A Visit to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles: a Must-See!

Located in downtown LA in what is now known as Hancock Park is the site of one of the world's richest deposits of Ice Age fossils.  Since the early 1900s, more than 3  million fossil plants and animals have been excavated --and are still being brought up from the sticky "goo" we call tar (actually asphalt).

While you might have seen the Pond (as it's now labeled) as I did back in the 60s when the fencing was a whole lot lower, this park and the FABulous museum built since then, is definitely someplace you should plan on visiting again or for the first time.

Peer through: can you see the replica of the mammoth trapped in the pond? One of the things I learned while watching the films that run continuously in the museum is that the animals didn't sink into the pits, but rather got stuck and then died either from starvation, dehydration, or attack by predators. 

 What is so fascinating about this place is that excavation still continues (primarily in the summer--imagine working down in a pit like this one 13 feet below ground surface) where they sift or bones and even particles for identification, storage & assembly or restoration.

Labeled as "world-famous" is the Fish Bowl laboratory where you can stand and watch scientists and volunteer clean, examine, and catalog fossils.  That large white thing lying horizontally on top of that table was identified on the white board behind it as the "left tusk of a North American mammoth being restored.

Speaking of mammoths, the museum reproductions are lifesize and.....get this!....move & make sounds, much to the surprise of my grandson who ran over and leaned towards the exhibit, not knowing. Whoa! Did he ever jump back!  Not a LOT of movement on the part of the fake figure but just enough to keep the 5-year-old a few steps back for a bit [wink].

Similarly, the sabertooth cat (learned that they are not called "tigers" here) attacking the ground sloth was wired for sound and movement.

One exhibit, in particular, "blew my mind."  This wall display of 410 of among the millions of skulls of Dire Wolfs discovered already at Rancho La Brea (Spanish for "the tar"). These fellows were among the most prevalent predators of other animals already trapped in the tar.

Need a poster for "Show & Tell?"  My grandson made this one for his first-grade class. :)

Well you get the idea: I was impressed and enjoyed the Page Museum and surrounding park. Hope my miniature guided tour has enticed you to visit also someday. 

http://www.tarpits.org/