The museum at La Brea Tar Pits remains closed until further notice. The park at La Brea Tar Pits is currently open, and visitors can see paleontologists working at our excavation site weekly. See NHMLAC's response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Guided Tours

Let our docents and educators bring the stories of the Tar Pits to life.

behind the scenes tour at the tar pits fossil lab

General Info

Daily
Free with museum admission
Special tours available for Members and Groups

Excavator Tour

Explore how our excavators and scientists find fossils of mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and more right here in the Tar Pits, and then piece together Ice Age L.A. This guided tour will take a deeper look into the Fossil Lab, Lake Pit, Observation Pit, and Project 23. Start at the Fossil Lab where you will see our scientists at work on everything from Zed, the near-complete Columbian mammoth, to tiny microfossils. Get the inside story of the famous Lake Pit, step inside the Observation Pit to see what a tar pit looks like, and discover what we are finding right now at Project 23, our active dig sites.

volunteers working project 23 la brea tar pits excavation
employee with kids on a tour at the tar pits
observation pit at the tar pits
Photograph of people looking at the Tar Pits Fossil Lab

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Group Tours

Excavator Tour: Groups of 10 or more can join in our Excavator Tours, free with museum admission.  To ensure there is space for your group, we ask that groups of 10 or more people make a reservation for the Tour when booking their visit.

Private Tour: Inquire about having a private tour for your group. Private tours are available to groups for $8.50 per person with at least one week's notice.

Start planning your Group's visit to La Brea Tar Pits today.  Visit our Group Visits page or call 213.763.3218 for more information.

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

Tours for Members

Membership levels at the Patron Family level and higher receive exclusive tour opportunities that give you access to museum scientists, curators, and our behind-the-scenes collections.

Scavenger’s Safari: Explore behind-the-scenes and discover a different curatorial department each month. Meet our scientists, researchers, and collections managers, and go on a scavenger hunt throughout the Museum.

All-Stars of Science Tour: Choose from our many Research and Collections departments and embark on a behind-the-scenes tour for up to 10 guests. You will get to question and quiz one of the museum’s scientists, researchers, or collections managers, and get an up-close look at pieces not on display for the general public.

Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Access as Fellows

Fellows (and their children and grandchildren) have unparalleled behind-the-scenes access to museum scientists, researchers, and the collections not on view to the public.

Learn more about Member behind-the-scenes tours.

Learn more about Member levels and benefits

Experience More

Make sure you explore everything the Tar Pits has to offer.