Reframing Dioramas: The Art of Preserving Wilderness Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

The Natural History Museum’s historic diorama halls are the largest exhibitions at the museum, showcasing over 75 incredibly detailed habitats ranging from arctic tundra to tropical rainforest.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dioramas, NHM is restoring and reopening a diorama hall that has been closed for decades. There, visitors will experience immersive new installations... Show more

The Natural History Museum’s historic diorama halls are the largest exhibitions at the museum, showcasing over 75 incredibly detailed habitats ranging from arctic tundra to tropical rainforest.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dioramas, NHM is restoring and reopening a diorama hall that has been closed for decades. There, visitors will experience immersive new installations — by artists RFX1 (Jason Chang), Joel Fernando and Yesenia Prieto (working as a three-artist team), as well as Saul Becker and Lauren Schoth — that call attention to dioramas as a unique combination of art and science and explore biodiversity, ecology, conservation, colonialism, and changing museum display techniques.

NHM maintains an active diorama program where staff continue to update and build dioramas, keeping this art form alive. Visitors can examine these illusions of wilderness through a series of displays, engaging programs, and a new book that sheds light on the previously untold history of NHM’s dioramas.