For its 150 year anniversary this month, the San Diego Natural History Museum is looking back at its origins and the developments its scientists have made along the way. Behind the scenes, however, its staff is focusing on the present and future.
On the occasion of its sequicentennial, here’s a look at the Nat’s history and what comes next.
A humble beginning
The Nat’s story began in 1874, amid an era of scientific discovery and Charles Darwin’s seminal work in the theory of evolution, when a small group of collectors — Daniel Cleveland, O.N. Sanford, Dr. George W. Barnes, E. W. Hendrick, and Charles Coleman — formed the San Diego Society of Natural History. A year later, a group of women naturalists, including Balboa Park horticulturalist Kate Sessions and fish scientist Rosa Smith Eigenmann, were brought on as associate members.
The society’s first home for exhibits and group meetings consisted of just one room in a downtown San Diego building in 1912. The museum occupied several buildings across Balboa Park beginning in 1917, before a $125,000 donation from Ellen Browning Scripps helped The Nat build its permanent home in 1933.
Architect William Templeton Johnson planned on constructing a rectangular building, but financial uncertainty during the Great Depression halted his plans and resulted in a partially completed, L-shaped building. In 2000, the facility’s size doubled and Johnson’s vision was finally realized.
The Nat’s pursuit of a building to house its collections was only part of the museum’s mission. Over the span of 150 years, the society spearheaded educational programs for school children, initiated expeditions throughout the Baja California Peninsula and supported the development of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The Nat even served as a temporary Navy hospital for American military troops during World War II.
The museum also became a hub for research on gray whale conservation in the 1950s and the impact of DDT pesticide on marine food chains in the 1960s. Thanks in part to the Nat’s efforts, gray whales were taken off the federally endangered species list in 1994 and DDT was banned in 1972.
More than a museum
Today, The Nat is furthering its mission of understanding the California peninsular regions from the Santa Monica mountains to Baja California. When Judy Gradwohl became The Nat’s president and CEO in 2016, she said her team made a conscious choice to “lead with our science,” rather than highlighting touring exhibitions from out of town.
“We have been documenting nature in San Diego for 150 years, and we are superlative at that,” Gradwohl said. “We would be mediocre if we tried to be a more encyclopedic museum. But we hold the ecological record for San Diego, and because of that this museum is really unusual and a gem as far as natural history museums go.”
To celebrate its 150th anniversary, The Nat is promoting a variety of events, promotions and developments this year. Events kicked off earlier this year, with the museum offering free birthday admission to visitors, distributing limited-edition merchandise and opening two new exhibits — one a series of photographic panels commemorating The Nat’s milestone moments, and the other a new native plants nature trail that winds around the exterior of the museum.
More events have been sprinkled throughout the year but the biggest will be a birthday block party on Thursday, Oct. 10, which is one day after the museum’s 150th birthday.
Below Grade
One of the most significant projects of 2024 is the museum’s new paleontological center, relocated from the third floor to the basement level.
Named “Below Grade: The Tom Deméré Paleontology Collection,” after the museum’s longtime curator of paleontology, the space will feature an introductory gallery, more than 1.5 million fossils and a state-of-the-art laboratory. Visitors can observe and speak to paleontologists in action through glass exterior walls, or they can get an up-close look at fossils on open racks and displays.
The center will have a soft opening in October, and staff will continue to fill in elements before its grand opening in spring 2025. Gradwohl said this approach will allow museum staff to gauge visitors’ feedback on the space.
The relocated and revitalized center excites paleontologists like Deméré, not only for its state-of-the-art technology and work spaces, but also for its convenience.
Deméré, who has worked at the museum for 45 years, said the museum’s fossil collection showed a marked increase amid San Diego County’s accelerated industrialization in the 1990s and early 2000s. The California Environmental Quality Act requires developers to involve paleontologists in their builds to identify and recover fossils — a process that has led to many scientific discoveries.
It helps, too, that San Diego is the most biodiverse county in the continental U.S. Since Deméré joined the Nat in 1979, the museum’s specimen collection has grown from 20,000 to 200,000 items.
For years, the museum’s extensive fossil archives had to be stored in an off-site facility in Chula Vista, in some cases requiring scientists to commute from Balboa Park to do their research. Now, the fossils can be stored in one place on new moveable carriages.
“Every day I come down — because we’re still just moving into this place — I can’t stop smiling. Because it’s so beautiful to see these fossils together,” Deméré said.
Deméré and other paleontologists’ work is still rooted in collecting, preparing and cataloging fossils. But Deméré said the process of studying them has evolved since he arrived four-and-a-half decades ago.
Paleontologists at The Nat now use computer photography, a process that optimizes the identification of fossils and allows paleontologists to mine more information from it.
“The imaging possibilities, two dimensional and three dimensional, allowed us to really analyze fossils in a more detailed manner. Just within the science of biology and paleontology — you can call it paleobiology — there have been a lot of advances technologically and methodologically,” Deméré said.
Prior to these technological developments, scientists would have to travel across the world to examine and compare fossils. Now, 3D digital models allow scientists at institutions like The Nat to collaborate across state and country lines. This has aided in projects such as the discovery of Diegoaelurus, a saber-toothed species from San Diego.
Entomology and AI
Deméré’s and his paleontology team isn’t the only department making technological strides at the Nat. The museum is also home to an extensive entomology collection, with a team dedicated to identifying and monitoring beetles, butterflies and pollinators.
The department is actively working on several projects, including a resampling of wildlife in canyons, digitization of records and a DNA barcode library for insects across the state, said Eva Lowell, an entomologist in the Nat’s department of bioservices.
Lowell’s primary focus has been the development of custom-made “camera traps” that use motion detection to capture images of insects across the region. Camera traps of this sort are traditionally used for larger mammals, but Lowell’s project places the focus on smaller creatures.
Lowell was able to pursue this project thanks to an evolutionary venture fund provided by the museum’s board and scientists. She expects to conduct more field work with the cameras this fall, and to launch a larger-scale camera project next spring.
Even as the public-facing side of The Nat prioritizes tactile, physical displays over screens, much of their behind-the-scenes work is aided by technology. In the entomology collection, digitization of records and image-taking by way of AI technology in particular has optimized an otherwise lengthy process.
“You can get biologists to spend hundreds of hours out there, looking for it, (and) it’s super costly,” Lowell said. “They could probably be doing other really amazing things with their skills.”
Beyond the walls
Much of the work The Nat does extends beyond the building itself, with a staff of around 200, including about 67 staff members participating in museum projects. The museum employs scientists, design departments, educators, security and even bartenders. Gradwohl likened the museum’s operations to developing and sustaining a city.
The city of staff members recently expanded, with the addition of Dr. Rachel Larson, a postdoctoral fellow working in the conservation biology department, as well as two college-aged museum apprentices. The Nat is currently working on hiring for the herpetology department.
In its 150th year, Gradwohl and her team are honing in on three goals: engaging the public, expanding conservation efforts and developing strong partnerships inside and outside their community.
Another key tenet of the museum’s current and future operations is sustainability. These efforts include using recyclable material, conserving energy, changing light bulbs to LEDs and sourcing locally to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
The museum is currently working on 205 active projects, according to Paula Sternberg Rodríguez, The Nat’s science communications manager. These projects range from contract work — through PaleoServices and BioServices — to the museum’s many internal projects.
Research outside of the museum required a combined 5,700 hours of field work in May alone, The Nat’s busiest month so far.
“What we’re trying to do is ensure that the museum is larger than our building,” Gradwohl said. “We love our building, we love our visitors (and) our guests. And this is a wonderful way to help expose everyone to nature and the marvels of nature in San Diego.”
The Nat’s 150th Anniversary Celebration
Member Night: On Tuesday evening, the museum will host its annual members night with a birthday celebration. 5 p.m. Tuesday (free, but open to members only).
Nat at Night: This evening program allows visitors access to all four floors of the exhibits, plus pop-up programming. The rooftop patio will also be open for food and beverage sales. 5 p.m. Oct. 18. $7-$12. sdnhm.org/calendar/nat-at-night
The Big Birthday Block Party: Following the reading of a proclamation by the city on the South steps near the fountain, the museum will be open free to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities will include a sneak peek at the new Below Grade paleontology center; children’s activities; scientist meet and greets and more. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 19. Free. sdnhm.org/calendar/the-big-birthday-block-party
Where: The San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego
Phone: (619) 232-3821
Online: sdnhm.org