The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC)—which includes the Natural History and William S. Hart museums and the La Brea Tar Pits—have announced 15 grants totaling more than $6.4 million in support of a range of projects focused on inclusion and community engagement.

The grants mark the most successful funding effort in the museums’ history and include support for conservation paleobiology, local biodiversity projects, digitization of collections, and indigenous arts programming. Public, private, and corporate funders include the Association of Science and Technology Centers, Boeing, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Institute for Biodiversity, Glendale Community College Foundation, the John Randolph Haynes Foundation, the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as six grants totaling nearly $3.4 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

For instance, NSF awarded $2.9 million in support of a mentoring program in local biodiversity for college graduates facilitating research and professional development. Other grants include funding for a statewide insect DNA barcoding initiative that will include climatological research and long-term soil and fungal surveys, a study to understand and mitigate parasite host transfer, a collaboration with Indigenous weavers to conduct workshops and exhibitions demonstrating the techniques used to make ancestral objects in the museums’ collection, and an outreach program to expand hands-on learning opportunities to inspire the next generation of scientists and environmental advocates.

“These incredible grant successes illustrate our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and mentorship, while fostering research and activating our collections for the benefit of society,” said NHMLAC senior vice president of research and collections Luis Chiappe. “[We] are committed to developing pathways for the professional development of future scientists and museum staff.”

(Photo credit: Wikipedia/Allie-Caulfield)