If you’re planning to visit the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California with kids, there’s a few things you should know before you go to get the most out of it. The Museum is home to millions of fossils that have been found in the tar pits, including hundreds of dire wolves, ground sloths, mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and more. While you’re there you will be able to see scientists working through active excavations, watch them in the fossil lab, smell the tar, view hundreds of fossils and so much more.
The La Brea Tar Pits Date Back to the Ice Age
First, how cool is that?
Second, with millions of fossils pulled out of this one small area, it’s amazing to think that Los Angeles was once rich with so many prehistoric animals of various varieties. The La Brea Tar Pits has done an amazing job recreating the animals that they have found there with various statues throughout the property, including mammoths and ground sloths that are so much bigger than you would imagine.
The La Brea Tar Pits Museum is Home to Stellar Fossils
With millions of fossils in the museum, a literal wall of dire wolf skulls and thousands of other animal species on display, there is an endless supply of bones to look at while you’re visiting the La Brea Tar Pits.
La Brea Tar Pits Has Active Excavations
With active excavations ongoing at the tar pits, you can watch scientists with a grid laid out, digging for new discoveries. You can also go inside of an observation pit where they have left part of a dire wolf exposed.
Lake Pit
While the lake pit might look like an active tar pit, it was created from an asphalt mining operation in the late 1800’s. It filled with water and what you smell is actually oil. BUT, it still gives the illusion that you’re seeing a huge tar pit right in the middle of Los Angeles.
Our #1 recommendation for the La Brea Tar Pits is that you explore the entire property and all of the buildings. The excavations, fossils and more are all located in separate buildings.
What Else To See in Los Angeles
The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles is also a must-see. Click here to check out their website.
Getting to the La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits is located in the middle of Los Angeles. If you aren’t use to city driving, it’s a little nerve wracking. I wouldn’t recommend taking an RV because a lot of the roads are tight and there is very little space for RV parking.
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