The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has announced updated plans for a Studio-MLA and Frederick Fisher and Partners-led expansion that is now taking shape for the year 2024.

New renderings of the 60,000-square-foot project appear to add interior details to the previous announcement, which showcased a unique transparent "curated facade" meant to exhibit pieces from the museum similar to a giant display case or vitrine.

As part of the effort, the museum has formed two new advisory groups, the NHM Commons Native American Advisory Council and the NHM Commons Advisory Coalition. The groups will advise the design team (which now also includes New York-based Studio Joseph) as to how best to determine "ways to build a sense of welcome, acknowledgment, and respect for Native people who enter this space and opportunities to remind, express to and educate visitors that Los Angeles is on Native land."

“I am thrilled to announce the creation of two NHM Commons advisory groups consisting of incredible community leaders who have joined us to guide program development for this new wing and beyond,” Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, the museum's President and Director, said in a statement.

"We envision NHM Commons as a community gathering place, and the collective influence of these councils will help us deliver on that promise," she continued. "As construction moves forward on the site’s beautiful and inviting new indoor and outdoor spaces, we have been building upon our strategic principle of being museums of, for and with L.A. and shaping an NHM Commons philosophy grounded in co-curation with fellow Angelenos. Our community leaders provide a depth of experience, expertise, and perspectives that guide us toward fulfilling our values and mission."

Additional details include a new public plaza that will serve as the museum's "front porch" communal gathering point fronting Exposition Park. A series of "sustainable gardens" will be developed in unison with the newly-formed Native American Advisory Council. A 400-seat theater will complete the design in addition to the Judith Perlstein Welcome Center that houses Gnatalie, "the first real skeletal mount of a long-neck dinosaur on the West Coast." A mural from artist Barbara Carrasco will compliment the interior lobby that celebrates the history of Mexican heritage in Los Angeles. 

"The newly announced Native American Advisory Council and NHM Commons Advisory Coalition demonstrate County efforts to formally recognize Los Angeles’s ancestral communities and expand access to inclusive spaces where the public can explore the wonders of science and celebrate our diverse cultures," LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell said finally. "I am thrilled that residents throughout the Second District and LA County will soon experience these investments that will impact generations to come."