The people and institutions that make up LA continue to find new ways to show support and solidarity with each other during these frightening and uncertain times.
Case in point: LACMA, the adjacent La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, and the Natural History Museum across town are all waiving ticket fees this week and welcoming Angeleno residents with open arms.
Most museums temporarily closed last week when the fires were at their most severe, but some museums that were not in direct danger from the fire have now reopened. These three museums typically offer limited free admission to LA County residents on weekday afternoons (LACMA after 3 p.m., La Brea Tar Pits and Museum of Natural History from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ). So this week’s expansion is very welcome. An afternoon in a safe space without having to worry about questionable air quality sounds just what the doctor ordered.
It’s also worth noting that the Huntington has announced that when it reopens tomorrow, it will offer free admission to “neighbors in Southern California who have been evacuated, evacuated, or lost their lives to wildfires.” Those eligible to participate in the Neighbors in Need initiative can make free online reservations for beautiful gardens, libraries and museums from Wednesday to Monday from 2pm to 5pm until the end of the month.
LACMA recently reopened on weekends, offering free admission and parking in the Pritzker parking lot. “Our beloved Los Angeles County residents, we are here for you. So many people need a place and space to grieve, reflect, hope, and socialize. “All that art can offer is extending free admission and free parking until Friday, January 17th,” he shared on Instagram on Monday.
The caption included an image of Tavares Strachan’s neon work “We Are In This Together.” The work can be viewed in person as part of LACMA’s Imagining the Black Diaspora: Art and Poetics in the 21st Century. Other must-see temporary exhibitions at this iconic LA Museum include “Infinite Mapping: A Transcultural Cosmology,” “Living in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art,” and “Simone Lee.” and so on. (Note: LACMA is closed on Wednesdays.)
After your visit, review Ice Age history at the neighboring La Brea Tar Pits. Admission to Bubbling Pit Lake is always free, but the museum, where you can see fossils of mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, giant sloths, and more discovered just outside, is usually free. If you arrive at 1pm, try taking the excavator tour, which is included in your museum admission.
The Tar Pits’ sibling museum, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, offers sanctuary across town. A new welcoming “Front Porch” recently opened at NHM Commons, our annual field trip destination, and this week we are specifically reaching out to children and parents. “We hope that our museum can serve as a space of rest, providing comfort and connection with the natural and cultural world, while also offering a fun and engaging indoor experience,” NHM shared on Instagram .
“We understand that many children in Los Angeles are out of school due to the effects of these devastating fires. In addition to the free educational experience at our museum, we are “We worked with county parks to bring mobile museums to area parks offering emergency youth camps this week.” Check your LA County Parks account for updates on the Mobile Museum, a mobile educational space where kids can act as archaeologists and marine biologists.
