Kerosene headlight from Southern Pacific locomotive … a driving force in the development of our region.

When we think of natural history we generally think of stuffed animals and dramatic dino bones. But why? That’s one reason the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History newest exhibit — opened Sunday — is so intriguing.

Becoming Los Angeles tells the story of how we became us. It’s Los Angeles beginning at the time of the Spanish and continuing into our world of skyscrapers and skateboards. It’s a story of good luck (temperate climate) and bad (grasshoppers); of excitement (Gold Rush) and sadness (World War II) and all along the way it’s a story of entrepreneurs who took the good and the bad and channeled them to create (via railroads and water aqueducts) a thriving, exciting region. And did I mention you can take the Expo Line to get there? Another innovation worth noting.