Mammoths, saber-toothed cats and other critters roamed LA's savanna in prehistoric times. The tar pits (tarpits.org) preserve a trove of skulls and bones and are one of the world’s most famous fossil sites. Generations of young dino hunters have come to learn about paleontology in the museum. Outside, the smell of asphalt permeates the air as the tar pits still bubble away and beloved models show mammoths stuck in the goo. The surrounding park is a green oasis. LACMA and the Academy Museum are close by.
Thousands of Ice Age critters met their maker between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago in gooey crude oil bubbling up from deep below Wilshire Blvd (though it wasn't Wilshire Blvd then). Animals wading into the sticky muck became trapped and were condemned to a slow death by starvation or suffocation. A life-size drama of a mammoth family outside the museum dramatizes such a cruel fate. Also outside the museum, visitors can observe the pits where fossils are still being discovered.
The tar pits were recently taken over by the Natural History Museum. Inside the museum's 3-D cinema the 25-minute film Titans of the Ice Age screens 10am to 4pm daily (extra charge $5). Parking costs $15 (enter off 6th and Curson Sts).
While the park remains open, the museum itself is closed for extensive renovations through 2026.
