Thursday, June 6, 2013

History in LA: Museums in Los Angeles

By Abby Simmon


Taking a look at LA today it is difficult to credit that 40,000 years back Mammoths wandered the land and meteorites fell from the sky. But outside the "stars" and the "stores" that L. A. has become feted for the history that can be found in the L. A. museums is like exploring a new world.

The Page Museum

One of the most famed museums in L. A. is the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. Found in the middle of L. A. the Page Museum has one of the largest and oldest fossil collections going back to 40,000 years ago. Ever since 1905 scientists have been excavating ice age fossils and the asphalt seeps at the La Brea tar pits, it is the only active site left in the entire world. Outside of the museum in Hancock Park is a Pleistocene garden complete with full scale reproductions of the mammals that lived in the LA Basin and paleontological excavators work daily. Within scientists can be studied working on identifying their newest finedthat someday will join the other 3,000,000 ice age mammals that are on view.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Located in Exposition Park the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County houses over 35 million cultural and scientific examples that include a meteorite that is 4 and a half billion years of age to insect and plant species that have been discovered latterly. Through biodiversity research the museum can share the experiences of how each exhibit was discovered, picked up and analyzed; explaining what part the exhibit has on the planet. No other museums in LA or world wide has such a spread of permanent exhibits like the traditional South American art, Northern US mammals, African mammals, dinosaurs and an insect zoo to name just one or two.

The J. Paul Getty Museum

Located in the Getty Center the J. Paul Getty Museum is one of the finest LA museums with an in depth collection of the very best quality and rare Etruscan, Greek and Roman masterpieces. It features such antiquities as Greek ritual vessels which date back to 470 B.C. And famous paintings like the Hare in the Forest a German painting that goes back to 1585. Exhibits include illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, EU and American pictures.

The Museum of Contemporary Art

Found in the guts of LA the Museum of Contemporary Art is one of the very few museums worldwide that specialises in just contemporary art. All the art work that's displayed has been produced from 1940 until present day. This unique museum features art pieces in assorted different mediums from paintings and photographs to sculptures and architectural designs. The Museum of Contemporary Art is known world wide for have one of the biggest collections with over 5,000 pieces of contemporary art. Actually they have grown so much that there are currently 3 different and unique locations within L. A..




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