A Selective Guide to the Arts in Los Angeles

First Fridays
NHM Celebrates “Darwin Year”
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is doing it up right for Charles Darwin’s 200th with a series of First Fridays celebrating the famous discoverer of evolution. First Fridays feature tours, lectures, DJs and bands on, you guessed it, the first Friday of every month (January through June).

On April 3, arrive early (space is limited) for a tour of the entomology collections (that’s bugs to the rest of us) at 5:30 and 6 p.m. Then at 6:30 p.m., USC’s Dr. Michael W. Quick moderates a discussion with Dr. Michael Ryan, a scientist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and zoology professor at the University of Texas, Austin. The focus of the discussion is Darwin’s other theory, sexual selection, and Ryan will explore how males and females of various species (humans included) differ. Have your questions ready. Then grab some food and drink and enjoy the music from 7 to 10 p.m., as Phatal DJ and T-Kay spin tunes, and Bus Driver and Tim Fite perform.

The next First Fridays event on May 1 brings Dr. Donald C. Johanson, who as the founder of “Lucy,” a 3.2-million-year-old hominid fossil, could definitely be called a science celebrity.

Tickets are $9, and $6.50 for students with ID.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90007, (213) 763-DINO, www.nhm.org.