San Diego Natural History Museum in San Diego, CA

It's summer in San Diego! Come visit the oldest museum in San Diego, and a flagship institution in Balboa Park, featuring the regional natural history and unique biodiversity of Southern California and Baja California! The Museum has FIVE floors of exhibition space, rooftop views on weekends, a giant-screen theater, and San Diego’s only Foucault pendulum! Plus, you can stay late on Friday nights!

With permanent exhibitions, rotating films, a robust calendar of events and activities, and the opportunity to see scientists at work, the Museum will expose you to fascinating stories about the natural world, fostering a lifelong love of learning and engaging you in a worldwide scientific dialogue.

Amazement in the Basement:
Step behind the scenes and explore hundreds of fascinating specimens pulled from deep within the museum’s research collections. From fossils and pinned insects to preserved plants and animal bones, this experience reveals the hidden world of natural history. Watch scientists in action, peek into the Paleontology Center, and uncover the stories these specimens tell about life on Earth.

Fossil Mysteries:
From dinosaurs to mastodons, travel through 75 million years and dig into the rich fossil history of Southern California and Baja California. The fossils on display were discovered locally by our paleontology team during construction projects.

Giant-Screen Theater:
The giant-screen theater experience is one-of-a-kind. Settle into the 300-seat, stadium-style theater and enjoy films on the massive screen.

Showing Daily: Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope, Wild San Diego, and Animal Kingdom; films may vary during Nat at Night

Unshelved: Cool Stuff from Storage:
The Nat has many fascinating specimens in storage that have never been on display—until now. Don’t miss this rare “backstage” glimpse of the Museum’s storage areas.

Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science:
Rare books, art, photographs, historical documents, and plant and animal specimens come together to prove you don’t need to be a scientist to participate in science.

Living Lab:
Meet more than 20 of your not-so-cuddly neighbors, from stinging scorpions to elusive nocturnal lizards.

Expedition Baja:
The Baja California Peninsula: the neighbor in nature. Explore towering mountains, desert flats, and isolated islands, and follow along with researchers working to conserve the peninsula’s wild beauty.

Hidden Gems:
More than 100 stunning objects from our mineralogy department will be displayed on every level of the Museum in this "deconstructed," vertically aligned exhibition.

Fossil Mysteries:
From dinosaurs to mastodons, travel through 75 million years and dig into the rich fossil history of Southern California and Baja California. The fossils on display were discovered locally by our paleontology team during construction projects.

Coast to Cactus in Southern California;
Take a journey through this amazing place we call home. Explore the unique habitats of Southern California and celebrate the abundant variety of life found here.

Extraordinary Ideas from Ordinary People: A History of Citizen Science:
Rare books, art, photographs, historical documents, and plant and animal specimens come together to prove you don’t need to be a scientist to participate in science.

Demonstration Lab:
See scientists at work and learn some of the ways they prepare, preserve, and study specimens.

Science Spotlight: Baleen Whale Evolution:
Baleen whales are the largest living animals on the planet, and their ability to filter and feed on small organisms in the ocean is an astounding adaptation. Scientists have new evidence for how and when the evolution from teeth to baleen occurred in the ancestors of today’s filter-feeding whales.

The Backyard:
Learn and explore the natural world through play. This new space invites our youngest visitors to play under a shade tree, search for hidden secrets along a wooden fence, or read their favorite book in a cozy potting shed.

Skulls:
Take a look at 200 of the weirdest, wildest, and most fascinating animal skulls from our research collection. Mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are on display, showcasing an eye-popping array of horns, beaks, bills, teeth, and more.

Megalodon:
This replica of an extinct megalodon shark was modeled from and inspired by teeth collected from Miocene sandstones in Oceanside, California, and near Ensenada, Baja California by Museum paleontology staff. It hangs in the Atrium as part of Fossil Mysteries and is one of the best selfie spots in the Museum.

Allosaurus:
Meet Al, a member of our skeleton crew. Allosaurus fragilis, a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Jurassic Period, is a relative of T. rex, which lived later. Al’s bones are casts made from original fossil bones collected in Utah.

Moreton Bay Fig Tree:
While not officially affiliated with The Nat, many people associate this remarkable Moreton Bay Fig Tree with the Museum. Planted in preparation for the 1915 exposition, this tree is a beloved San Diego icon and one of the largest Moreton Bay Fig trees in the state. With an observation deck, upon which you can rest under the immense shaded canopy of the tree.

Foucault Pendulum:
When visitors enter the Museum off of Prado walkway, they are greeted by the mesmerizing sight of the iconic Foucault Pendulum, which provides visual proof of the Earth's rotation.

Action from the Archives: The Nat at 150
This exhibit celebrates 150 years of conservation through powerful stories, rare artifacts, and historic photos pulled from the museum’s archives. From early nature advocates to modern-day scientists, it highlights how teamwork and passion have shaped efforts to protect Southern California’s wildlife and wild places. Visitors are invited to reflect, engage, and add their own actions to an interactive wall, showing how everyone plays a role in the future of conservation.