Natural History Museum happenings

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is presenting several programs in February. The museum is at 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets are $9 for adults, $6.50 for students and seniors, and $2 for children ages 5 to 12. Children under 5 are free. Admission is free the first Tuesday of each month.

First Fridays: Hot Spots will be presented from 5 to 10 p.m. Fri., Feb. 2. The program will examine what makes certain environments "hot spots," places with a high density of diverse species. Dr. William Estrada, history curator of the museum; Margaret Wertheim, "L.A. Weekly" science writer; and Charles Ofria, director of the Digital Evolution lab at Michigan State University will offer insights, and Tussle and Aloe Blacc will perform.

"Giant birds of land, air and sea" will be the topic of a presentation from 1 to 2 p.m. Sat., Feb. 3. Led by the museum's ornithology curator Dr. Kenneth Campbell, the program will cover where, how and why giant birds once lived.

A tour of the Ancient Latin American Hall, with a discussion led by Dr. Karen Wise, curator of archaeology, examining how archaeologists look at diversity in the past, will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Sun., Feb. 4.

Critter Club: Everyone Loves Babies will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Sat., Feb. 10. Children ages 3 to 5 and their parents or guardians will take part in activities looking at how animals and humans have similar parenting styles. For more information on Critter Club, call (213) 763-3230.

From 1 to 2 p.m. Sat., Feb. 10, Dr. Regina Wetzer, Cathy Omura and Darolyn Striley of the museum's Marine Biodiversity Processing Center will give a demonstration as they sort live invertebrates with video projection.

Dr. Angel Valdes, curator of malacology, will discuss his research on nudibranchs from 1 to 2 p.m. Sun., Feb. 11. Nudibranchs are a suborder of sea slugs and soft-bodied snails. From 2 to 5 p.m. the same day, Lonnie Bunch, president of the National Museum of African American History and Culture; Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine; and Michael S. Harper, professor at Brown will address cultural issues related to the diverse populations of Greater Los Angeles. For more information, call (213) 763-3230.

The theme of Family Fun Day, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 17, is "Discover Diversity." Participants will examine variety in the natural and cultural worlds through activities, stories and museum exploration. For more information, call (213) 763-3230.

"Dinosaur Diversity in the Movies" will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Sun., Feb. 18. Filmmaker Don Glut will present, highlighting collections at the museum.

Anthropologists Chris Coleman and Dr. Margaret Hardin will discuss acorn processing past and present from 1 to 2 p.m. Sat., Feb. 24.

An evening of classical music will take place in the William S. Hart Museum at 7:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 24. Soprano Erica Lazerow and pianist Lorna Eder will perform. An artists' reception will follow. Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers and $15 for students with valid ID. For tickets, call (661) 254-4584.

For more information on any of the museum programs, call (213) 763-3466 or visit www.nhm.org.