La Brea Tar Pits

In accordance with the L.A. City Municipal Code Ordinance, all eligible patrons (currently 12+) are required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test performed within 72 hours. Visitors 18+ must also show a valid photo ID. View our COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for more information.

Discover mind-blowing experiences at the Tar Pits

Experience the Museum

Make discoveries right alongside our scientists. Watch the fossil journey from excavation out of the Tar Pits to being studied in the Fossil Lab.

Start planning your visit

Witness science in action at La Brea Tar Pits.

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lake pit at la brea tar pits

Lake Pit

Project 23

dire wolf wall at the tar pits

Dire Wolf Wall

Analisa Rivera, a UCLA senior, examining microfossils in the Fossil Lab.

Fossil Lab

Photo of saber tooth cat teeth in the fossil lab

Ice Age Fossils

Our Excavations

We literally have Ice Age L.A. in our hands with excavations happening in the park.

Dig deeper

Photo of paleontologist excavating fossils

Discoveries Made Daily

See the Ice Age at eye level

mammoths and mastodons key art type left

exhibition

Mammoths and Mastodons

Explore how these titans of the Ice Age evolved, adapted, and survived in a changing world.

Make a giant discovery

Stories

Okay, now I'm curious

Mark Dion Tar Pits

Artist Mark Dion's Deep Dive Into The Tar Pits

Painting of ice age Los Angeles featuring animals found as fossils at the Tar Pits

story

At the Feet of Mammoths

Puma skull from Project 23 at La Brea Tar Pits

Pebbles the Ice Age Puma

Project 23 boxes and bins

Our Rich Digs

fossils of saber-toothed cat vertebrae on trays in the La Brea Tar Pits Museum’s collections room;

Paleo Prep School

Dire wolf wall of skulls at an angle

story

Dire Wolf Skull Wall Reinstall

three-dimensional scan of the pathological pelvis and femur

story

These Hips Don’t Lie: 3D Imaging of a Pelvis Suggests Social Care for Saber-Tooths

tar pit in trinidad edited

story

From Giant Ground Sloths to Tiny Poops

Photo of workers excavating in the 1800's

Tales from the Tar Pits

Before Wilshire Was Wilshire

Want to discover more?

Two pedestrian paths bring people above the Lake Pit, a site for urban fiction and imagination.

Reimagine
La Brea Tar Pits

Architects WEISS/MANFREDI selected to lead the master planning process in Hancock Park.

Imagine what's next

What are you interested in learning about at the Tar Pits?

Icon of a saber-toothed cat to represent cats

Icon of a globe and thermometer to represent climate change

Icon of binoculars to represent discoveries

Icon of a woolly mammoth head to represent mammoths

Icon of a shovel to represent digs