A room crowded with young people on dates dressed in casual-cool, wine and beer served in the corners and a DJ spinning music – all beneath the looming skeletons of ancient dinosaurs. It could only be Los Angeles – and a First Fridays  night at the Natural History Museum.
My husband and I ventured to the NHM in January for the initial First Friday of the season. Â The event was just full enough to feel part of a scene without being overwhelmed by crowds.
It’s particularly wonderful to explore the museum with a glass of wine in hand (not all exhibits allow beverages) hearing the music float through the marble hallways, and catch the scientific discussion in one of the great halls. The lecture we heard was a lively 30 minute  panel discussion about the similarity between human and animal diseases. It was filled by twenty-somethings who really seemed to enjoy a bit of education on date night.
This week the 6:30 pm discussion is titled “Wet and Wild: Coastal Ecosystems and the Future of Southern California.” Get there a bit earlier and you can also catch the “Tracking and Trapping LA’s Wildlife” talk which takes place out in the garden and in the NHM specimen lab, at 5, 5:30 and 6 pm.
Don’t worry if tickets for the live music (this week it’s Bath, and Peaking Lights) are sold out – they perform in one of the halls off the main courtyard and you can hear them easily and see them projected on the walls in the central courtyard. If you do get tickets to get inside, it’s a party.
Outdoors there are food trucks and plenty of cement walls to sit on for some prime people-watching.
First Fridays Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd. LA, CA 90007 Tickets are $12 general admission, more for entrance to the Silk Road exhibit, or the live music venue.