La Brea Tar Pits will be closed on Friday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. We will reopen on Saturday, July 5.

Pack rat skeleton drawn in white on a black background with lines connecting artist names in white to different parts of the skeleton

Mark Dion: Excavations

Experience this immersive, uncanny installation evoking a behind-the-scenes museum space.

Learn More

Special Experiences

Explore the sites, collections, and programs that bring the Ice Age to life.

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lake pit at la brea tar pits

Lake Pit

Photo of paleontologist excavating fossils

Our Excavations

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

Ice Age Encounters Show

Ice Age Encounters

Stories

Okay, now I'm curious
Dire wolf wall of skulls at an angle

Dire Wolves: Sorry, They're Totally Still Extinct

A Q&A with experts from the Tar Pits and NHM
Learn more about Dire Wolves
Two pedestrian paths bring people above the Lake Pit, a site for urban fiction and imagination.
Reimagine
La Brea Tar Pits

Reimagine the future of La Brea Tar Pits and explore the transformation, the process, and keep up-to-date on the latest developments.

Imagine what's next

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

Icon of a saber-toothed cat to represent cats
Cats
Icon of a globe and thermometer to represent climate change
Climate Change
Icon of binoculars to represent discoveries
Discoveries
Icon of a woolly mammoth head to represent mammoths
Mammoths
Icon of a shovel to represent digs
Excavations