showcasing the hidden beauty beneath Earth's surface.
• Dinosaur Encounters Live Performance Reimagined live theater experience where dinosaurs come to life through multimedia storytelling and large-scale puppets.
• Butterfly Pavilion Seasonal pavilion with live butterflies that supports Central American rainforest conservation through partner El Bosque Nuevo.
• NHM Insider Tour Premium backstage experience to dinosaur discovery with behind-the-scenes scientist access, fossil preparation viewing, and stories behind iconic dinosaurs.
• L.A. Underwater Exhibition Immersive multimedia exhibition exploring Los Angeles' prehistoric past when the region lay beneath the prehistoric Pacific Ocean, featuring nearly 40 fossils and an interactive fossil map.
• Ralph W. Schreiber Hall of Birds Permanent exhibition displaying over 400 local bird species and showcasing unique avian adaptations, supported by a research collection of 121,000+ specimens.
• Nature Gardens 3.5-acre outdoor botanical gardens with 600 plant species, designed to attract wildlife and serve as an urban ecosystem study space.
• Robert Procop Gem and Mineral Hall Permanent exhibition presenting more than 2,000 minerals, rocks, meteorites, and gems from around the world, including a Scanning Electron Microscope Lab.
• Visible Vault Intimate gallery showcasing over 600 rare artifacts from ancient Latin America, including treasures from Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations.
• Becoming Los Angeles Exhibition in the Kevin Sharer Hall exploring how people, place, and possibility helped create Los Angeles, with artifacts and stories of diverse communities.
• Spider Pavilion Seasonal pavilion with live spiders and educational programming about arachnids and their silk-making abilities.
• Dinosaur Lab Lab exhibition where visitors observe paleontologists at work and learn about fossil preparation techniques.
• NHM Museum Membership Program Annual membership providing free admission year-round, exclusive member events, behind-the-scenes tours, and discounts at the museum store.
• Virtual School Programs and Field Trips K-12 virtual and in-person school programs, educator workshops, mobile museums, homeschool days, and STEAM pathways supporting NGSS-aligned curriculum.
• Museum Store (shop.nhm.org) Online and on-site retail store selling museum-branded merchandise including apparel, gifts, books, and educational materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 9,000 attendees at Science of SpongeBob event (2019)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NickelodeoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership to create Science of Slime programming featuring Nickelodeon characters with real museum scientists. Includes live virtual programs, educational videos, and activities for kids and families. Follows successful Science of SpongeBob 20th Anniversary collaboration.
• Mia Lehrer and AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2013Landscape architecture firm that designed the 3.5-acre Nature Gardens in collaboration with NHM scientists. Created the landscape featuring 600 species of native and nonnative plants mirroring SoCal Mediterranean climate.
• El Bosque NuevominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRainforest conservation organization that provides butterfly pupae for the Butterfly Pavilion exhibition. Sale and exportation of butterfly pupae funds conservation of 427 hectares of rainforest. Supports conservation of Central American butterfly species habitat.
• LA Green GroundsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUrban organic farming organization founded by Florence Nishida. Partnership through Nature Gardens and edible garden programming, celebrating local food advocates and community building.
• 18 Partner Institutions (Marine Digitization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative network of natural history institutions creating the largest digitization of alcohol-preserved marine specimens. Project will create public database of 7.5 million specimens representing centuries of ocean exploration.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Flagship U.S. natural history museum operated by the Smithsonian Institution. Direct peer in collections scale, research activity (digitization initiatives), exhibition quality, and family/educational programming.
• Houston Museum of Natural Science: Major U.S. natural history museum known for its gem and mineral halls, paleo and wildlife exhibits. Comparable in scale, exhibition IP development (e.g., traveling exhibitions), and education programming.
• Field Museum: Chicago-based natural history museum with major specimen collections and dinosaur exhibitions (Sue the T. rex). Highly comparable in research scope, exhibition IP, and membership-driven revenue model.
• American Museum of Natural History: The largest natural history museum in the world, located in NYC. Most direct peer given its scale of specimen collections, research divisions, exhibition programming, and educational programs covering dinosaurs, biodiversity, and earth sciences.
• California Academy of Sciences: San Francisco's natural history institution combining museum, aquarium, and research. Comparable as a California-based natural history destination with extensive research collections and educational programming.
• La Brea Tar Pits and Museum: NHM's sister institution under the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County umbrella. Most closely comparable: shared parent, overlapping Ice Age paleontological research, and joint institutional resources.
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Colorado-based institution combining natural history, space, and IMAX theater experiences. Comparable as a science/natural history museum with strong educational and IMAX-derived revenues.
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Pittsburgh-based natural history museum with significant dinosaur (Dippy) and gem/mineral collections. Comparable as a research-active, non-profit natural history museum with diverse permanent galleries.

Broad incumbents

• Smithsonian Institution: The broader Smithsonian complex offers comparable cultural/educational experiences at national scale, including museums of natural history, science, and air & space, with much larger funding and audience reach.

Regional players

• San Diego Natural History Museum: Regional Southern California natural history museum focused on the biodiversity and paleontology of the Baja/San Diego region. Comparable in mission and exhibitions, but operates in a separate geographic market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nhmla
• Facebookfacebook.com/nhmla
• Instagraminstagram.com/nhmla
• Pinterestpinterest.com/nhmla
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NHMLA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National History Museum