Why is There An Ostrich in the African Mammal Hall? (L.A. County Natural History Museum)
Two weeks ago (10/28/14), I was volunteering as a Gallery Interpreter at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum (http://www.nhm.org). A young lady approached me and asked a question... She, and her family, were exploring the wonderful exhibits at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, and as they exited the "African Mammal" exhibit, and while I was hosting the "Oarfish" exhibit at the time, she shared her eight-year-old daughter's thoughtful question, which was... "Why is there an ostrich in the African Mammal hall?" I had to step back a moment because I didn't know the answer. (Ostriches are in the Class "Aves," after all, and not in the class "Mammalia.") Mom and I both agreed that this was an amazingly insightful question from an eight-year-old and we were both amazed and excited about her curiosity. That young lady, if she continues to ask her wonderful questions, will certainly grow up to be an amazing person, making a stupendous impact on the lives of all of us. This is a great example of why the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is an amazing place and why it's a great place to be a volunteer.
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UPDATE (4/2/15): Having recently gone through the NHM Mammal Hall training, I have some insight as to why the ostrich is in the Mammal Hall. It seems that the Ostrich has been there a very long time and that the Mammal Hall just seems to be a good place for it. Since it's already there, inside a wonderful diorama, there's really no traction to remove it or to move it to a different location.
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