Wandering through the San Diego Natural History Museum’s new permanent exhibit, Coast to Cactus in Southern California, feels like sneaking onto a movie set. An Airstream trailer sits alongside a starry-lights display, designed to resemble a desert at night, and a midcentury modern patio overlooks an imitation San Diego canyon. You’ll find near-exact replicas of Torrey Pines State Park along with all the region’s other habitats—everything from mountain forests and ocean bluffs to coastal sage. San Diego County actually has the highest biodiversity in the continental United States (there are 600 species of bees in its deserts alone), and Coast to Cactus underscores the point. But all this fun has a serious purpose too: inspiring conservation. San Diego County also has one of the country’s highest numbers of endangered species.
Wandering through the San Diego Natural History Museum’s new permanent exhibit, Coast to Cactus in Southern California, feels like sneaking onto a movie set. An Airstream trailer sits alongside a starry-lights display, designed to resemble a desert at night, and a midcentury modern patio overlooks an imitation San Diego canyon. You’ll find near-exact replicas of Torrey Pines State Park along with all the region’s other habitats—everything from mountain forests and ocean bluffs to coastal sage. San Diego County actually has the highest biodiversity in the continental United States (there are 600 species of bees in its deserts alone), and Coast to Cactus underscores the point. But all this fun has a serious purpose too: inspiring conservation. San Diego County also has one of the country’s highest numbers of endangered species.
