Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Moore Lab of Zoology

Tucked within a liberal arts college in Northeast Los Angeles is a hidden research gem for bird scientists. Moore Laboratory of Zoology of Occidental College houses over 65,000 museum specimens, with majority of those being bird study skins from Mexico.

Take a tour and discover native bird species, a painstakingly-collected hummingbird collection that represents 88% of all hummingbird species of the Americas, rare extinct birds, and see specimens up-close that represent Mexico's bird diversity prior to major habitat change.

Tours are educational, free, and intended for ages 10+. If you're interested in student or group tours, contact us here. If you cannot make your reservation, please cancel ahead of time as space is limited.

PARKING & DIRECTIONS

Your tour guide will meet you outside of the lab entrance when the tour begins. Moore Lab can be found on Google Maps (GPS of the entrance is 34.126642, -118.210054) and a campus map can be located here.

For weekday tours, free street parking is available all along Campus Road. We're closest to the college entrance at Armadale Avenue and Campus Road. From there it's a brief walk: head north on American Way, right on Weller Road, left on Bird Road and continue under the walkway to make a direct right up the hill.

For weekend tours, you may park in any campus parking lot.

ACCESSIBILITY

The collection is located on the second floor and is elevator-accessible. Parking spaces reserved for disabled parking placards are across the front entrance of the lab. Feel welcome to contact us beforehand regarding tour accomodations.

STAY CONNECTED

Find us and follow along at @mlzbirds for Moore Lab happenings and bird-y news, and stay in touch by joining our mailing list.

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Host or Publisher Moore Laboratory of Zoology