The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles wants to know the story behind your tattoo

Getting something permanently inked on your skin is a serious decision. Whether it be a tiny heart on your wrist or a full sleeve, people have fascinating stories behind why they chose to get their tattoos.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is trying to discover those stories in anticipation of its tattoo exhibition opening in November. The museum put out a call on social media for photos of people's tattoos and why they got them.

If you'd like to jump in on the discussion, use the hashtag #tattooNHMLA and you could be featured on their Instagram account. To get things started, the museum has also been showing off its employees' tattoos. It's not clear yet if these stories will play a part in the actual exhibition later this year, but for now we're enjoying reading about Angelenos' ink. This city has an abundance of brilliant tattoo artists in many different styles, so it doesn't surprise us to see so many beautiful and intricate pieces. Here are some of our favorite ones so far.

#tattooNHMLA I had always thought that tattoos needed to be deep and meaningful, but I learned that the intent behind those tattoos doesn't always translate for the rest of your life. Instead, I felt having something absurd, fun, and a bit of a non-sequitur could be just the trick. Enter: Yeti and Bigfoot playing badminton. There's something special about tattoos that almost makes the intangible tangible, takes the mythical and makes it real. Now I've always got these guys to keep me company and be a signal to others that we don't have to take life too seriously. #bigfoot #yeti #bigfoottattoo @nhmla

A post shared by noelle (@every1sdoppelganger) on Jun 27, 2017 at 4:21pm PDT

Get ready a new Tattoo exhibit featuring 5,000 years of history, culture and art connected to ink is coming to the museum this Fall! We were asked to share ours..here is mine. One of my fav lizards.. a Gliding Lizard aka Gliding Dragon. #tattooNHMLA #ink #november2017

A post shared by Neftali Camacho (@neftronic) on Jun 8, 2017 at 11:44am PDT

Today I got a tattoo to commemorate my grandmother. She was (and still is) the rock of our family. Every value my cousins and I have come from her and her raising 4 boys and 1 daughter. Spending summers at this house made me who I am today and I am forever grateful.

A post shared by Cris C. (@pitbull.papi) on May 2, 2016 at 6:54pm PDT

"I'm studying creative writing and I love Edgar Allan Poe's horror stories. I actually fell asleep while I was getting this tattoo. I woke up and, whoa, there was Poe on my leg." - Evey (@creepygalx1692), Guest Relations 💀 | Tattoo from @norwalktattoostudio #tattooNHMLA

A post shared by Natural History Museum of LA (@nhmla) on Jun 27, 2017 at 4:03pm PDT

"My pineapple tattoo honors all things retro and kitschy. I love Elvis, I love Hawaii, I love the aesthetic of the late 50's and early 60's because it reminds me of what things might have been like in my mom's childhood." -Lindsay, NHMLA Guest Relations #tattooNHMLA

A post shared by Natural History Museum of LA (@nhmla) on Jun 26, 2017 at 4:49pm PDT

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