What does it take to lead a museum with 110 years of Los Angeles history — and keep it moving forward in a city that never stands still?

Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga is the President of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County, home to more than 35 million artifacts and specimens, the largest such collection in the Western United States. In this episode, she shares how getting a PhD in geology — of all things — led her from the classroom to a college presidency, and eventually to the helm of one of the city’s most iconic cultural institutions.

We talk about the challenges of modernizing a 110-year-old institution, what it takes to stay rooted in science and community, and how she’s working to make the museum more reflective of the city it serves.

And yes — we finally settle whether there are actually dinosaur bones in the La Brea Tar Pits.

Plus: which fellow Making Los Angeles guest is she totally starstruck by? Listen to find out.