Running head: A VISIT TO NATURE HISTORY MUSEUM OF LA 10 Abdulaziz Alrassi California State University, San Bernardino Date A Visit to Nature History Museum of LA Introduction After visiting the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, I learned so many things concerning the animals that were there in the early days and how they looked like, as well as, how they lived . The Museum has a large paleontological collection that helped me develop a better understanding of the Earth’s biota. The Museum’s collection ranges from fossils to the modern organisms which are collected from the entire world, and it is therefore a good place to begin with when exploring on the paleontological exhibits and other historical items. During the visit at the Museum I learned of a few things that I never knew existed and other facts too that are new. In this article there are a lot of areas and information that are presented showing all the paleontological exhibits and other historical items. Exhibit 1. The Gray Fox The gray fox (Botanical name Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is one of the interesting exhibits I found at the museum. The exhibit on Fray Fox features 4 photographs indicating how the small American mammal survives in the wild. The photograph below (Image 1) shows a Gray Fox family in their burrow. It reflects the legacy of life by clear illustrations of how the Gray Fox adapts to the environment. From what I gathered, the animals are largely monogamous. The photograph shows an ideal family in their broken terrain habitat. Gray foxes opt to live in broken terrain and rocky areas in order to ease the process of making new homes. An adult male is seen overlooking his family that is resting outside their den, probably to show gender roles in the social life of the gray fox. The female (much smaller than the male) lies next to their kit. The fresh soil dug in their burrow shows that their home may be new, indicating that the species may have moved in more than once. Gray foxes diet is comprised of vegetation, small mammals such as mice, and insects. The photograph captures an environment (San Gabriel Mountains, California) capable of meeting the species food needs. Green vegetation provides gray foxes with vegetation foods. Insects feeding on the vegetation are most likely part of the gray fox’s diets. Gray foxes are spread across central USA, Southern Eastern Canada, and Western Venezuela (Reid, 2016). Information obtained from (Reid, 2016) indicates that one of the most peculiar traits of the gray fox is their ability to climb trees in order to evade predators. The strong claws used to dig and remove earth are used to climb trees. This makes them the only species of the dog family with the ability to climb trees. Image 1: Gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus 2. Exhibit 2: Costume won by David. E. Llewelyn Image 2 shows the costume worn by David. E. Llewellyn, an important figure in the 20th century America.Llewellyn (1874-1963) was ...

1. Running head: A VISIT TO NATURE HISTORY MUSEUM OF
LA 10
Abdulaziz Alrassi
California State University, San Bernardino
Date
A Visit to Nature History Museum of LA
Introduction
After visiting the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, I
learned so many things concerning the animals that were there
in the early days and how they looked like, as well as, how they
lived . The Museum has a large paleontological collection that
helped me develop a better understanding of the Earth’s biota.
The Museum’s collection ranges from fossils to the modern
organisms which are collected from the entire world, and it is
therefore a good place to begin with when exploring on the
paleontological exhibits and other historical items. During the
visit at the Museum I learned of a few things that I never knew
existed and other facts too that are new. In this article there are

2. a lot of areas and information that are presented showing all the
paleontological exhibits and other historical items.
Exhibit 1. The Gray Fox
The gray fox (Botanical name Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
is one of the interesting exhibits I found at the museum. The
exhibit on Fray Fox features 4 photographs indicating how the
small American mammal survives in the wild. The photograph
below (Image 1) shows a Gray Fox family in their burrow. It
reflects the legacy of life by clear illustrations of how the Gray
Fox adapts to the environment. From what I gathered, the
animals are largely monogamous. The photograph shows an
ideal family in their broken terrain habitat. Gray foxes opt to
live in broken terrain and rocky areas in order to ease the
process of making new homes.
An adult male is seen overlooking his family that is resting
outside their den, probably to show gender roles in the social
life of the gray fox. The female (much smaller than the male)
lies next to their kit. The fresh soil dug in their burrow shows
that their home may be new, indicating that the species may
have moved in more than once. Gray foxes diet is comprised of
vegetation, small mammals such as mice, and insects. The
photograph captures an environment (San Gabriel Mountains,
California) capable of meeting the species food needs. Green
vegetation provides gray foxes with vegetation foods. Insects
feeding on the vegetation are most likely part of the gray fox’s
diets. Gray foxes are spread across central USA, Southern
Eastern Canada, and Western Venezuela (Reid, 2016).
Information obtained from (Reid, 2016) indicates that one of the
most peculiar traits of the gray fox is their ability to climb trees
in order to evade predators. The strong claws used to dig and
remove earth are used to climb trees. This makes them the only
species of the dog family with the ability to climb trees.
Image 1: Gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus
2. Exhibit 2: Costume won by David. E. Llewelyn
Image 2 shows the costume worn by David. E. Llewellyn,
an important figure in the 20th century America.Llewellyn

3. (1874-1963) was born in Wales but later migrated to America
with his father. The family bought land in San Francisco where
his father started the Colombia Foundry. When his father died
in 1883, the family moved to Los Angeles and founded the
Llewellyn IronWorks in 1200 North Main. The company was
successful I the production of steel, cranes, transmission towers
and steel pipes. David Llewellyn was the CEO of the company
u8ntil its merger with baker Iron Works to form the
Consolidated Steel Company.
The exhibit reflects the legacy of life by focusing in one of
the pioneers of steel industry in California. The costume is
significant in reminding Californians about their heritage and
industrial milestones that the state has undergone over the
years. It also sheds light on the clothing technology used in the
late 1800s. The color shades on the painting allows viewers to
reflect on available clothing technologies in the past years. It
may also be used to show how human beings adapted to
changing weather in past years. The woolen parts of the
costume suggest that people in those days had amassed
technologies to protect them from extreme cold. The leather I
the costume suggest that it may have been used by rich people
who got their clothes customized by the cloth makers of those
days.
Image 2: Costume won by David. E. Llewelyn
3. Exhibit 3: American Badger (Taxidea taxus)
Image 3 shows one of the exhibits at the museum
illustrating the American badger (Taxidea taxus). These animals
live in different habitats ranging from foothills, mountain
meadows, deserts and plains. This image illustrates a couple
from Mt. San Jacinto, near Banning, California According to
Natural History Museum, Los Angeles (2017), the species are
spread from southern Canada to Southern Mexico. They live in
places where they can obtain rodents, lizards, bird’s eggs, and
insects. They are majorly nocturnal mammals. They make
homes by burrowing in the earth. Over the years, the animals
have adapted different climatic changes. They are mostly active

4. in summer but tend to be inactive in winter. They are not true
hibernators and will come out of their dens on a warm winter
day. Their average inactive time is 29 hours.
Image 3: American Badger (Taxidea taxus)
The exhibit (image 3) shows that the animals live do not live in
clans, but they are rater solitary, preferring living with their
mates during mating season. They depict how wild animals
survive in the jungle and how they have adapted to survive in
such environments. In the legacy of life, it is important to
understand how species have evolved over time. It is likely that
the American badger probably lived in other environments, but
was most suited in few of paleoecological habitats.Exhibit 4.
Desert Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis)
Image 4: Desert Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis) 1
Image 4 represents the Desert Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis)
found at the museum. Only a single exhibit is available at the
museum. The exhibit is displayed on the ideal habitat for the
species. They live in tunnels burrowed between rocks, firewood,
and other protected areas. They are carnivorous animals. They
normally come out at night to hunt for their prey mostly small
insects and worms. They are important in legacy of life since
we are able to understand how they have survived different ages
to survive to date. Information obtained from Penn State
University (2017) indicates that an abnormal life span of the
species. The male have shorter life span than the female.
Females
Desert Wolf Spiders represent a family of large spiders capable
of biting humans when trapped under their skins. However, their
venom is not poisonous to humans apart from a sharp pain and
redness when bitten by one. Unlike other species of spiders that
rely on their webs to catch their prey, desert wolf spiders rely
on their good eyesight and ability to run over short distances to
catch their prey (Exhibit 5: Trinidad Chevron Tarantula
Psalmopoeus Cambridgei

5. Image 5: Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus Cambridgei
)
Exhibit 5 shows a species of spiders called Trinidad
Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus Cambridgei). They are
abundant in Trinidad. They are characterized by silky coat and
bright orange stripes on their head and legs. It is an aggressive
animal. While its venom is not life threatening, it causes
swellings and pain once the victims bitten. They feed on small
insects. This makes their choice of habitat to be rainforests
where they build nest on coiled leaves. They also live in tall
grasses. Their hiding is covered with a strong web. They hunt
their prey at night.
Trinidad Chevron Tarantula is important when studying
legacy of life since it allows us to understand the nature and life
of spiders. They have withstood years of evolution and
therefore key in studying how animals adapt to their
environments. Additionally, their venom is used for medicinal
purposes such as preparation of psalmotoxin, a drug used to
treaty stroke patients.
In conclusion, the visit to Los Angeles Natural History Museum
the was full of learning and exploration. The university offers
everything a student needs to use to know about the historical
life. All the exhibits at the university are well kept and
preserved cleanly. I learnt that all the exhibits in many of the
Museums are very important even though they look simple and
old they can be used to study many things and even be used to
change some things. People should take care of any fossils that
they collect and maybe even take them to the nearest Museums.
There should also be awareness of the special creatures that
should be kept as exhibits too instead of just selling them or
eating them.
References
Natural History Museum, Los Angeles,. (2017). Retrieved 13
March 2017, from https://www.nhm.org/site/explore-
exhibits/permanent-exhibits/north-american- mammals/badger

6. Penn State University,. (2017). Wolf Spiders (Department of
Entomology). Department of Entomology (Penn State
University). Retrieved 16 March 2017, from
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/wolf-spiders
Reid, R. (2017). natural history museum, los Angeles. Retrieved
13 March 2017, from https://www.nhm.org/site/explore-
exhibits/permanent-exhibits/north-american- mammals/gray-
fox