The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has turned one of its big galleries into an underwater encounter with killer whales, opening a new orca exhibition on Sunday that surrounds visitors with life-size whales, immersive film, and artifacts from Indigenous and scientific collections. Orcas: Our Shared Future fills roughly 10,000 square feet and is scheduled to stay on view through April 25, 2027. The show blends hard science like skeletons and specimens with cultural work, interactive displays, and a wink to pop culture. Weekend previews drew researchers, families, and plenty of whale fans.
What the museum says
According to the Natural History Museum, Orcas: Our Shared Future opened April 26 and “explores the powerful connections between orcas, people, and the oceans we share.” The museum highlights life-size orca replicas, dynamic audiovisual installations, and works by Pacific Northwest Indigenous artists as core pieces of the experience. NHM lists the exhibition as a special-ticket presentation, which means visitors need both general admission and a separate exhibition ticket.
Scale and standout objects
Museum officials say the show spans about 10,000 square feet and features roughly 140 original artifacts and specimens, including an articulated adult female orca skeleton and a life-size family of replica orcas. MyNewsLA reported those details after a museum preview. Immersive rooms ringed with floor-to-ceiling screens surround visitors with footage of orcas swimming in the wild.
Voices on the ground
At the preview, lead research biologist Alisa Schulman‑Janiger, who works with the California Killer Whale Project and is a research associate for the museum, said the exhibit's life-size replica of an orca called Ruffles lets her “go back in time” to early encounters in the 1980s and noted that orcas were recently seen near the Channel Islands. Fred DeNisco, an orca expert known online as The Orca Man, told LAist he has followed the show across North America. LAist also points out that the exhibition tucks in an original Free Willy VHS clamshell. Together, their comments underline the show's mix of research, culture, and pop‑culture memory.
From Victoria to Los Angeles
The exhibition is a traveling project produced in collaboration with the Royal British Columbia Museum and MuseumsPartner, and previous stops helped shape the Los Angeles version. The Royal BC Museum hosted an earlier iteration, while the Denver Museum of Nature & Science documented a 2024 run that emphasized films, interactive games, and three full-size replica orcas. Curators say the touring format made it possible to bring together Indigenous artworks, scientific specimens, and contemporary conservation research for this stop in Exposition Park.
Tickets and timing
The museum's exhibition page notes that member preview days ran April 24–25 and the public opening was April 26, with special-exhibition tickets sold in addition to general admission. For dates, hours, and ticket purchases, visit the Natural History Museum. The show is slated to remain on view through April 25, 2027.
Whether you're a longtime whale watcher or just orca-curious, the exhibition aims to highlight how these animals connect communities across cultures and coastlines. For Angelenos, Ruffles and the rest of the life-size pod offer a reminder that some of the ocean's biggest stories are unfolding just offshore.
