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On the Memorial Day weekend I took my daughter to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. She had been there before, but she was much younger and didn’t remember everything, so it was a real treat to take her again.

Once we got there it became rather disappointing. Two of their rooms with the coolest animals, The African Mammal room, and the North American Mammals were only partially viewable. They had ½ of each room blocked off for Asian Heritage celebration.

In the North American room we were only able to view up close about 4 animals while we enjoyed headaches of drums pounding amplified by 100 from the enclosed wooden room. In the African Mammal room we were able to view about 6 of the animals because they had loud music and dancing occupying the other 2/3 of the room.

The mineral room was pretty cool. My daughter kept looking at all the “green” gems and minerals and saying it was Kryptonite. All I could do is laugh. It was the cutest thing that she was searching out all of the Kryptonite in the room. Most of the interactive computer screens in the mineral room were not functioning, so that was a let down for my daughter the button pusher.

We made our way to one of the dinosaur rooms. It was actually mostly cats, rhinos, and horse skeletons from millions and millions of years ago. They main dinosaur hall along with the Rotunda and Native American Cultures were closed for renovation.

When I asked an employee there they told me that the discovery room where the kids get all their hands on and get to look at live animals like snakes and fish were in the Rotunda and closed for renovation. After leaving there I found out that the discovery center was actually relocated to the basement and it was opened for child exploration. BUMMER!!!

The thing that ended up being most impressive to my daughter and me was the Night at the Museum exhibit. In this exhibit they have several costumes, wax figures, and props from the movie. Like the shrunk hummer that the cowboy (Owen Wilson) drive through central park. They also had the bone Ben Stiller used to play fetch with the T-Rex and his “instruction sheets” for taking care of the museum after closing.

Although, the museum was still enjoyable for both of us it was simultaneously disappointing. When you go to the museum you want to see it in its entirety. Explore history and see things you don’t get to see everyday. In retrospect, the only thing we were prepared for was an Asian celebration at the museum. It did not disclose the closing of exhibits nor renovation. I guess sometimes maybe a phone call before you go is better than relying on a website to be current.

So now we’ll revisit once the renovation is complete and I’m sure the experience will be much more enjoyable when we go.