It’s been years since people were able to head to L.A.’s Natural History Museum after hours and listen to live music, party with a DJ and attend scientific lectures in person at the venue’s festive First Fridays series.

COVID-19 derailed the event  in 2020 and 2021, but now nightlife at the museum is back as the First Fridays series returns to in-person partying with music, and this year, lessons about plant power.

“The First Fridays programs are the ones where we build community and are able to share experiences together in person and it feels really good to offer that again,” said Laurel Robinson, the museum’s director of programs.

The series, which has been happening for more than a decade and is organized under various scientific themes each year, launches March 4 and runs on the first Friday of the month, with the final session for 2022 being July 1.

The theme this year is “From Seeds to Psychedelics,” with each event focusing on plant-based topics that look at how people are using the power of plants and fungi to help the world.

“We’re going back to the roots of it all by looking at how, from foraging to fungi to seeds and psychedelics, how plants and fungi are inspiring scientists and activists and artists to look at the power of plants and fungi and how we’re drawing new ideas and inspirations,” Robinson said.

Final Friday

The last in person First Fridays event was held on March 6, 2020.  It was the first of what was supposed to be four monthly after-hours events, but then shutdowns went into effect and First Fridays went virtual with music and lectures happening online, until now.

When the series returns March 4 it will include the elements of previous events such as live music, food trucks, a DJ party and scientific discussion, but there is still a pandemic happening, so some things will be different.

“A lot of the program’s components, which normally would have been inside the museum halls, are now going to be outside in the Nature Garden,” Robinson said.

In normal years during the first three months of the series, the bands perform indoors in the North American diorama hall while the final band performs outdoors for the series finale. This year however all bands are performing in the Nature Garden throughout the season.

And there will be no indoor bars this year, so all of the booze will be served in the Nature Garden.

However, the science discussions will take place inside the museum and people can still walk around and check out the indoor exhibits as long as they wear masks.

The lineup for the first event of the year will feature a headlining performance by bilingual indie pop artist Spill Tab, with an opening set by pop-duo Ill Peach while DJ Lani Love spins beats from a separate stage.

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And dropping knowledge in a lecture titled “Plants with Benefits,” will be Beatriz Labate, an anthropologist and executive director of Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, who will be talking about psychedelic plant uses in science, and trip on this, in ceremonial ways too.

Details for the other events in the series will be posted on the museum website monthly.

First Fridays

When: 5-10 p.m. March 4, April 1, May 6 and June 3, July 1.

Where: The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles.

Tickets: $20 for general admission and free for museum members.

COVID-19 protocols: Proof of vaccination or a negative test are required. Mask must be worn indoors.

Information: 213-763-3466, nhm.org